Girl Friends

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Girlfriends, I love you! I am so thankful to have so many wonderful friends to share this journey together.

We all cross paths for a reason and coming back to my hometown and seeing friends from kindergarten all the way through college, along with my sisters and cousin and mother and nieces and daughter just filled my soul.

I looked at each and every one of you and felt thankful that you were here today and was thanas
We enjoyed time just being together, as women do, sharing stories and smiles and memories. We enjoyed the music, the glowing warm fire, and the ambiance.

Thank you for coming out today and tonight! You all are adored. xo

8Apr2014

Moms Helping Moms

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For now, I am content still staying at home and being the primary care giver for our children and supporting our community.

Yesterday I took Juliana out of school mid morning for a doctor’s and orthodontist appointment. Today I took Christian out of school to get braces. Tomorrow I’ll be there to pick up Charlie right after lunch, after his early dismissal. Even though they don’t need me as much as they did when they were little, there are so many times that they still need assistance and support or food, and I enjoy being there for them when they need it.

This afternoon I was home, vacuuming out my car when I saw April and Kristin down the street with their hazard lights on. I walked over to see what the matter was, and April had rescued a dog that was wandering alone in the middle of the road. She asked me to take the dog, as she was helping another mom by caring for her kids this afternoon and had to rush off. I took the dog and Kristin drove home to find a leash. I then gave Kristin the dog and wrote to our neighborhood group about our find in hopes of finding the owner. Later in the day, someone knocked on my door looking for their dog. I called Kristin and she told me that another mom/neighbor was at her house watching her son and could let me in to get the lost dog to return to the owner. All of this happened within 90 minutes. Women helping women. I LOVE THIS!

Today I drove Charlie to his baseball game that began at 4:30 pm, and then rushed back across town to pick up Juliana from her tennis practice and made dinner before heading back to the ball field to enjoy watching Charlie play. I’m the team mom so also had to bring cold beverages for the boys. Jeff joined us after getting stuck in traffic on his late evening commute. I was thankful that he made it in time to at least see part of the game.

Most days I have a few hours to workout, manage the household and volunteer before picking up the kids from school. Today I was happy to help a friend by watching her baby while she worked from home for a few hours. This was one of the highlights of my day.

I love babies and I love helping other women. If I were to pick my ideal job, it would be to work part time to support working moms and moms with new babies. I’d love to be able to take the edge off by being the fill in nanny when the nanny is sick, or to help do the grocery shopping or run errands to support the double parent working families and the moms who don’t feel like they get a break. I was there before and always wished that someone could come save me at least for just a couple hours each day so I could think or take a shower, uninterrupted. For now, I’ll just enjoy the volunteer opportunities and being home when my kids are home.

Life is good!

15Feb2014

Gratitude Jar

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Today I was thankful that I sat next to my 89 year old friend at breakfast this morning. I haven’t seen her in over a year and just hearing her southern accent and seeing her sweet soul shine made me happy. Her eyes sparkle and she talks with you and asks you questions, that show her genuine interest and she is just charming and doesn’t even know it.

I used to see her more regularly, but as she has aged, she feels more comfortable staying home and not going out in the evenings, which is when I would usually see her. I appreciated her honesty and sharing her knowledge, knowing her own limitations and being comfortable with life’s transitions. I have so much to learn from her and wanted to know more about how she spends her days, as I was curious. So I began asking questions and she shared her wisdom, while I listened intently.

She told me how she looked forward to her son’s visits, how she really enjoys cooking, playing cards with her friends at the Senior Center and spending time with her church friends and community. She said she used to have about 22 friends at church, but now there were only 4 left, because most had passed away or moved into assisted living homes. I asked her what this felt like, and she said it was lonely, but that she was thankful to still be alive, and that the good Lord still had work for her to do. I couldn’t agree more! She said that some of her friends were unhappy and questioning why they were still here. She didn’t understand that, and said that she had so much to be thankful for. She then proceeded to tell me a simple story about how she was thankful today.

