Power of Moms Retreats!!

Recently I had the opportunity to be involved with and attend 2 Power of Mom Retreats on the Gold Coast and in Sydney.

  Gold Coast

Sydney

They were both such incredible experiences and I really did love every minute. I went with expectations of what I thought the Retreats would be, but they ended up being so much more! Besides providing the perfect setting to really 'dig deep' and assess where I am as a mother, they also provided time away from everyday life. Time to listen and learn without interruption, time to self assess and make realistic goals about how to strengthen families! The Retreats were filled with familiar and new faces (it was so so good seeing old friends, some I haven't seen in years) and so good meeting lots of wonderful new friends! We got to spend time talking, listening and eating the MOST delicious food for 2 days!

Luana and Deb from Umbrella Events Brisbane did the catering for the Gold Coast and it was incredible!! I think I should do a whole post just dedicated to the delicious food we ate at both Retreats :)!!

I love that finally an organisation is offering some kind of personal development course in the field of Motherhood! In any other 'career' people undertake, there is continued learning. Courses to increase knowledge and help you be better at 'what you do'. And this is exactly what the Retreats are. Learning and education for Mothers, and there's not many things I find more important than that!

I know I've said it before, but I find it incredibly inspiring being in a room filled with women gathered together with vision and purpose!

In a world where we often sadly see the effects of diminishing family values, it was so refreshing to be with women who know that motherhood matters!

I loved discussing how to be deliberate in our mothering, and WHY that is so important! Talking about making conscious choices and having plans for our mothering, instead of waiting for things to happen, and then reacting to them! With all the women that attended both Retreats, we were representing hundreds of children and over 120  families! I know that on a grand scale that may seem small, but I doubt I was alone in feeling the significance and influence that left the rooms on those days! There were tears and laughter as we shared our joys and struggles, and so many incredible woman with amazing insights to share!

Naomi and Corrie sharing their thoughts on entitlement! (It was so lovely to finally meet Corrie and great to spend time with Naomi who was also involved in organising the Retreats! Love her!!)

(Naomi, Vanessa and Nadene sharing their thoughts on a panel discussion at the Gold Coast Retreat)

There were lots of things that really spoke to me at the Retreats, but one of the things that stood out to me the most, were these simple words;

Creating a family culture that is stronger than ANY peer culture!

Having a family culture is not a new thought to me, but when said with those particular words, it just made so many things that are important to me, make even more sense.

With any culture {family} there has to be things that identify it. Things that make it somewhat different and unique to other cultures. Creating a culture and having meaningful traditions that our children can easily identify. Things that give them a strong sense of belonging and make them feel safe. Things that bond our children to us, and things that will influence them to come home when they need help, instead of going somewhere else!!

Another element I loved about the retreat was the word THRIVE! My sister talked about it HERE a bit, and to borrow her words, I think I too am in love with this word!

The idea of thriving just sounds so fulfilling! Not just surviving the daily grind of motherhood and life in general, but actually thriving! Going to bed feeling content and waking up excited! Doing things within our families with 'the end in mind' - deciding what we want long term, and breaking that down, daily, weekly, monthly etc to achieve the goals and vision we have set. 

A few other things that stood out to me;

- The importance of really looking at our children and being excited with them!

- The important connection between our physical, emotional and spiritual well being. 

- Taking time to say goodnight to our children (not just putting them in bed as quick as we can because  we are exhausted)!! The difference 40 seconds (or singing a song) can make!!

- Finding out what every member of our family needs to thrive (including ourselves).

- Mummy is a person!  While we are mothers and have children who need us, we are also entitled to basic human rights (you know, things like being able to go to the bathroom without 4 other little bodies cramming in the room with you :)! It's up to us to teach our children how to treat us and to create boundaries and expectations within the family.

- The importance of having some time to ourselves. Even if it's just small windows of opportunity, when we have time to pursue our passions and grow as people, the fulfillment we feel overflows into all areas of our lives and helps us to 'give back more' to our children/families!

There are so many things we can accomplish in life, and many careers we can succeed in, but the most important career I can ever succeed in, is my role as a mother. The career that takes a lifetime, has no finishing time and little pay, can become our lifes greatest work. This doesn't mean it's not hard - because we all know that IT IS (somedays much harder than others :) But the best most rewarding things are always hard! It just means we have to work and try everyday and when we have "one of those days", we need to be a little kinder to ourselves, try and let go of the 'mother guilt' we all know well, and try again tomorrow! 

Overall, it really was an incredible experience to be apart of and I came away feeling strengthened in my resolve to be more deliberate, and to implement things in my home that will strengthen my family. I loved being surrounded by so many beautiful women and having time away from 'life' to reflect, learn and grow. And that's exactly what the weekends were about! Reflection and growth!

To April and Saren.....THANK YOU! Thank you for coming all this way and giving us tools that can help us become the best mothers we can be!! 

April, Me, Saren (oh how I love these 2 inspiring ladies!) 

ps) I can't believe I didn't get a picture with THIS awesome mumma!! Not only does she have an incredibly inspiring blog that I love, but she is also just as inspiring in person! She did a brilliant job of helping to organise things for the Sydney Retreat (along with Nadia) and arranged for her amazingly talented friends, Kimberly and Veronica to do the catering for Sydney which was divine!!! 

pss) and I can't take credit for all the pictures above :) some are from Melissa Pratt Photography, a couple are from Corrie and the Sydney group shot is from my friend Preeti!!