This morning started beautifully.
My 3-year-old son and I were playing, sharing cookies, and riding to kindergarten—laughing, blessing the trees and the ducks with a cheerful “good morning.”
And then, as life often does, something shifted.
I found myself trying to make him do something he didn’t want to do. I thought he was too warm and tried to take off one of his layers. He resisted. And yet, I pushed.
He resisted harder. His face changed.
Emotion welled up.
He almost cried.
I realized what I was doing. And I felt ashamed.
Why do I do this? Me—someone who values freedom so deeply.
Someone who defends her right to choose her own way. Yet here I was, overriding his.
I stopped. I apologized. He was still upset—and he had all the right.
I tried to lighten the moment, to play, but fair enough—he wasn’t ready.
Before leaving him at the kindergarten gate, I said sorry again and asked if he forgave me.
He nodded, but I knew it wasn’t fully there.
And then I saw her—a little girl from my past.
The one who wasn’t asked what she wanted. The one whose voice was dismissed.
She showed up in that moment. Not in blame, but with tenderness. Because now, as a mother, she sees a chance to do it differently. To give him what she never had.
Back at home, I was supposed to dive into the final edits of Breaking Cages. But I couldn’t.
I needed to write. To sit with what had just happened. To feel. And maybe release.
What came up was shame. Sadness. Regret.
But also love.
Love for him. Love for me. Love for the girl I once was, who never got to say “no”.
Maybe now she wants to protect his no. To protect his freedom.
This morning became a mirror—one I didn’t ask for, but clearly needed.
It reminded me that parenting is not a path of perfection. It’s a path of constant reflection, of trying again, of healing old wounds as new ones knock at the door.
If you’ve ever found yourself in a moment like this—parenting or not—I just want to say: it’s okay.
It’s okay to mess up. It’s okay to stop mid-action and choose a different way.
And this is also your reminder:
You have the right to your own voice.
To your rhythm.
To your choice.
You don’t need to follow someone else’s version of what’s right for you.
And if you’re raising little humans—maybe they don’t need to either.
With love,
Dana
About the Writer Dana Almo-Krušinová is the author of Breaking Cages: How to Find Freedom — a memoir-meets-guidebook for women ready to break free from inner limitations and live more fully. Based in Amsterdam, Dana is also a speaker, women’s circle facilitator, and creator of transformative experiences that guide women and leaders back to their truth. She helps others reclaim their power through self-leadership, mindset shifts, and emotional healing.
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