She said she was in her kitchen and her bottom drawer was stuck and she just couldn’t get it open, even as hard as she tried. She felt frustrated and thought maybe it was time to have someone come in to help her, but it wasn’t what she really wanted. She likes living on her own and taking care of herself, so she looked for another solution. She put a folded towel on the floor and sat down on top of it and then pushed and pulled and pushed and pulled while she wiggled and jiggled the contents until she was able to dislodge the lid that was blocking the drawer. She was so happy and proud of herself that she was able to do it on her own. She said that she decided to write this down and put it in her gratitude jar on the table. I was in awe. I asked her if she reread her blessings after they had been shared and she said yes. She said she could always find things to be grateful for and which made her happy to be alive. I couldn’t agree more and felt so inspired by her. I’m so thankful that she chose to come out this morning and that we had time together to sit and share a meaningful conversation. I love that I have friends that are more than twice my age and I Am thankful for her!! xoxo

Do you have a gratitude jar? If you did, what would you put in it today?

22Jan2014

Ten Little Things

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Sometimes when you’re feeling a little down, you’ve got to look at what’s good instead of feeling sorry for yourself. I’m in one of those transitioning life moments and instead of feeling bad about it, I want to discover ways to keep moving forward and how to quickly get out of my funk, focusing on gratitude.

So I’m going to share what was good today. I’m already smiling just thinking this way.

1. I got to play tennis twice today. I felt like I was at summer camp where you get to play all day.
2. I was thankful to be playing tennis at rush hour and not in a car stuck in traffic.
3. I have a great community of friends that support one another and I’m thankful that Ling gave my kids a ride tonight.
4. My little one wrapped his arms around my neck and told me I was the best mom ever.
5. The sunshine was so warm today and made my skin feel hot. I loved that!
6. I got to FaceTime with my niece and hear her cute little laugh and watch her brush her teeth and feel like I was part of her night time routine.
7. My kids were playing basketball together and I got to watch.
8. In the carpool ride home from school with 5 high school kids, one of the boys sincerely asked me how my day was. There is hope for humanity!
9. I made breakfast for dinner and everyone loved it.
10. I had two hours of quiet time while the kids were at school to catch up on emails and paperwork.

That felt so good! If you’re feeling funky, stop and make a little gratitude list. It’ll make you feel so much better and maybe a small smile will sneak out too.

23Nov2013

GGG – Day 23 – Children

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“The soul is healed by being with children.” – English Proverb

I love kids. All of them. I’m not even kidding. Children make me truly happy. I love seeing them, watching them play, hearing what they have to say and knowing how they think. I especially love it when they are giggling and laughing. I just love being with them and I think it’s because they are so real and have no filters. They laugh and love unconditionally and play and learn quickly. I want to be just like them when I grow up. The children are my role models.

Today I loved tailgating at Stanford with our friends and watching Juliana and S sharing a moment together before the game.

Another great moment today was when S came to sit next to me and put her head on my shoulder when she was tired. We just sat together for a quiet moment to relax. I loved that.

Today I am thankful for children, especially my own who teach me life’s lessons everyday. I’m still learning! I love you.

19Nov2013

GGG – Day 19 – Reflection

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“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
― Melody Beattie

Today I’m thankful for time for reflection. Reflection to me is a way to look in the mirror, or look inside and to be still and to see and feel what’s really there. It’s a time for meditation or deep thought or prayer. It’s a form of stillness and a time to be thankful for what and who we are and all we have and all we do.

If we stop to reflect, we slow down for a minute or two or three to actually think and process all of the events and circumstances in our lives. I think this is important to do, to be sure we’re actively making the right choices for ourselves as we continue to change and adapt and grow. If we can slow down to reflect, we can take time to be thankful for all that we have, and to dream and anticipate all that we will become.

So whether you call it reflection, meditation, prayer, savasna, pause, or mindfulness… take a moment to reflect on all that is good and feel the benefits you derive from this simple pleasure and see where you go from here. Peace.

“Be a reflection of what you’d like to see in others! If you want love, give love, if you want honesty, give honesty, if you want respect, give respect. You get in return, what you give!”- unknown

First rain of the season – I loved it!

18Nov2013

GGG – Day 18 – Change

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“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”
Maya Angelou

Today is day 18 and I’m thinking about change. Change is not always comfortable, but it’s always happening, whether we like it or not.

I like to be aware of the changes that are happening in my life and hope that I’m learning to adapt quickly. Life is constantly changing and things don’t stay the same. Sounds so cliche, but it’s so true. And once we don’t expect things to stay the same, the happier we can be. We have to adapt to whatever comes our way, every damn day.

I wonder if that’s why I’m loving watching the trees every day. They are symbolic to life. I love watching how they change and I’m aware of their different states. I anticipate what will come next, even as I’m enjoying the present moment. Ahhh, trees. I like you.

