Endings and Beginnings

“Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand and melting like a snowflake.”
~ Marie Beyon Ray

We have two pieces of big news: One, Jill is vacating. Two, Shelly has a new tenant, of sorts, and will carry this blog forward.  Here’s more, in our own words:

From Jill:
In 2005, Shelly Birger and I had a baby: The Conscious Parenting Alliance. Her move up north, toward love and the family she’s always wanted, inspired us to create Bay Area classes, and then, to keep the flow of our ideas into the world, this blog, Awake Parent Perspectives, and our CD, Perspectives on Feelings. Colin Chung came in just over a year ago and gave a big boost to our marketing efforts. (Thank you, Colin!)

A divorce (mine), a marriage (Shelly’s), several classes and dozens of articles later, I’ve discovered it’s time for me to move on.  Creative work, some of it related to this work, calls me. So do the demands of post-divorce parenthood, as well as care for myself, as I finally give up the big house in the Berkeley Hills I’ve lived in for ten years and find something smaller, more affordable, and more sustainable for the work of this phase of my life.

So I’m paring down. In saying goodbye to you, I realize all I have really offered all this time are the musings of one imperfect parent. If anything, I’d like to thank you for giving me a reason to share my thoughts, and an appreciative audience. I think publishing my parenting hopes and dreams has given me the courage, the confidence and the accountability to actually put some of them into practice from time to time.  Lately, it seems that more often than not I want my own parenting coach, on demand, to help me through the hard moments. I think my biggest lesson has been to find sources of strength and peace within myself.

What’s next for me? Selling my screenplay (know any producers?). Doing more Witnessed Mediation (check out Witnessed Mediation on YouTube). And coming soon in the Bay Area, a local class on Cultivating Compassionate Presence, which includes parents. Email me directly at jillcnagle at gmail dot com to be notified.

I’ll never forget about this community, or about supporting parents in general. I’ll never forget how much love and care we all need, and how we’re doing the most important work of the world. Your love has made a difference in my life and I hope mine has made a difference in yours.

On a personal level, Awake Parent has nourished me most through Shelly. I miss Shelly’s and my weekly meetings, and regular exchange of emotional support. I miss working with Shelly and all the parents who came through our classes.  I’m also thrilled for the new developments in her life–I’ll let her speak to those herself…

Warmly,

Jill

 “Everything grows rounder and wider and weirder, and I sit here in the middle of it all and wonder who in the world you will turn out to be.”
                                                                                                                                     ~ Carrie Fisher

From Shelly:
I’m pregnant!!!  I am so excited to be ushering my first child into the world this August and I can’t wait to see how my blog, this website, and all we offer at Awake Parent will develop as I embark on the journey you’re already so well aware of. I still have lots to share from my experiences teaching preschool  and working as a nanny to the stuff I learned in college about young people’s brain development, and I am more committed than ever to sharing it all with you.

I’m so grateful that Jill and I began this journey together, I’m not sure I would have forged out on my own.  And the teamwork and synergy we’ve experienced has nurtured my creative spirit.  I’ve also learned so much from my dear friend Jill about how to really listen and share empathy with others, thank you Jill!  Now it’s time for Jill to move on to other projects and I feel ready to continue to provide the weekly blogs you’ve come to expect, more CDs and other materials to help you on your parenting journey, and of course the one-on-one parenting coaching which is such a huge part of my inspiration and purpose.

I hope you’ll all stick around and offer us feedback and suggestions about how Colin and I can make Awake Parent an even better resource for you.  And, if you or someone you know is interested in being a guest blogger here, I’m pretty sure I’ll need a couple of those during August and September 🙂  Just send your info to shelly@awakeparent.com and we can chat about what kind of a blog would most serve our parents.

Thanks again for being here.  Thank you for sharing your stories, your struggles, your triumphs, and most of all your desire to be the best parent you can be.

Big huge warm hugs,

Shelly