This past week I was hit with a double whammy. 24 hours after my grandmother died, I got a call that my father had passed away. Shock, anger, and sadness have been among the many feelings I have since experienced. I wanted to take some time to gather my thoughts, though, to help honor his life. One of the most valuable things I learned from my father was when to speak up and use my voice to help others in…
In starting this blog, I had made a goal to put out a weekly post on Wednesdays. However, when on Tuesday late afternoon my grandmother was given 36 hours maximum to live, my Wednesday became a day of dealing with intense events and emotions and many draining tasks. In the midst of all of this I have found myself frustrated with the timing and lack of fairness of what is happening — how it is unfair that my grandmother had…
Since my younger child approached three years of age, tantrums are pretty much a daily occurrence in our household. It could be that her big brother went upstairs first, I said her favorite spoon was in the dishwasher, or a playmate wanted the same toy she did. Enter the tantrum. Much like a storm, sometimes these tantrums are predictable ahead of time and you can do something to help avoid damage and be as prepared as possible. Other times, unfortunately,…
I recently took a yoga class and, while we were doing a few minutes of just sitting and following our breath, the teacher posed a question: “What gets loud when you get quiet?” I have reflected on this question quite a bit since this class. I used to avoid moments alone at all costs. I didn’t want to be alone with my thoughts because what got “loud” in those moments to myself was all of my insecurities. The list of…
One thing I’ve been working on a lot lately is making space for all feelings. Not trying to push away the “bad” or unpleasant ones, not trying to desperately hold onto those more enjoyable to experience, but accepting that there is enough room for all of the feelings I have to exist at once without a need to change or fix them. Now, I’m not saying I do this seamlessly. In fact, quite the opposite. But I often remember an…
There are many things I have wanted to do for a long time but haven’t done so, whether it’s because I am scared and I second guess myself, or life simply gets busy and something gets in the way. Fear and self doubt have played a very large role in many aspects of my life. I question, “What if I fail? What if this person doesn’t like me or what I have to say? What if I make myself vulnerable…