I love a good, sunny day. I can just hear Ella Fitzgerald crooning "blue skies smiling at me". I can hear John Denver, "Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy". And it is true; blue skies and sunshine bring me happiness. 

Luckily, my happiness is not limited to blue sky days. In fact, from my kitchen this time of year I can barely even see the blue sky. As I searched out the window this morning for hints on if it would be a sunny day or rainy day there was just not enough sky for a clear answer. My backyard is a forest with tall trees and a thick underbrush of honeysuckle. Even with the steep incline that tends to draw my eyes up toward the sky, very little of it can be seen through the canopy. 

I got a little chuckle to myself this morning as I sang "green skies smiling at me". I love the shade of our back deck. I love the mature trees towering overhead. 

I began thinking about the other types of sky I enjoy. I enjoy when the sky has big puffy white clouds that shift into shapes. I enjoy watching to see what I can create out of them with a little imagination. It is one of my family's favorite car trip games. 

I love when the clouds look wispy, like there was just a little white left on the paintbrush and someone tried to wipe it off. It reminds me of the beautiful creation that is this planet. 

I love when dark storm clouds move over and make colors of flowers and trees more vivid. If it comes with the soothing rumble of thunder, all the better.

As strange as it is to say, I even enjoy the slight greenish hue the sky gets sometimes during a storm. It is something you don't get to see everywhere and it reminds me I'm home...even if it also signals the need to get inside.

Last but certainly not least, I love the night sky when it is deep black with the twinkle of stars and planets far above. It makes me feel so small and yet also a part of something so vast. 

Blue skies are great. But the truth is, I just love the sky. I love looking at it whichever way it is that moment. 

I'm grateful to be in love with the sky. I'm grateful to appreciate her beauty no matter how she is feeling or looking each day. I'm grateful to be reminded this is how love is meant to be, even with our fellow humans. I'm grateful to see the beauty in each form. I'm grateful to try to apply this to the people in my life, even the stormy ones. I'm grateful for the view from my windows and for the clear view outside. 

What skies do you love? What songs speak to your heart? How can you find beauty in each person around you?

May we remember there are blue skies, clouds, and storms in all of us. May we be willing to see each other's rainbows. May we take the time to enjoy the beauty that is this amazing place called Earth. Have a beautiful day!

I have a tendency to set the bar high for myself. I don't want to do something if I can't do it my best. Sometimes I overestimate where my best will land, however. 

I am at a crossroads. The path less traveled is calling to me. As I find myself trying to step forward I am realizing that rather than just walking it; I am trying to pave it. I am trying to get every paver stone leveled and lined up perfectly. 

This is my nature. Perhaps it comes from my parents but I have a feeling it is a long line of ancestry. Measure twice, cut once. 

I appreciate a job well done. I appreciate doing my best. But what about when these goals stand in the way of moving forward? Maybe it is time to lay down my pavers and get reacquainted with the dirt. 

I'm grateful to feel the earth beneath bare feet. I'm grateful to lay down the weight of the pavers. I'm grateful to know I can find a balance between my best and progress. I'm grateful to take some time today to just sit quietly. I'm grateful for the wonderful sounding boards I have in my life. I'm grateful for honesty.

Where do you find your balance between doing your best and getting the job done quickly? What are you grateful for today?

May we each walk the path that suits us. May we do our best and without perfection and hesitation to weigh us down. Have a beautiful day!

I know a traditional metronome provides the cadence of ticking as well as something visual to watch. In the real world I am too busy chasing my girls around, homeschooling, cooking, cleaning, and everything else that goes with living to actually sit and watch a metronome. The clock would seem to offer that same steady beat...tick, tick, tick...at least if I changed the battery it would. 

I have never used a true metronome but I imagine I would prefer a fairly slow pace of ticks. Perhaps that is the same reason I do not replace the clock's battery. I don't need a fast beat to march to for my day. The running around with my kids is great but in between our games I like to slow it back down...tick..........tick...........tick. 

Each second is passing as it always does. Each minute passes at the same rate as the last though often it doesn't seem that way. Even some hours feel they pass quicker than others and yet I know it isn't really true. 

As I sat down in my work area today, I didn't need a metronome or a clock. I could feel the build in thump thump of my heartbeat. I could hear the whoosh whoosh of the ocean sounds over the monitor from my little one's room as she naps. I can hear the soft snoring breaths of my dog napping on her cushion. Life is full of these little built in metronomes if I am quiet and still enough to listen. 

I'm grateful for these little sounds giving the day it's own rhythm. I'm grateful to have a beating reminder of what pace I want to keep during my day. I'm grateful to ebb and flow, fast and back slow, with my girls. I'm grateful for the soft snoring by my feet. I'm grateful to feel a cadence and keep moving forward. I don't need to see it to feel the drum beat in my heart.

