This is a parenting page, about parenting Page. I am a child psychologist and a mother. I specialize in children, yet I am human, thus I am full of knowledge and yet as full of emotions as any other parent. So I decided to write this Parenting Page since it might be informative and funny for others to take an insider look at a child specialist raising her child. I also wanted to create a way to show Page when she grows up, if she chooses to have children, a real-life view of the experience. I hope you enjoy these stories and musings.

The recent tragic death of a child about my daughter’s age has me thinking about day to day life – how we go through motions that seem mundane, yet should we lose the opportunity for the mundane we would deeply mourn those hum-drum days. Because those typical, nothing-out-of-the-ordinary days are actually filled with connection and love. Upon reflection, when our children grow up and move away, we can look back at seemingly uninteresting rituals of an average day and see how brimming they were with meaning.

Here is a description of one such moment:

My daughter Page and I are enjoying our hot chocolate on the porch. She is 4 years old and this is one of our rituals. We make all-natural hot chocolate with organic unprocessed cocoa and stevia, though this part is lost on her I think – the healthy parts of the ritual. The milk is hot and creamy, and the aroma is magnificent as I lift the cup to my lips. Page giggles and tells stories, aglow with the joy of chocolate passing her lips. She rocks in her chair, and the late day sunlight dances across her face and hair. The air smells clean and the light breeze brings to me the gift of Page’s scent, her little-girl smell. I gaze at Page, smiling, as I lift my cup to my lips and drink her in.

Dr. Tina Lepage is the owner of Lepage Associates Solution-Based Psychological & Psychiatric Services, a group practice with offices in S. Durham/RTP, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh. She lives in Chapel Hill with her husband, daughter, and two dogs. www.lepageassociates.com. You can find her on Twitter at @LepageAssoc or at Facebook.com/LepageAssociates.