I feel my ego step in when we’re in public and I notice how messy my children’s hair is, and I feel embarrassed and the need to comment or try to fix it. I’m practicing pausing in those moments and reminding myself “her hair is messy because she has said she doesn’t want it brushed and you’ve respected her rights to make choices about her own body. Her hair being messy or her shoes on the opposite feet and dirty clothes are a representation of what she’s busy working on and what her priorities are (play and practice, not people-pleasing) and that’s so much more important than trying to make me look good as a parent. The automatic thoughts still pop up from my ego, I’m just getting better at pausing and noticing them instead of reacting in a way that isn’t based on the best interests of my children.