What is your real life metronome? What pace do you like to keep each day?

May we remember to march to our own drumbeat. May we keep the cadence that works best for our lifestyle and our health. Have a beautiful day!

The snow has melted away again but it left me in a silly mood. If Mother Nature can play these little jokes, so can I! 

My preschool is loving today's silliness. My toddler may not understand it quite as much but she loves the mood and laughter all the same. In her own twist of humor she has been randomly yelling "ho ho ho" at us, delighted as we laugh with her. 

Laughter just feels good. It lifts the weight of stress and it releases hormones to elevate our mood. Time to let the laughter roll!

I'm grateful to just laugh. I'm grateful the library was able to provide some silly books to help get my family in the silly mood. I'm grateful to serve noodles with lunch for some added goofiness. I'm grateful to watch how each of my girls creates their own wacky antics. I'm grateful to laugh with them. I'm grateful to let go some of the stress I have been carrying and just let today be about laughter.

When was the last time you laughed? I mean full on belly laughs. What makes you laugh? What helps get you in a silly mood?

May today remind us that life is meant to be fun. Let's enjoy it with a little more laughter. Have a beautiful day!

Last night when I powered up my computer to start my blog it was running slow. I was exhausted from letting stress weigh me down most of the weekend. When it finally came up only to discover my website unresponsive it was all the sign I needed to just shut down the computer and go to bed. 

Sometimes one more thing feels like too much. Sometimes I just have to honor my body and spirit and take care of the most basic things, letting the rest go. The beauty in listening to these moments and taking care of my basic needs is it gives me the rest I need to start again. 

Today I woke up ready to dust myself off and start again. As always, I see the symbolism and reflection in nature as well.

Tonight it supposed to snow. We have been in Spring for nearly a month and have even seen temperatures near eighty. My tulips are in full bloom and doing better than any previous year. The trees are budding for the second time as they already were hit with one late frost. They're curveball is coming. 

I've had a rollercoaster of curveballs lately. As I look outside at the trees I see how well they have re-bud from the last frost. I know there is this late snow coming and yet I have full trust that the trees will "shake it off" and come back again. They always do. Nature is very good at taking these curveballs, dusting off, and getting back to work. The tulips may not fair quite so well in the short-term, but come next year they will be blooming again. 

So which do I want to be? It isn't a matter of "if" I will recover or rebound. There is only the question of how quickly I will allow myself to bounce back. Sometimes, as this last week has shown, it will take a series of bounces (yes that means a possibly a few falls too) to fully get back to my feet. So, let's get this bounce going!

I'm grateful for all the patience of my clients as things slowly get sorted out. I'm grateful for an amazing, supportive family. I'm grateful for some extra dinners and time with my family. I'm grateful to spend this extra time with my girls. I'm grateful that this mirror of last year is not due to the pandemic and will not take a year or more to clear up. I'm grateful for all the people working hard to get things set right. I'm grateful to explore some other dreams as I wait. I'm grateful to hear my husband not only supporting but encouraging some of my "wilder" dreams. I'm grateful to bounce and to know I will make it back to my feet.

When was the last time you dusted yourself off and tried again? When was the last time you bounced? What was the outcome of those situations that required your biggest rebound?

May today remind us of all our past successes. May we trust our ability to get back up and keep moving forward. Have a beautiful day!

Yesterday I took some more time to recharge. There are times for rest and times for growth. I kept picturing the lotus flower slowly unfolding. I wrote yesterday's blog when I still felt "in the thick of it". Yet returning my focus to gratitude and my blog helped me recognize just how stuck and heavy my energy felt.

I'm all for recharging and retreating when needed but suddenly I felt like I was stuck in "the moment". Wait. Don't we always hear, "live in the moment"? I'm pretty sure they mean live in the present moment but even that can be tricky when we have to uphold some responsibilities and planning such as getting bills paid. 

The moment I was stuck in was a version of the present moment. It was the present moment in the middle of a tug-o-war between past choices and the uncertain future. What helps conquer the fears of uncertainty? Certainty, for one, and the one thing that is absolutely certain is I cannot change the past.

Then what can we do about uncertain futures? Some people may answer that all futures are uncertain, but that doesn't really help me feel better. How about you? What helps me feel better is being active. It doesn't matter if the next page isn't written in stone as long as I am still holding a pen. And that is where I was stuck yesterday. I had put down my pen. I didn't know my next sentence. I was waiting for someone else to write the next part of my story.