Enjoying the end of the leaves

For those of us who have lost loved ones, this is probably the hardest change that we have to adapt to and probably takes the longest. Wishing you peace, especially to the Caselli family this week. Namaste.

16Nov2013

GGG – Day 16 – Home

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“There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.” – Jane Austen

My family just wants to be home. I understand. I get it and I’ve decided to join them. I’m the one that usually wants to plan family outings and shared experiences. The kids have told me we have enough togetherness and don’t really need any more special outings every weekend. I understand, really I do. At first, I felt a bit sad and disappointed. But I listen to them and know that you can’t force things and cling on to things as they are changing, and they are growing up. I don’t always want to push my agenda and so I adapt. And guess what? Life is really good that way, for all of us.

Soccer season just ended and we didn’t have any plans to go anywhere. I decided to embrace home life and just being home. I love to cook and try new things and so that’s what I decided to do today. I opened my Julia Child’s cookbook and spent the day cooking Beef Bourguignon. It takes several hours to prepare and cook this dish and the entire house has smelled delicious all day. It brought back wonderful memories of Marco and Kathy back at business school, when Marco would cook this dish and spoil us. I loved being in the kitchen and having my family come in to see what I was doing and to tell me how good it smelled.

While I was cooking, Charlie and Juliana were outside playing in the front yard with the fallen leaves and creating huge piles on the grass with our neighbor friends. They were so cute working for hours together, creating their stock pile and jumping on their mountain. They played hide the turkey and threw leaves in the air, laughing and diving in the piles. I enjoyed hearing them play and had to go outside to take pictures and share their joy.

Juliana and J came in to make carmel brownies for dessert and April and Steve came over to join us for a laid-back, casual/fancy slow-cooked meal.

And so today I’m thankful for my family for teaching me to relax and to just enjoy being home without having to go anywhere. And learning that sometimes what you’re trying to create can just come naturally and be so simple. Everyone was happy and relaxed and got to do what they wanted to do. And in the end, togetherness just happened. I am happy, at home. Life is good.

How did you spend your day? What do you love most about your home?

10Nov2013

GGG – Day 10 – Favorite Treasure

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“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
― Anonymous, Holy Bible: King James Version

Gratitude Gift Giving – Day 10 – What is your favorite treasure? What do you treasure?

First, let me say thank you for being here, following and reading along with me as we think about what we’re thankful for and why. Whether you’re thinking about what you’re thankful for or sharing your ideas here with me and/or with others, we’re changing the conversation. We are being the change we want to see in the world by talking about and thinking about all that is good in our lives. We have so much to be thankful for despite all the circumstances and events that might prove otherwise. Keep up the passion and sharing and thinking good thoughts. Because what we think, we become. Keep being great.

So today’s gift is to think about what you treasure. What are things that you look at or touch and feel that make you happy? And why does your treasure evoke positive feelings?

I have a treasure chest. It’s a real, treasure box that Jeff and I bought in Marin at an antique shop years ago before we had kids. I wanted a treasure box to store mementos from our lives as we started to build our family. I think it may have been an Indonesian wedding chest, that would have been used to store linens or treasures, but I haven’t really done any research on it and instead just use my imagination to make it what I want it to be.

I wanted a treasure chest to store little mementos and love notes from Jeff and the kids . My intention was to keep filling it with memories without looking back until some time in the future. I don’t think I’ve actually gone back and looked yet, although I know little hands have been found digging around in there as evidenced by what is stacked on top as I opened it to take a picture tonight. Someday I will enjoy going back in time and looking back and remembering the love we’ve shared and experienced together over the years. This is my treasure. My family and my treasure box that reminds me of all that is good.

8Nov2013

GGG – Day 8 – Your Home

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Our first week of gratitude is complete and we are continuing to work on different ways of feeling thankful in week 2.

“Where thou art, there is home.” – Emily Dickinson

How does your home bring you happiness? What is it that makes you like where you live?

I love our cozy home and its simplicity. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s ours and its gezellig!! That’s a Dutch word that doesn’t exist in the English language. It describes a feeling of comfort and warmth and connectedness.

I love the sound of the heater coming on and the colors painted on the walls. I love that we are close by to each other. I love that the kids like to play in the front yard with friends.

Tonight I enjoyed just being home on a Friday night, doing “nothing.” The kids are taking part in the Rainbow Loom craze and have been busy making “designer” bracelets all evening. I’m thankful that we can just relax and hang out together in our warm, cozy little house. Life is good. What do you like about where you live?