August

Getting Unstuck

This month, we’re exploring the theme of getting unstuck—because your parenting loop does not have to be permanent.

Theme Email

Week 1

Happy August, Collective! Ready for this month’s theme?

But first… Some old school lore! Have you ever seen the movie Groundhog Day? It’s an absolute classic from 1993 - Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell are leading characters. Bill’s character ends up stuck in a time loop where he repeats the same day (February 2, AKA Groundhog Day). As he grows more frustrated, he commits more reckless behavior, only to wake up on February 2nd all over again. As you might expect, the thing that gets him unstuck: self-reflection, shifted intentions, and changed behavior.

Not at all unlike parenting!! Some days are just going through the motions, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But if you’re feeling like you’re stuck in your own Groundhog Day hell, or even just a particular parenting moment keeps repeating itself, then you’re gonna love this month’s theme of Getting Unstuck.

This week is about noticing the loop without judgment. What are the situations that keep happening? What emotions come up each time? What story do you tell yourself about your child—or about yourself—when it happens?

Awareness is step one. Before we can change anything, we need to name it clearly. Just observe what shows up. No really: do NOT try to fix it!!! We are in the observation and data gathering phase right now.

This week’s challenge: Pick one repeat moment and write it down.

When does it happen? What triggers it? How do you feel when this happens? How do you think your child feels?

Don’t move into problem solving yet! Stay with the discomfort, get comfortable being an active observer in your own life. I promise, it’s worth the wait.

Go ahead and tell us your thoughts in the WhatsApp community!

Week 2

Focus: Interrupt the Pattern

Hopefully y'all were able to take some time and work on "noticing the loop" — observing the moments where you feel a bit stuck or like you're in a Groundhog Day situation.

This week, we're focusing on interrupting the pattern.

"Sure Emry, but WITH WHAT?"

Remember that whole "breaking the fourth wall" thing I was talking about a few weeks ago? USE THAT. You're gonna give up your plan, reach out through the movie screen and directly to your child and say, "Ok, this isn't working. Let's make a plan together."

This week’s challenge:
Break the fourth wall. Say out loud: "This isn’t working. Let’s make a plan together." Then tell us what happened in the WhatsApp community!

Week 3

Week 3: Reconnect to Your Why

By now you’ve noticed the loop, and you've tried breaking it. But why?

If you're stuck in a Groundhog Day loop, it's because something isn't working. That much we know! We know we want to move away from the thing that is causing us stress. What we might not yet know, is what it is that we're trying to move toward.

This week is all about reconnecting to your why.

So in those tricky moments when you're trying to interrupt a pattern, now you're going to add another layer: What is the value in play? Maybe it's respect, or connection, or honesty. Or even playfulness, peace or mutual trust. You might even realize that this is not the battle you want to pick, and can leave the loop entirely!

Whatever it is—this is the week to remember that this is why you're doing the hard work of parenting differently.

When you reconnect to your values, your actions start to feel less like “trying to be better” and more like coming home to yourself.

This week’s challenge:
When you're interrupting the groundhog day loop, peel back the layers to discover the value in play. Then come let us know what it is in the WhatsApp community!

Week 4

Break the Loop with Connection

In Groundhog Day, the loop doesn’t end when Phil (Bill Murray's character) perfects his behavior. It ends when he connects genuinely with others and with himself. But also, not the first or even third time. It takes multiple connections for his behavior to shift.

In parenting, it's never going to be that you say the perfect thing and suddenly things work the way you're hoping. Otherwise parenting would be much easier than it is!

So this week, don't try to say the perfect thing. When you notice you're stuck in the loop, look for the connection point. Instead of saying the perfect thing, try to feel something--with your kid, with yourself. Let the armor drop!

This week’s challenge:

Find a moment to connect. Like, really connect. No scripts. No goals. Just one moment of genuine presence. Then tell us what surprised you!