So I took back some control. I wrote one letter at a time. In this case, I wrote one email at a time. I reached out to see who I could help. If I can't help the way I am used to helping right now, what other ways can I make a difference? 

The thing is, as soon as I got done writing a few emails I got a call. The Universe was responding to my actions. It wasn't a game-changing call, just a small bit of positive news that encouraged me to keep moving. The clouds were parting, or to go back to my first visualization, I was blooming. 

It is great to live in the moment, but when that moment isn't pleasant there may be factors outside that moment invading the space. Perhaps it is a sign to turn inward or perhaps it is a sign to get proactive and take back some control. Only you can answer what you need in that moment. There is no right or wrong answer. If it feels right go with it, but if it feels heavy maybe it is time to try something new. 

I'm so grateful to push through and write yesterday. I'm grateful to honor that lotus feeling, resting and blooming. I'm grateful to get proactive and write. I'm grateful to recognize the weight and cast it off. I'm grateful for those responses I received yesterday. I'm grateful to feel energized by my actions and know I am moving in the right direction. I'm grateful to take a break and go play at the park with my kids. I'm grateful for bits of good news to encourage me. I'm grateful to see solutions now, rather than road blocks. 

What do you do when you are stuck? What do you do to move forward?

May we remember we are all different. May we take the time to figure out what works best for us and use those methods to create our best life. Have a beautiful day!

John Wayne said, "Talk low, talk slow, and don't talk too much." In my younger years this never seemed to be hard. I didn't talk much and when I did it was so soft that often times I would just give up repeating myself. 

As an adult I took voice lessons to help me learn how to project my voice and interject confidence in my tone and body language. I feel I have integrated these practices into my life, for the most part. 

In the last few years I have been told, occasionally, I talk too much. It is a combination of anxiety and spending most my day with young kids to where I crave adult conversation. It is what it is. 

Yet when my world is rocked by a major curveball, like this week, my default is quiet. My default is to be mute then pour out what's in my heart to a loved one and then go mute again as I process. 

Yesterday I did not blog. There were no words. 

In all honesty, today's words feel forced as my energy still wants to recoil inside. Perhaps that is a benefit in the timing of all this. My children still rely on my for playing and for homeschool which provides both distraction and the pull to stay connected outside of myself and my thoughts.

I'm grateful for John Wayne's quote that has always resonated in my heart. I'm grateful for these moments that bring clarity to what is important and where my priorities lie. I'm grateful for quiet. I'm grateful to let tears fall when they need and hugs squeeze when they can. I'm grateful to believe deep down that everything happens for a reason and this will all work out for the best, even if that is something unseen right now. I'm grateful for all the support around me. I'm grateful to have gotten my toes damp last week in this concept of "rolling with it" before jumping into this bigger scenario. 

How do you choose to process? Do you process quietly or out loud? What quote resonates for you?

May today give us the quiet we need to process, the shoulder we need to rest on, and the clarity we are seeking. Have a beautiful day!

I am all about watching for signs from the Universe. I love feeling that connection and guidance. Yet sometimes I find myself wondering what's the message? 

Sometimes I can clearly see how I have created something with my intention or focus, for better or worse. Other times there is so much information to sift through I have a harder time finding the purpose. Perhaps that static IS what I am creating. Or perhaps I do know what the message is telling me but I am not really wanting to hear it. 

This weekend was full of signs. I could feel several very key moments that struck an emotion or pinged my brain in an "are you getting this" kind of way. Yet as I sit here at the end of the weekend I feel like there was conflicting messages. Am I giving conflicting intention on what I want and where I am going? 

Even as I type this I know the answer is yes, though I would love to say "of course not". The path of least resistance is nice. It is familiar. It is not really easy but it is comfortable. I love being comfortable. But maybe comfortable isn't my best path anymore. What's more, I wonder if it is a poor path for some of the people I love most. Perhaps these signs, these uncomfortable nudges are to prod me into growth. Perhaps they are signs for choosing change. 

It is time to be silent. It is time to ask, not to hear my mind answer, but to hear my heart and soul answer. It is time to ask with the intention of being open to the real message, even if that message is uncomfortable.

I'm grateful for some extra time this week to listen. I'm grateful to take some time to ask and ponder. I'm grateful to see the need to let go of my mind spinning and listen for the deeper message. I'm grateful to be honest with myself on what I am creating versus what I say I want. I'm grateful to recognize the signs, even when I may not be ready to hear the message clearly. I'm grateful to find the courage to hear.

What signs are showing up for you lately? Are they clear to interpret or is there some confusion? How can you seek clarity?

​May we always know we are loved and supported. May we be willing to take the steps necessary to grow into who we are meant to be next. Have a beautiful day!

