Lists

Dear little soul

I've been wondering a lot about communication lately - with you, of course, with your Soul Papa, and then, with your Soul Family at large.

How do we, as your Soul Parents, communicate to our close friends and our loving families what our hopes and dreams are for you without treading on anyone's toes? We are already experiencing a taste of the barrage of gifts that I'm personally afraid will flood down on us in coming months. How to minimise what people will give or spend, and how to protect our blossoming little family? By that I mean, protect you from not being exposed to presents that don't fit in with our Soul Family's world view and how to protect the givers from the hurt of not using or even discarding certain presents?

Maybe I could draft a manifesto right here:

Soul Mama & Papa Manifesto

We promise to bring you up in a world full of:
stories
your own imagination (rather than have everything imagined for you)
a wide variety of healthy, organic whole food
natural materials to be wrapped in and to cuddle or play with
if you can't resist buying clothes (we won't need them!) then get natural materials
quiet time
exciting time
laughter
only a few, high quality plastic toys
only a few, high quality stuffed toys
home made stuff made with love - toys, blankets, clothes
pictures made by the people who love us (particularly all the cousins!)
cubby houses you can construct and deconstruct yourself
simplicity
boredom
singing
making music
dancing
using your hands to make/eat food
experimenting with your body
exploring the natural world
ritual
gratitude
happiness
listening
sharing
feeling understood
communicating

To our friends and family - we know that you want to shower us with gifts and we are so glad that you love us so much to give as much as you do. But we don't want you to give anything at all except for your shared experiences with us as a new family, and if you insist, then to look at the booklist we are busy compiling, or, to think carefully about the things we have listed above that can be translated into a gift you could give. A Soul Mama & Papa, we're clear on the things we do not want, but that's a harder message to communicate, I think, than to say what we would prefer. One of my greatest challenges in life is to feel understood.

What do you think little baby? Do you know what I mean?

Much love

Your Soul Mama