Mitten Strings for God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry [Paperback]

As others have noted, this book is a series of reflections about motherhood and the importance of slowing down to savor daily life with loved ones.

This book energized me to make several changes in my own life. Part of my motivation for homeschooling this year was a desire to have a more conscious, contemplative, and purposeful life rather than a frantic-mad-dashing here and there life.

In fact, as the holidays approach, many of my friends are feeling "swamped", "overwhelmed", "stressed" - feelings I remember all too well from previous years. While I still have my moments, overall I am much less stressed than last year. The overall tenor of the holidays is much happier and calmer. I have done my best to pare the holidays down to the essentials, to keep things simple and personal, rather than grandly extravagant. Extravagance has its place, but when children are young, I think simplicity makes so much more sense.

I loved this book so much I chose it for my book club of busy suburban SAHMs. I was quite surprised to find only two (out of nine) loved it as I did! Three thought the book had "some good ideas", but they clearly didn't connect with the author.

The other four were quite negative about Mitten Strings. They felt it was too preachy and perfect and Pollyanna-ish, that "real" people couldn't live like the Kenisons without lots of money. But it's not a financial lifestyle she is talking about, it's an internal one, it is simply making a conscious effort to notice, appreciate, prioritize and streamline.

In trying to figure out the mixed response to this book in my book club, I came up with a couple of ideas. I think the crux of liking the book has to do with the following:

First, it depends on whether you are at a point in your life where you actually consider rushing madly to be a negative thing, rather than proof you are productive. Some people feel empowered and energized by rushing and being busy!

Second, it depends on how contemplative you are feeling when you read the book. The more contemplative you feel, the more likely you might enjoy the book.

Finally, it depends on whether you enjoy visual and poetic language. The author writes with a heartfelt, genuine sentimentality that, while I enjoyed it tremendously, can apparently be off-putting to people with more pragmatic sensibilities.

One reviewer said they would not give this book to a parent of an autistic child, or one with Down's Syndrome. I actually think this book has considerable merit for families with special needs children - the key is knowing WHEN to give the book. I have a child who was diagnosed with autism at 3, and when he was younger and we were rushing around madly from therapy to therapy, ransacking our home to make it an engaging learning environment, etc..., I would not have been in the frame of mind to appreciate it.

In fact, according to my three criteria above: the mad rushing was proof I was doing everything I could to help him; who has time to be contemplative when you are trying to save your child from autism; and poetic musings about the wonderful lives of families with typically developing children would have been quite upsetting.

NOW I see things differently. I think the ideas in the book have even MORE relevance for children with special needs, who often thrive in calm, centered environments. I think children with special needs deserve to have their progress, however slow or small, deeply savored and appreciated.

Well anyway. This is not a book that EVERYONE is necessarily going to love, in spite of the steady parade of 5 star reviews. Nevertheless, I join the parade and give this book 5 stars based on my own incredibly positive experience reading it.

In this hectic, fast paced world that our children are growing up in....this wonderful book made me stop, take pause and reflect on the kinds of choices being made that fill my children's days as well as their minds. While reading it I kept thinking how ironic it is that our adult culture is currently embracing Eastern cultural thinking and ways of life through the books we've made best sellers...calming fountains we buy to bring the sounds of nature into our homes...even bead bracelets we wear to bring calmness/serenity/good health to our being. Yet what are we doing to our children? Dashing through their childhood from one planned activity to the next and spending hours in front of electronic equipment with no human interaction. Mitten Strings for God made me think hard about the importance of "conscience parenting"..and reminded me of the wonderful things that unfold in life when you slow down. It is a "must read" for all parents. Thank you, Katrina Kenison.

A dear friend quietly recommended this book to me, but I feel like shouting to the rest of the world that this book has added a quality to my living that I never knew possible. I shudder to think that I may not have breathed in her wisdom and ideas until it was too late.

I have read other books that celebrate living in the moment, and I thought I was doing more of it. But Kenison's practical suggestions, woven with her raw awareness for the simple goodness availabe to us in our lives, have finally brought me to the place, where for the first time in my life, I am making conscious decisions about raising my family and nurturing myself that are allowing me to BE rather than DO.

She has helped me to resist the flow of popular culture, and listen the the voice of the mother and person I know I have always wanted to be.

Like a millenium version of Anne Morrow Lindbergh's "Gift from the Sea", Mitten Strings for God is prayer for mothers to find and live more moments of pure joy and inner fulfillment. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Thank you, Katrina Kenison, for this important book that will become as legendary to mothers as "Gift from the Sea".