Telling Stories With Terri Huggins Hart
The way we model our lives as parents has a tremendous impact on our kids. When we decide to know better for ourselves and our children, we start doing better.
I am so excited to bring you my guest for this week, Terri Huggins Hart. She is an award-winning journalist who lives in a constant state of an identity crisis. She's always deciding if she aligns more with her maiden name, which is Huggins, and her married name, which is Huggins Hart. At any given moment she is extremely hilarious and at the same time, a very wise person.
She's actually excelled in following her calling of telling the stories that need to be told and evoking emotions that align with clear takeaways through her stories. She is a beautiful mom and a beautiful writer, who sheds light on the darkness of our lives and motivates us to go towards a better one.
Please listen in to our candid conversation to learn how Terri rewires the way we think about parenting and advocates for parents.
In This Episode
[01:42] Introducing Terri Huggins Hart.
[03:33] Talking about the ugly side of parenting and also the parts we enjoy.
[06:02] Having fun as a goal or a purpose.
[11:39] Terri’s top three favorite things to model for her kids.
[11:51] Taking breaks.
[11:55] Speaking kindly to herself.
[11:59] Respecting privacy.
[13:43] “It's important to teach your kids that you could speak kindly to yourself while also honoring your feelings.” - Terri
[15:42] Comparing our parenting with our upbringing and how culturally it's making an effect.
[20:11] How our culture is operating from pain and not feeling heard in our upbringing.
[25:32] We've learned that many adults just don't have friends anymore.
[30:21] To all parents, learn to ask for and accept help.
[32:37] Rewired perspective of what to say to your child in terms of self-care.
[36:57] Why did Terri stop writing poetry?
[38:56] It is okay for moms to have different dreams as they grow within motherhood.
[46:05] Current writing projects that Terri is working on.
Key Takeaway
We believe because we are parents, we have to lose ourselves. We forget who we were before and we forget what our needs were. We forget what brought us joy and fulfillment. This forgetfulness also affects our children. How are they ever going to learn the best of us if we no longer live it or show it?
When it comes to parenting, we believe we have to be responsible for everything. But we must remember that we don't have to be just a mom or just a dad. As people, we can choose to be ourselves. We can choose to live within our own identity. Whether that's honoring my needs or accepting my dreams. Your dreams can be anything from spending your day coloring or it could be starting your own business.
If we want all of these great things for our kids, why don't we start living that ourselves? They can have the opportunity to see you at your best and they can follow the same as well.
About Terri
Terri Huggins [Hart] (she/her) is an award-winning journalist who lives in the constant state of an identity crisis: deciding if she aligns more with her maiden name (Huggins) or her married name (Huggins Hart) at any given moment. Nonetheless, she’s excelled in following her calling of telling the stories that need to be told and evoking emotions aligned with clear takeaways through her stories.
In the last 10 years, she’s had the opportunity to contribute meaningful reported stories and personal essays to publications including Real Simple, New York Times, Parents, Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, Essence, Better Homes and Gardens, and more. While she writes thoroughly reported stories about travel and personal finance, her primary focus is reported features with a mission to better understand and expose relationships, health advocacy, the emotional well-being of parents, and their intersections with race and culture. Through it all, she continues to follow her hack for living life with no regrets: do what you love, give love, and lead with love and hope you’ll learn to do the same by subscribing to her monthly newsletter.
Connect With Terri
On Twitter
On Instagram
On LinkedIn