Applicant #55: Kelly Bowie

Kelly Bowie is a mom from Stanwood.

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A bit about me:

I laugh loudly, love with abandon, embrace challenges and truly believe that life is an adventure ready to be explored. My name is Kelly Bowie and I live in Stanwood Washington with my husband of eleven years and our two incredible children. Our family calendar is filled with balancing work with our homeschool schedule, daily household lovin, sports and general exploration. Since leaving my job as a high school English/Photography teacher almost eight years ago I have been working as a lifestyle photographer and blogger (kcbphotography.com/blog). The network of amazing people that I have the opportunity to work with has just solidified my belief that connections with people of all walks of life is not only enjoyable but absolutely necessary in shaping us into the best version of ourselves. We never stop growing, changing and learning. The best teachers we can find are those who are walking or have walked a similar road and will stand alo ng us, for a time or the duration. I desire to instill in my children by example, an awareness of the many blessings we enjoy as well as those we can offer to others. I only have them for a small portion of their life. In that time I hope to make their foundation solid, give lots of super squeezes, enjoy a ton of giggles and instill a deep assurance that God has a plan for their lives bigger than we can dream. Enjoy today.

My blog post:

Parenting is by far the most humbling position available. You are continually met with the challenge of wanting to be as excellent as the situation calls for and feeling very inadequate for the task at hand. I compare it to what I imagine it would feel like if I showed up for a soccer game wearing snow skis or ballet wielding a polo mallet. I’m prepared, but clearly missing the mark. Sometimes it seems like no amount of effort, desire, honesty, or ‘good college try’ is quite enough because in all truth, we’re never going to be mind readers or magicians. Our kids, although similar to us in many ways are actually not us.

My unfortunate habit of projecting my reactions or feelings onto my children is the current hill I’m climbing. I’m here to tell you, it’s a steep one. Landon is six and in a small group of two or three, he enjoys life to the fullest. Throw in any unknowns over three and it’s full-blown social panic. He’d rather sit back, observe and watch the antics of the others. It is so very different than myself that sometimes I have a really hard time not forcing him to join in and have fun. But fun comes in a variety of packages, some brightly patterned with curly ribbon, others more sedate in solids.

A very real example of this phenomenon is a recent experience we had at the Little Gym. After eight weeks of this last session Landon finally really participated. Leaving seven weeks of him mostly watching, sitting next to me on the sidelines, and assuring me sincerely that he is having fun watching. As painful as it was at times, I think God just found a very clever way to teach me that sometimes there is much to be gained by watching, observing, taking things slowly. All very valuable attributes when I am more likely to act quickly, start doing, and move forward with gusto. Most importantly I am learning that although your children are a part of you, they are most definitely their own person.

In light of this new insight into my personal shortcomings and room for growth I’m currently weighing the value of daily traveling with a cheerleader in tow to boost morale. Someone randomly breaking into encouraging cheers about ‘v-i-c-t-o-r-y’ and ‘fight, fight, fight’ is bound to put the spring back in my step and give the confidence to carry on. Seems to be effective at football games.

Kelly