“You’re human. You’re doing the best you can. Even when you’re not, you’re doing great.” -Michelle, Gonzo Parent

“It’s tough, and it’s tough before a pandemic. They don’t advertise alcohol to adults for no reason. But it’s life— Show up for it! You’re not going to know your successes till you look behind and see what you’ve done.” -Timothy, Gonzo Parent

“If you know that there are things you can do that help you, do them— It can feel like you’re taking time away from your family or it’s selfish. But push through it because it’s the most selfless thing you can do. It allows you to be a better parent and your family needs you to do that.” -Emily Moriarty

“There’s no separation. There’s no difference. If you do it for yourself, you’re doing it for them.” -Connor Moriarty 

Episode Description:

As we are coming out of the pandemic, it's easy to feel like we're doing everything wrong. We're constantly tired, we're stressed, and sometimes it feels like our only redeeming quality is that we were born with parenting genes and therefore are genetically predisposed to rock parenting (in some way hopefully).

But it's important to not let this get us down. We're doing just fine. In fact, it's possible that we're doing better than most people right now. We’re just not aware of how good a job we’ve been doing because we’re too busy trying not to scream at our kids or throw up on them (or ourselves).

At least, we’re still doing some things right: We're still alive and are now looking forward to surviving the coming years as a parent with sanity still intact.  And we haven’t snapped out and killed somebody yet considering how much sleep we have lost ever since becoming parents.

As parents who are navigating the challenges of this transition period, it can be difficult to balance being good parents and taking care of our own mental health. But, the pandemic has also been a time of growth and self-discovery. 

In this episode, Jay sits down with Gonzo parents, Michelle and Timothy to talk about how parents can operate from a place of awareness and self-love while dealing with the challenges of the transition, how to navigate mental health issues that resurfaced because of the pandemic, how being deliberate with our actions can help us heal, and why we should give ourselves permission to be vulnerable. 

Next, Jay interviews our expert guests, power couple Connor and Emily Moriarty. Connor and Emily discuss how trauma and stress manifest in our bodies, how to identify the aspects of our lives that we became disconnected from, the role of the community in our parenting journey, how to reset, and how exploring our own emotions and caring for ourselves can grow our capacity as parents.  

Parents may feel helpless, but gonzo parenting is all about the trial-by-fire learning experience of how to become the parents we wish had. And when we’ve come out on the other side of this roller-coaster ride, maybe we can look back with a little perspective.  But until then, let’s hear from our guests…

Click https://gonzoparenting.com/ for shownotes and resources.

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Episode Highlights:

With Our Gonzo Parents

02:05 Meet Michelle and Timothy

14:11 Challenges During the Transition Period

24:49 The Pandemic and Mental Health Issues

33:00 Building Deeper Connections 

39:24 When Asking for Help is a Challenge

46:55 Be as Human as Possible

With Our Expert Guests

54:31 Meet Connor and Emily Moriarty

01:02:15 It’s More Than The Uncertainty

01:10:01 How Trauma and Stress Manifest Themselves

01:15:28 The Role of Community in Healing and Parenting

01:22:28 How to Get a Reset

01:28:04 Becoming Better Parents 

01:33:32 What’s Worth Doing 

01:38:41 Grow Your Capacity as a Parent