Creating a new life in my 50's

April 22, 2009

It was Earth Day and I had several projects planned for our homeschool day. One of the highlights of the day was watching the Oprah show where they would feature plastic in the ocean with devoted explored and activist Fabien Cousteau, following after his grandfather, undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau (whom I thought was the sexist man alive while I was growing up — French, nature guy, a great laugh — hang on, I need a moment.) Growing up in Michigan near all the Great Lakes and spending my summers on a lake, Jacques and I shared a love of water…

*The basic definition of a mulligan, a term most associated with golf, is a “do-over,” a second try after your first has gone awry. …

Let me tell you about my day . . . I have a mammogram appointment at 11:00 a.m. because it was the first appointment I could get after several on-again, off-again lockdowns. I am not at high risk for breast cancer, so I was low on the list to make an appointment.

When the time came — I jumped at the chance to get my yearly screening test, now long overdue.

Segue into trying to get my Covid vaccine

Here in Illinois, we…

OUR INNER PRACTICE SHOWS UP AS COMPASSIONATE ACTION

Do you eye roll, shrug, or perk up to listen?

Well, it’s natural law. Whatever goes out comes back, or to every reaction; there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Let’s just right into an experience together.

Imagine for a moment you are standing at the edge of a pond and can easily see the other side. Add a sky, maybe clouds, line the pond with trees — pines or willows — even perhaps birch. And some birds to your pond. A soaring eagle or a family of ducks. Maybe a flamingo? Are any other animals nearby to take a…

the enneagram is a wonderful resource for understanding your higher self

I am a believer in the Enneagram. I am shy about writing about it because — whatever I say has already been said before. So why would I bother repeating something that you can google yourself? That wouldn’t be meeting your needs, would it? Maybe, maybe not. As I struggle with this question every time I sit to write . . . this morning I came across this list from Ian Cron.

And there, in the Enneagram, I had my answer.

The Little Lies we tell ourselves about being WORTHY and LOVEABLE!!!

In years past I have screamed at myself about not being loveable or worthy as a mom, spouse, daughter…

Gearing up for #VanLife

another step toward minimalism

How many scarves do I really need?

This is the question I asked myself as I was packing for a camping trip (out of my van). A simple 4-day camping trip. As I stood in the laundry room looking at two rather large bins of scarves . . . a small voice inside my head said, “remember when you had nothing? remember how that one scarf meant everything to you?”

I went upstairs, found the purple and green floral scarf — in my favorite shades, of my favorite flower, and sat looking at it for a long time. I mean, what else do…

I’m a 2

A classic two. I don’t really know what my wings are — Service or Hostess — I think I switch at different parts of my life.

I’m not an enneagram expert, but I am an expert on myself. I think we all are our own experts if we want to be. If we take the time for personal awareness and reflection — privately. I say privately because I think your personal inner work needs to be kept private.

If you see someone using any of these personal growth tools as an excuse for their poor behavior — they need to…

For the first time in months, I’m feeling ahead of the game!

In my son’s e-learning class, he had to write about his “culture,” and honestly, I felt a little bad for him. I grew up in a small farming community — a tiny Catholic church where everyone knew everyone’s business. We had a large number of Polish families that we spent nearly all of our time with until my dad died, and everything changed — sort of. We found out who had our backs. Like when the tornado came through and downed several trees — my friendless step-father had zero support, yet my Mom could make one phone call. …