I told my girls that we would test out our new rain boots at the park today. By the time we got to the park we only had about ten to fifteen minutes to play before we needed to go pick up our grocery order. When we got out at the park, despite getting a decent amount of rain lately, I couldn't see any puddles on the trail anywhere close. What I could see was the creek, swollen and flowing. 

It took about half a second to come to the consensus that the creek looked like our most fun option. We worked our way down the embankment and got to splashing. I didn't have to worry about the time limit because within five minutes they had filled their boots with cold creek water and their pants were soaked to their knees. (Did I mention it wasn't even fifty degrees outside?) By ten minutes they were laughing but willing to go back to the warmth of the car. 

I love jumping in puddles. I love playing in creeks. I love getting muddy. And most of all I love that my girls love these things too. 

I could have said we didn't have time to go to the park after all. I could have said it was too cold or too slippery to play in the creek. I could have made them stay at the shore and just watch the water. But I'm glad I didn't. I'm glad we had our mini adventure. 

I'm grateful for little reminders like these. I'm grateful to just say yes and go for it. I'm grateful to watch them laugh and splash. I'm grateful for the giggle we all got about them having to ride pants-less home with their blankets covering their legs. I'm grateful for grocery pickup that allows me to spend more time having these beautiful moments with my kids. I'm grateful for the rain and the flowing creeks. I'm grateful for the chilly splash.

When was the last time you jumped in a puddle? When was the last time you allowed yourself to be chilly and wet? When was the last time you just said yes, no matter how ridiculous it wounded?

​May we remember what it was like to be a kid, ready for adventure. May we let that spirit shine through in our decisions. May we say yes and make a splash. Have a beautiful day!

We have so many words in the english language and yet sometimes they are not enough to fully describe something. Some languages have amazing words that fill gaps english doesn't cover. "Koyaanisqatsi" is a Hopi word for when nature or life is out of balance and isn't sustainable over time. "Jugaad" is Hindi for finding new ways to creatively solve problems without a lot of resources. "Retrouvailles" is French for that amazing happiness you feel when you reconnect with someone after a long absence. (Special thank you to Nicola Edwards and Luisa Uribe for the book "What a Wonderful Word" that introduced me to so many amazing words!)

Then there are other times when it doesn't matter how many words you have; silence is better. Sometimes people need to just be heard without questions, without affirmations, without trying to problem solve or even apologize. Sometimes people just need to speak to someone silently, attentively listening. 

It felt like that was what was needed most today. Perhaps I am feeling quieter because of the rainy, dark-yet-calming sky. As my daughters each took a turn at a big meltdown, I just heard them. I didn't offer my usual, "I hear you" or "That can be so frustrating". I didn't ask them to identify their feelings or walk through how we could problem solve it. I just sat there, silently listening. 

My oldest, in my silence, found her own way through it. She came to a solution, and went through the cycle again as it failed. Then tried again until she got it. I smiled. She moved on. 

My little one had an epic meltdown and rolled around the floor. She came back to me and then did it all over again. Time and again until she had worn herself out. Then she lay there resting and rebuilding her energy just holding my hand and watching my face. I just watched lovingly and calmly. 

It is not easy for me. Children crying is a trigger for me. Perhaps some of it is the mere volume, as I do struggle with loud noises. The other part is the painful shattering I feel in my heart when my kids cry, even if I know they are okay (or will be as they work through it). 

I have taught myself to try not to fix it. I have taught myself to be there for them and acknowledge the feelings they are feeling. I have taught myself rote responses to use so that I do not succumb to the overwhelm of this trigger. But silence? 

I had this mental story that if I didn't say anything they would not feel supported. I worried that not saying anything would make it too uncomfortable to sit in that place of high emotion. I worried without the rote responses my trigger would become my focus instead of my child. But today I sat in that discomfort. I sat in silence and watched my children, perfectly capable, work through the big emotions themselves and seem to still know that I was there for them. 

Silence. Just listening. No words needed. No fixing or problem solving or even affirming the feeling was needed for them to see I was there for them. Just silent presence. 

I'm grateful for the gift of silence today. I'm grateful to honor my own feeling of needing to be silent. I'm grateful to see an old mental story be shattered and see a new story offered. I'm grateful to just sit in those emotions and still be in control of my own. I'm grateful to feel those waves push at my energy and feel that mine is strongly and uniquely my own. I'm grateful. I'm grateful for ways there are not words to describe and grateful for the option to change languages to find a word when needed.

When do you need words? What is something you wish you had a word to describe? When do you need silence? When do you give the gift of silence to someone else?

May today offer us silence. May we bask in it, feel it, and learn from it. Have a beautiful day!