Thank You

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

It’s Thanksgiving week and I just want to say thank you for being here.

Thank you for your comments and opinions, both expressed online and privately.

I appreciate all of you who, and especially those of you who take the time to like my posts and write and share your thoughts with me.

I love that you’re reading and liking what you see and connecting. You inspire me and I thank you for that.

I love hearing that you’re sharing my stories with your daughters. I love that you’re carrying the conversation and making it yours. We’re connecting and I absolutely LOVE this.

We have so much to be thankful for, despite our chaotic, imperfect, and painful lives.

So thank you for being you. Thank you for reading and writing, sharing and connecting. I appreciate each of you.

I hope you enjoy your families, good food and good health. Lots of love, and Happy Thanksgiving from California.

xo Adriana

30Apr2014

Being a Kid

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It was 90 degrees here today and it was still warm at 7pm. Charlie has been wanting to stop and check out a local park that was remodeled while we were overseas, and so we did tonight.

I liked it because the weather was so gorgeous and because I haven’t hung out in a park with a kid in a long time. I mean we went to a park in Thousand Oaks recently, but not to play on the playground. We went there for the open space and to be out in nature.

It was strange approaching the park for a couple reasons. First, it was very crowded and the crowd was very diverse. Secondly, Charlie was one of the older kids and there weren’t any other kids his age. Third, so many parents were hovering over their children, when they were capable of exploring on their own. And finally, being there brought back memories of hanging out in parks with mainly Juliana and Christian. It used to be our weekly routine, at least twice a week. Tonight I was very aware of time passing again and was thankful that I still had a “little” one to connect me to the past and to the present and I enjoyed every minute. Well, not every minute. There were a couple of irritating and gross things… but since this is a positive living blog, I’ll leave out those details! 😉

I love kids. I loved watching my own and I loved watching the others playing and exploring and just being kids. Here are a few of my favorite moments from today.

How was your day? What made you smile?

3Jan2014

Zen

Posted in Uncategorized by adrianahartley

I bought a Zen calendar that sits on my desk with daily quotes. I thought it might be fun to share them here on the days when life is just normal and when I don’t have as much to write about. Another thought is to think of the quote of the day and connect it with the daily happenings. I hope you enjoy them and reflect and connect them to your own experience.

Today is January 3, 2014. It would have been my Grandma’s birthday today and it is my cousin’s baby’s birthday. Happy birthday, Rylie Bear. We enjoyed being back home from our journey and getting resettled again. I got to the gym this morning and Jeff went back to work. We did loads of laundry and received a furniture delivery today to redo our living room and to create a more organized space. I’m very excited about this. I also got to get outside and practice my tennis with some friends, which always makes me happy. It was a good game in the sunshine and the younger kids came with me and played with their friends, while I played with mine. Life is good.

“The practice of Zen is not limited to the meditation mat. The practice of zen is our entire life and is the very thread that binds our different lives together. Discovering this truth is called awakening, and it can take a circuitous route.”

– Janet Jiryu Abels (a Zen teacher)

Zen is a form of enlightenment. It is a meditative state. One way to think of zen is as a total state of focus that incorporates a total togetherness of body and mind. Zen is a way of being. It’s a way of accepting reality just as it is and being present in the moment.

I enjoyed today – getting some exercise again, eating a bit more healthfully and getting resettled after all of our travels. I hope you had a good day too and enjoy the weekend.

Namaste.

28Oct2013

The Grass Just Is

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The grass just is.

It isn’t greener on the other side. Right, Julie?

It’s just different shades of green or brown and alive and dead and wet and dry. Seasons change. Grass gets cut. Grows back. Has weeds and dead spots. Ages. Renews. Comes back again. It’s just grass.