When my kids were babies I was the perfect crunchy mom. My kids wore soft sole moccasins and matching hemp clothing. They ate seaweed and gluten free protein balls and called them ‘special treats’. They spent their days at home with me learning Waldorf nature poetry and playing barefoot out in the fresh air. We used beeswax crayons and made our own play doh. They were in a sweet little organic bubble and I liked it that way.

Then...they got old enough to have an opinion and everything went to shit..lol

They wanted to try new things, things I don’t understand or like. They wanted to play fast pitch softball, of all things, and wear gross synthetic athletic clothes.

I was legit wondering what I did wrong. What kid were they around that influenced them - oh, the lessons I’ve learned. It’s been hell moving through this. I was sooooo worried they were going to get corrupted by the system and turn into GMO zombies (the things hippie moms worry about lol) but what it really came down to is: I was losing control and I fucking hated it. They wanted to try things and I didn’t trust their judgement. It’s hard to transition from being a infant/toddler mom to being a teenager mom. It’s our job to protect them when they are young.

Yes, I was mom brewing wild harvested chaga when other people were putting DR. Pepper in their kids sippy cups (not making this up). I was the mom up all night changing out apple cider rags and cooked onion (real life ) instead of jumping of the Tylenol train. Call me a judgmental bitch if you want, but yea..I think it’s our job to give a fuck and get educated so we can provide the cleanest environment possible for our growing babies and I wore that badge proudly. Granted, I realize that is not always an option, but if it is, we damn sure ought to be choosing things that breath life into their bones! That’s our job as their guardians. Those first 7 years of life are so crazy important... I took that shit serious.

But there was a shift somewhere and I missed it. I took the hippie mom shit serious and I’m so glad I did but at some point, I lost focus of what was best for them, on a grander scheme. It finally hit home when my grandmother passed away a few years back. She used to make homemade food all the time and I wouldn’t complain about that ingredients and I wouldn’t let my kids eat it. Right before the funeral, one of my kids said “I wish you’d let me eat more of her food” - in that moment something in me broke. Fuck!! Where had I gotten so wrapped up in my need to be right that food made with love by their great grandmother wasn’t okay? The thing is, that food was made with love and GMOs or not, my kids should have eaten it. The end.

Ugh.

That realization trickled over into so many other areas. The kid that was begging to play softball or the kid that desperately wanted to try out going to school. I needed to let go a little and let the kids start making their own choices. My 3 year old daughter needed me to step up and make healthy choices for her cause we all know a toddler left to their own devices will take corn syrup and TV over seaweed and nature any day.
My 3 year old daughter needed me to help her make good choices, my 15 year old daughter does not. She’s been given the knowledge I gathered and she is completely capable of taking from that what works for her and finding her own way.

So, my kids play sports in their made in China athletic wear and they’ll eat pizza in New York City.. cause it’s an essential life experience! And I’m okay with that! Why? Cause they’re so freakin happy! They also come home and drink their turmeric superfood drinks and take their shoes off in the rain to get grounded...cause they want to, cause it makes them feel good! Do I wish they still ate 100% pure, wore all organic clothes and spent all their time painting watercolors of nature? Yea, kinda. Hah! But that’s not the season we’re in. Maybe someday they’ll find their way back to 100 percent pure crunchyville and maybe they won’t. Either way, it’s going to be their choice!

Am I going to stop making them raw organic chocolate or treating illnesses with ginger root tea and essential oil? Never! lol but I’m also not going to go bat shit hippie crazy on them if they come home with store bought icing on their face from a friends birthday party or tell me they want to go to college for business.

This is one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned as a mom of teenagers. Parenting has seasons. Seasons where we are in full mama bear mode, instinctively pulled to overprotect and lead the way. And there are seasons when we are just here to love and support while they find their own way. The art of motherhood is knowing when the season is changing and having the courage to change with it.

Brooke Hampton,
‘the longest thing I’ve ever written’

photo by Brandi Morgan Photography LLC