Listening versus Hearing (or, why my house is so sandy)

I am out here on the island, eight months pregnant and on my own with a toddler and two dogs.  The dogs have been walked daily, the kid is happy and fed and lathered with sunscreen.  I've cooked all the meals and done all the dishes sans dishwasher. I feel pretty damn swell about it all.  I've even been rocking a bikini.

I am living in my dad's old house, that I grew up in, but that he no longer lives in, but his girlfriend (one of my half brother's mothers), has fixed up beautifully.   You got that?  One day I'll try to draw a family tree...(currently I keep the info HERE.)  The thing is, it has been rainy and sand seems to stick to rain.  To the dogs, to my clothes, to the kid's shoes.  And also, it is hot, which, means dogs shed.  So, the house has a slight issue with dog fur and sand that I haven't quite gotten to.

My stepmom cleans houses on Saturdays in the summer for rental turnovers.  And before her full day of work offered to come over, and clean my/her house.  She phrased it as a gesture of love, not judgement.  Isn't that sweet?

How do you offer to do something for someone, as a kindness, without seeming like you are judging their ability?

Check out the colors of the house, amazing, no?  Maybe you should have her come do your color palette for your house! Oh, and speaking of colors.  My friend of almost 20 years is giving away some of her luscious yarn, hand-dyed in Alaska, along with some other goodies. Check it out and enter HERE - it is FREE! (She also wrote soem really nice things about me HERE, gloat.)

Butterflies Abound - Transitions

So tomorrow I leave for three weeks with my toddler and two dogs to head to the beach and work remotely.  It is a wonderful luxury of my job, my self-employment status.  At the same time, it makes me crazy.  Eight months pregnant, no AC, no dishwasher, lots of sand - oh, and did I mention it is an island?  My darling husband will be away making money (which we totally need).  I have yuppie problems, and I know it.  (release guilt here)

I am preparing by purchasing my first beach chair, and I already bought some light magazine reading.  Oprah is teaching me more simple stress relief and Home and Garden suggests freezing and canning techniques for fruits. 

I am bringing lots of heavy books (like this one and this one) that I don't plan on getting to.

Transitions are always a challenge for me, and yet my life seems full of them.  I say "BRING IT!  Lots of room for practicing the skills of adaptation that I preach!"  The monarch transitions so naturally, so today, it is my inspiration.  I am off to Mexico in my mind.  

Won't you JOIN ME in exploring how to step back, bend to the seasons, and learn what you can?

I Love THIS About My Schedule

Some weekday mornings I get to do this.

And it is AWESOME.  Awe inspiring.  Awwww.  Awwww Yeah. 

 (I am not mentioning, right now, the nights I spend cranking away or the holidays I've given up for work's demands.)

Because I make my own schedule I get to do a lot of things that I want to do.  This includes going for beach walks with my family, mid-morning, on a weekday.  Also, going to the bank during bank hours, yes!  And shopping when no one else is in the store, alright!

Sometimes in the grind, beneath the wheels that churn, I lose sight of this incredible scheduling ability.  In a word, FREEDOM.  It's one of the reason I love my consulting business.  Because I adore helping people craft a life that supports them AND simultaneously allows them to shape their dreams, daily.   I ask my clients when I first speak with them, "What do you want to do when you get up in the morning?"

So TODAY, here is what I want you to do.  Be you self-employed, 9-5, overnighter, stay at home mom, student, ALL OF YOU.  Take one minute and reflect on one point of FREEDOM that your schedule allows.  

 Now nudge some other stuff out of the way and create more space for it.  Make wiggle room.  Stretch the boundaries.  This is it folks, today's the day.