I knew my child’s pediatrician was a living, breathing reincarnated saint when I first heard him say to me, “trust your mother’s intuition, it is always right.” Thank goodness he had recognized my brilliance! Now I wouldn’t have to explain in detail why every book I had used to research my daughter’s current symptoms suggested that she did not have the asthma she had been previously diagnosed with and I would no longer be medicating her.
When he gave me permission to make decisions that felt right to me, I knew a door had been opened that I never realized had been closed before. Trust myself. I may actually know what I’m doing.
If Mother’s Guilt is a disease, Mother’s Intuition is its cure. Since our child’s birth, we look to outside resources for our information and answers. Tell us how to make the baby stop crying. Tell us how to know when they’ve had enough to eat. As they start toddler hood and preschool, tell us if they are developing on track with their peers and tell us the signs to know if they will be serial killers. Early detection is the key.
Throughout their school years, we look to books, teachers, doctors, counselors, friends, and for some, police officers, to get a stronger impression of our child. Who are they and how can we best support them through their development? We are constantly asking ourselves, am I doing this right? I am suggesting, instead of asking “am I doing this right?”,ask “does what I’m doing feel right?” You know how to answer that question. It’s the feeling in your gut, the gnawing knowledge you don’t always give recognition. It’s real and it’s yours. We all have it and have experienced its power, but sometimes, we forget to rely on it and sometimes we forget to allow ourselves to trust what we already know.
If it wasn’t for my Mother’s Intuition, I could have lost my son a couple of years ago at a family party. As I sat talking to a cousin on the back deck, I randomly interrupted her as I was overcome with a feeling to check on my son. When he wasn’t in the bouncy house where he was last seen by at least 15 family members, the hunt went out to find him. He was found 10 minutes later, hysterical and overheated locked in a parked car in front of the house on a very warm day. Mother’s Intuition does not know good manners. It rudely interrupted my cousin. It does not look for other’s opinions or even ask if we think we are right. It blatantly tells us how we feel and we can respond accordingly…or not.
By the way, I know we call it Mother’s Intuition because Mom’s rock, but Dad’s have it too and we need to give a little credit where it’s due. As a counselor, I have worked with some of the best, in tune Dad’s who have no idea just how impressive they are. Another reason I really believe in reincarnation. They clearly must have been women in their past lives.
Now the one thing Mother’s Intuition will not give you is a direct list of options to your long list of questions. But it will tell you when you’ve picked the one that works best for you and your situation. So go ahead, give it a try and Trust Yourself. There’s a really good chance you may actually know what you’re doing.