“I thought that parenting is something I would learn on the go.”

A parent shared this with me recently as she expressed her experience navigating work-family-life.

This statement resonated with me so deeply. 

As a working parent like her, while I imagined myself learning on the go, I didn’t imagine it would take so much effort to figure things out.

I thought I would be able to apply my learning abilities to the parenting domain and it would work.

But because of this belief, I ended up like many parents in a survival mode.

I went through parenting feeling like I am constantly fighting fires or that I just need to keep my head above water.

I had to prune this belief (and others) to promote my growth as a parent.

This experience reminded me of roses.

A rose can survive without pruning. But it would not grow well. 

Pruning promotes new growth, removes weak branches, and keeps the plant healthy.

Pruning can also train and direct roses’ growth into the desired shape.

So what can we prune?

We all have learned beliefs, habits, and strategies that we can survive with, but limit our growth. 

If we wish to transform our parenting experience and create the family life we want, we need to prune regularly so that we can learn & grow intentionally. 

We can thrive during parenthood, deserve to enjoy it, and gain a sense of meaning and satisfaction throughout it. Start pruning 💛


Becomers weekly challenge


✍️ Reflect: 

• Think about a time when you rose above (at home, work, school, or achieving a fitness goal). What did you need to prune to make it happen? 

• What do you need to prune now to make more time or attention for learning? (screen time? social activities? saying yes?) 

🧠 Practice Together: Rose, thorn, prune. 

• During the dinner table (or at a different family-gathering time) invite everyone to share:

  • The rose – what went well.

  • The thorn – what evoked discomfort or pain.  

  • The prune – what you wish to let go of. 

🌹 Move: This weekend, when you go out and about, stop and smell the roses. 

Thank you for your ongoing commitment to modeling and cultivating healthy growth 🌱

Onward ✨
Liz

P.S. Today we wrap up April’s series in which we learned about concepts of growth from the master: mother nature. From finding our rhythm to honoring our growth pace, to accepting that growth is also invisible. New Becomers – Hi 😊 You can catch up on the recent newsletter issues here.

P.P.S. If you enjoy the newsletter, please share it with your circle and invite them to join us. It takes a village to Raise Learners 🙌