The StoicMom Project
The StoicMom Project
"I'm the mom" -with graduated coaching client, Sara
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"I'm the mom" -with graduated coaching client, Sara

conversations along the way
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I so enjoyed catching up with graduated coaching client, Sara (pseudonym.) Every mom I’ve had the privilege of welcoming into my coaching practice has been an amazing woman and mother!

Like all these women, Sara had lots going for her when we began working together. We talk about some of Sara’s strengths as a mom and some of the gifts of this experience. As a coach, I appreciated the model she provided me of someone who confidently parented in a manner very different from mine, and who was also open to trying new things and making shifts to support the healthiest outcomes for her family. I’m in love with her very wise description of “the waves” and recognizing and embracing the marathon that is Motherhood. I think it would be pretty difficult to not recognize her adaptability, which likely helps that marathon be a little less daunting. I think as a result of this destabilizing circumstance and Sara’s inclination toward learning and intentionality, she is even more grounded now in her intuition, values, and parenting confidence. Listen to the episode for more “gifts” this circumstance brought to Sara’s family and to discover how her 13 yo daughter is doing now.

I am grateful for the support and encouragement I received while working with Stoic Mom. My daughter’s abrupt announcement of identifying as transgender caused me to question all my parenting skills and intuition. I reached out to Stoic Mom specifically because she seemed to have a very different approach to parenting/life than I did. My current methods were controlling and not serving me well as the harder I tried, the more I felt a lack of control and sensed the unusual situation I found myself in might require a different approach. Stoic Mom helped me identify areas where I needed to release control while highlighting areas where my intuition was strong and beneficial. In the process I was surprised to learn that our approaches to parenting/life were not so different. Seemingly simple strategies like re-framing and gratitude are remarkably effective and helped me move from a feeling of destabilization to assurance that I am appropriately equipped to parent my child. Stoic Mom’s focus on relationships and growth through struggle helped me parent with love and confidence, rather than control and anxiety. Stoic Mom is a gentle guide and I highly recommend her services. ~Sara

Some links to SMP articles that came to mind during this conversation including the learning content I mention:

along the way

StoicMom waxing philosophical in 2023

helpful concepts along the way I’m currently working on Lesson 3!

*Just a quick clarification that I’m not a therapist or licensed counselor, but a certified life coach.

3 Comments
The StoicMom Project
The StoicMom Project
At this point, I have embraced this destabilizing, sometimes excruciating, sometimes wondrous experience of having a trans-IDed child as “curriculum of the soul.” Because I can’t help but imagine how different the world might be if we could all take the hardest thing in our lives and view it as this, as curriculum of the soul. Practitioners of Stoicism might say, "the obstacle is the way." These are my conversations and reflections--along the way.