Dear Parents
Every now and then we could do with a one-on-one conversation dedicated exclusively to what we’re attempting to live into and learn as parents of boys.
You might be here just for that, wondering if a consultation with me can be supportive to you.
Before you decide, I should mention that mine is a slightly unusal offer that is fed by three essential taproots of my daily life and work.
Root #1: Attuned to a bigger rhythm
For a few years, I studied with Brad and Hillary Keeney, and learned that life is all about rhythm. Too much time by the computer and I get off kilter. My way of entraining myself to a more vivid and vital baseline is to spend time in nature and get down again to its cycles and patterns.
Root #2: Tending to the soil
I find it difficult to sit still behind a desk for long, not least when the physical world around me beckons. I just love to participate in the daily chores of stewardship. Depending on the season, I am sowing seeds, weeding, mulching, pruning, watering, composting, listening, or tracking. Tending the land seems to bring many of us closer to deeply human questions, including something as primal as a boy’s transition into manhood.
Root #3: Hunting inspiration
I’ve offered coaching packages that span months and cost several hundreds of euros, and I might sometime again in the future. But what really excites me are conversations that hunt creativity, inspiration and transformation through the thickets of habits. What we seek can appear in a surprising instant, in the least expected of places.
the fieldwork sessions
A couple of times a month, I offer one-on-one sessions for Euro 130 each. So what’s unusual about that? The session takes place while I work the soil or walk the land. It’s a consultation focused on supporting you in finding answers to questions and challenges related to your son’s coming of age. And it’s fieldwork, where we take our conversation and what you seek into a wider web of kinship that moves to a different beat. (If weather forbids, I’ll field our call while doing simple chores indoors)
Before you book, please read this Fieldwork checklist to make sure this is a good fit
Before choosing your slot, there are nine items I’d ask that you review. This checklist ensures we are aligned, and that our hour on the phone is as caring and fertile as possible.
Item #1: I’ll be off screen, audio only
I’ll be outside during our call, doing some light manual labor or walking, so our conversation must be something we can explore entirely via voice. While we speak you might hear my steps on the path, birds in the canopy, or the snip of my shears. I carry a notebook, and will pause and take notes when called for, and send you specific insights, questions or prescriptions after our call.
Item #2: Come as you are, with what you have
As I’m outdoor, I cannot review any materials during our call. I am offering these sessions to balance screens with soil. If you have written out a plan for your son’s rite of passage, or a document mapping your community, or anything else that requires me to be in front of a screen, a Fieldwork Session is the wrong format.
Item #3: I won’t read things you send me before the call.
If before a session you send me materials that require me to sit at a desk, it defeats the purpose of our time together.
Item #4: This is about your son’s coming of age.
If you are going through a relationship crisis, or need deep personal life coaching, this is not the right forum. This is a time for you to bring me a specific, concrete situation regarding your son, his approaching adolescence, or issues realted to crafting his grassroots rite of passage. (There is more space to adress personal challenges, obstacles or doubts in my group and bespoke programs).
Item #5: I’m not a therapist or specialist in teen issues
I’m not trained to handle modern teenage issues like screen addiction, pornography, self-harm, etc. I wonder about it a lot, but it is not my expertise. I doubt my answers are any better than yours. The Fieldwork Sessions are meant for questions around rites of passage. You are thinking of a rite of passage for your son or the son of a friend or relative, and you feel stuck.
Item #6: Please be on time.
Because I schedule my outdoor tasks around these calls, I will wait five minutes for a latecomer. After that, your session is forfeited. If you need to cancel or reschedule, you must do so at least 48 hours in advance. After that your fee is non-refundable and rebooking cannot be guaranteed.
Item #7: Let’s have reasonable expectations
If you are coming with the expectation that a challenge you and your son have struggled with for years will be wrapped up in sixty minutes, please do not book this call. That path leads to frustration. What I can offer is the very real likelihood of a shift in perspective, however modest, and a clear next step on the path towards his maturation. This is just you and I chatting for an hour while I tend the land. It is simple, and often truly worthwhile.
Item #8: I may interrupt you.
If you need to vent about modern culture, or your son’s incomprehensible behavior I understand. And you are investing your hard-earned money into this hour. My commitment is that you leave with value. If I sense that the conversation is stalling, I will interrupt you, and bring us back to the core issue that had you reach out. An hour flies by out in the field, and I want to honor your comittment by serving your wants.
Item #9: I might request a brief testimonial after the session.
If our call brings you the shift you were seeking or something unexpected and enlivening, I will send a quick follow-up email with a link to share your feedback. Hearing how a Fieldwork Session helped you navigate your son’s transition is incredibly valuable for other parents. It is entirely your choice whether you’d like to submit one.
If this matches the type of support you seek, please select a suitable date and time from the calendar below, and I will look forward to speaking with you from the field.
Warmest,
Miki
PS: Why not get guidance on your son’s transition while you too tend your garden, or walk a forest path? You are more than welcome to dial in from the outdoors while we speak. Sometimes we discover the unexpected not where we’re used to looking, but in our peripheral vision.
book your fieldwork session
Please click below to access TidyCal scheduling, choose a suitable date and time, and book your session.
