A Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Mrs. Monique Harris!

Today, I decided to give myself a Lifetime Achievement Award! I know what you’re thinking… 

“What?!”

And to that I say, “Yes!” As The Best Mom Ever™️ in these streets, I believe it’s time for this honor with a Lifetime Achievement Award! And you know how I feel about honoring yourself.

There’s no need to wait to celebrate! 

Honoring and celebrating yourself releases the longing for others (especially your children) to acknowledge your efforts, progress, and accomplishments. Because truly, when you do- you’re waiting for what they deem worthy to be considered effort, progress, and accomplishment. 

Only God knows ALL that He had to do to work it all for your good. 

After that, only YOU know it took and takes for you to try, keep trying, and continue living.

So as I was pondering on what it means to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award- what I'd receive it for, and who else I’d like to honor with it- I felt so good inside! 

First, I thought of the obvious- mothering well. I’m here to help the good moms through hard things. 

By “good moms”, I mean the women who take mothering well seriously; because raising a person is serious business. 

Have you ever heard, “Children do what you do, not what you say”? I was taught that when my oldest son was a baby. This reshaped how I saw my responsibility and calling to raise him, and subsequently his siblings.

Because of this- I’ve always looked at my children as leaders-in-training. 

Personally, I knew there wasn’t time to dilly-dally around and act like my children weren’t watching my every move, listening to my words, and acting out what they saw. The thought of them being adults in the blink of an eye meant that raising them with love, intention, and attention, and leading by example was a must. 

I had heard, “They grow up so fast” and “They’ll be grown before you know it” enough times to believe it was true. 

Spoiler alert: It’s true! 

But with those thoughts always in my conscious mind, it helped me remember the importance of each moment of their lives. It reminded me of the significance of each moment of my life and every decision made. 

This strengthened my determination to go beyond “doing the best I can”, and instead, to always seek out the best ways to do things! 

Before my good friend, Ashley, recently pointed out to me that this isn’t the norm- I hadn’t considered it to be unique before. I thought all moms that cared about their children thought this way. At that moment, I really started to realize how much more I have to offer other moms in their mothering journeys.

For many years, I truly wanted to solve the problem of “no manual for motherhood”. And one day I considered applying my favorite Toni Morrison quote that inspired me to write my first six books-

“If there’s a book that you want to read, and it hasn’t been written, then you must write it.”

It still took a few months to settle in the realization that I was going to write a parenting book. 

I went from thinking, 

“Who am I to write a book on how to be a good mom?”, to 

“I can help so many children by helping their mother learn how to be a good mom”, to

“God can help me write a mothering book for those who- like me- have a heart’s desire to be The Best Mom Ever for their children!”

So now that I’m going to reward myself with a Lifetime Achievement Award, I get to consider-

How do I enjoy being celebrated?

I enjoy being celebrated by private and public recognition, appreciation, and respect. I enjoy being celebrated with my primary love languages of quality time and physical touch. Gifts are cool, too. I also love hearing or reading kind words about myself.

How do I desire to be celebrated? I desire to be celebrated with expressions of love, quality time, thoughtfulness, awards and applause, by others sharing their experiences, testimonies, and sentiments about me with their loved ones and friends. “I’ve heard so much about you” is a wonderful way to be complimented and greeted! I desire to be celebrated for my being myself, my contributions, and in all ways that glorify God. Seeing my light reflected in others is an inner celebration!

With these inner revelations in mind, I decided that I’d be presented with my Award for my 38th birthday!

My Lifetime Achievement Award will consist of acknowledging and celebrating my Outstanding Achievements as a mother and Contributions into my children’s lives!

For some perspective, experts say it takes 10,000 hours to master a thing. I’ve presently invested over 175,000 collective hours of my life to raising my children! Talk about dedication!

Plus, the fruits of my labor from the seeds God planted (literally within me) are wonderful and amazing people! Encourage yourself with my daily reminder based on Proverbs 22:6-

“You show the way. It’s up to your children to go the way; and it’s not your fault when they don’t.” -Mrs. Monique Harris 

So to any questions about if I have earned my Lifetime Achievement Award, it’s a resounding, “YES!!! To God be the glory!” for me!

Get The Manual that speaks directly to your heart, offering practical steps and spiritual insights to overcome the unique challenges of motherhood on http://themanualformothering.com