The Enlightened Mom

It’s Jen here, Terri’s assistant and “right hand” woman. Well, today I’m her “write” hand woman because while Terri is in New York City this week, busily promoting The Enlightened Mom, I’m here to share some exciting news with you! You probably already heard that The Enlightened Mom won Best Spiritual Book at the San Francisco Book Festival but she found out last night that The Enlightened Mom just won Best Spiritual Book at the New York Book Festival! Woo Hoo! The TEM team is so excited and proud that Terri’s work is getting the recognition it deserves.

With all this buzz, now’s the time to get your copy of The Enlightened Mom if you haven’t yet done so. And if you didn’t catch Terri’s interview on WNBC from Wednesday night, you can watch it here. And while you’re online, pop on over to The Enlightened Mom Facebook page, say hello and offer your congratulations!

We’re so excited to have you on this journey with us so stay tuned for Terri’s blog next week when she’ll catch you up with all that’s been going on!

Before I get started on today’s blog, I want to say a big WELCOME to all of you who have recently become a part of our Enlightened Mom community or who have become friends of the community through The Enlightened Mom book launch. We’re so glad you’re here! Thank you for stepping onto this incredible journey of healing!

Over the last few months, our Enlightened Mom team has been working diligently in preparation for the launch of my book and meditations. At times, quite frankly, I felt as if I was a hamster on a wheel. It truly felt as if all the details would never be finished. Then last week in the middle of the launch, my eldest daughter Mackenzie came home from college. She is attending classes this summer so she was home for only one week. When she arrived, she said, “Mom, I would really like some time for just the two of us. Can we go somewhere? Maybe Atlanta for a few days?”

Needless to say, I was a little concerned to leave right in the middle of our launch! Could I possibly entertain such a thought?

Well, I did! I had to ask myself, however, when is enough, enough? When can I say that I’ve done my part to co-create with God and surrender to trust?

I made a decision right then and turned to little Terri, the five-year-old inside of me, and said, “I love you. You have done enough. Let’s get out of here!” And so we did.

This Sunday is Mother’s Day, a day we value and honor our mothers. And if you are a mother, it’s usually a day that you allow yourself to receive this kind of love. But what about the remainder of the year?

Mother’s Day reminds me of how I used to celebrate myself on my birthday. I’d go all year long not allowing myself to have enough fun. But on my birthday, well, I would blow it out, trying to make up for the rest of the year.

Why do we do this to ourselves? Why don’t we celebrate who we are every day of the year?

It’s because we’ve learned this from our mommas.

The cycle of neglect and self-denial has been handed down from generation to generation. Our mommas didn’t value themselves. They thought to deny themselves was an act love. Instead, we learned from watching them and, thus, shut down to love.

But you are of value, whether you’re a mom or not! You deserve to be celebrated. You can stop this self-denial and neglect when you say YES! to yourself every day, not just on a special day like Mother’s Day.