- Chillin’ at White Rock beach
Hola!
Hope this finds you tanned, rested and in bare feet my friend!
Are you spending lots of time in the great outdoors?
I hope so!
After a record breaking run of unusually hot weather here in BC (resulting in water restrictions due to drought and fire) we have some much needed rain, and just this morning it was teeming buckets – hopefully the wet weather will douse the 100+ forest fires we have had burning here and top up the reservoirs a bit.
About today’s post, well it is an easy going one -perfect for the beach, with a little bit of this and a little bit of that.
If you like progressive female comedians, dissecting Game of Thrones, great summer reads, a snippet of history, the finer things in life and want to know why I went all ‘Tiger Mom’ a few weeks back…
…AND you are curious to find out the TWO WORDS that might be weakening you in your conversations, then be sure to read
right to the bottom.
Feeling Stuck
I am not sure what it is about July but earlier this month I was just feeling STUCK.
Maybe it had something to do with the heat?
I would start working on something then end up drifting outside to the shade of our patio and picking up one of the many books I am juggling right now, including book two of the Game of Thrones series and yes, I am officially obsessed with GOT and will be happy to share my theories about who is dead and not dead anytime so call me…
…and if you are up to date with the series and would like to join the discussion about Jon Snow’s lineage then check out the below link.
This is a short You Tube video a GOT fan put together which I stumbled upon whilst experiencing the ‘stuckies‘.
If you haven’t read or watched up to Season 2 of GOT then I say to you SPOILER ALERT do not watch this!
If you ARE up to date CLICK HERE!
Recent Summer Frustration
I must admit that I have had to coach myself a bit this last week due to my frustration around getting limited work done due to child care issues, which I (as most parents do) deal with every summer.
I find that with the constantly changing schedule it is difficult to get into that work flow.
With one child in a camp locally, and the second child in a camp for special needs kids in another town, and with the younger child’s camp ending at noon but older child’s camp ending in late afternoon, and then dinner needing to be fixed, I can’t get a darn thing done…
…(but I did get this post done so Yay Me!).
Adding to this situation is this coming weekend’s yearly happening, the Turner Family long weekend at the summer house.
This is a chaotic riot of FUN, chock full of everything family including;
Nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles, swimming, kayaking, grandparents, dogs, games, campfires, marshmallows, extended cocktail hour (gin and tonics anyone?),
and this year we even have a zip line (thank you Uncle Dave and Uncle Nick!).
It is TOTALLY a good (and loud) time.
However there are the added tasks that come with the lead up to the family weekend and so to feed the hungry hordes I am doing lasagna for dinner one night, so need to make time in the next few days for shopping and food prep, which again, cuts into my work time,
(but really I am not complaining as you spend four nights up there and you only need to prepare one meal so it really is a break for us cooks).
With all this going on in this seventh month of the year, I have resolved to live in the ‘now’ and recognize that there is a different rhythm to each season, and hey – if most of my clients are off on holidays this month well –
HELLO?
Maybe there is no need to put in the same number of work hours duh!
From frustration comes this ‘a ha’ moment!
Live. In. The. Now.
Earlier This Month – Cycling Back Into Grief
After thinking I had my ‘triggers’ sussed around my son Oliver and the challenges that come with his Autism and Fragile X diagnosis, I cycled back into a patch of grief a few weeks ago, after he was hurt by another child at a day camp he was attending.
This incident, compounded by the unprofessional (and to be honest) uncaring treatment he and I both received from adult camp staffers roused the ‘tiger mother‘ in me (don’t mess with my cubs!!!!!) resulting in my complaint bumping up the food chain to the provincial ministry that funds this camp…
…and so this saga will continue into the fall.
In short it was not one of my more pleasant weeks.
I have had to remind myself that the jumble of feelings around his condition (anger, sadness, acceptance, joy) will always pose difficulties for me (as life itself does).
On the plus side however, the school of ‘ hard knocks’ and my coaching training has armed me with tools that allow me to more quickly get out of the overwhelm and back to focussing on living well and the FINER things of life,
things like;
Love of family and friends, music, food, travel, books, flowers…sweet peas!
Sweet peas from my Mom’s garden
Descending Into ‘Deck Chair Apathy’ (aka vacation mode)
Every summer I pull out my worn copy of ‘Gift From The Sea’ by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, first published in 1955. Anne passed away in 2001 but this book continues to be a classic and I will likely be packing it in my bag so I can read it with my toes in the sand.
A little back story for you-
Anne was married to the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh, who was the first pilot to man a solo flight across the Atlantic and together they were the first to fly from Africa to South America. Tragedy befell the family when their first son Charles at age 20 months, was kidnapped and murdered. After this the family left the US for England.
(* and I believe the Agatha Christie story Murder on the Orient Express was based in part by the Lindbergh baby tragedy).
Following this and during the run up to World War II the couple fell from grace due to Charles’ opinion that the US should not join the war against Germany, but after the attack on Pearl Harbour he supported the US’s entry into the war and they found favour again.
Ms. Lindbergh’s publisher (Pantheon Books, New York) had this to say about Gift From The Sea;
‘Her elegant and wise meditations of youth and age, love and marriage, solitude, peace and contentment, as she set them down during a brief vacation by the ocean‘
This book is one of my support circle books, my cache of ‘literary gold’ that I turn to when I am looking for wisdom, wit or inspiration.
Lindbergh starts the book off this way;
‘I began these pages for myself, in order to think out my own particular pattern of living, my own individual balance of life, work and human relationships…all women are searching for a new pattern of living, or want a contemplative corner of their own…’
She speaks of stealing away for a short vacation alone, and sitting by the ocean;
‘The beach is not the place to work; to read, write or think. I should have remembered that from other years. Too warm, too damp, too soft for any real mental discipline or sharp flights of spirit… At first, the tired body takes over completely. As on shipboard, one descends into a deck-chair apathy. One is forced against one’s mind, against all tidy resolutions, back into the primeval rhythms of the sea shore. Rollers on the beach, wind in the pines, the slow flapping of herons across sand dunes drown out the hectic rhythms of city and suburb, time tables and schedules…
Great writing right?
If your beach reading generally runs more towards the likes of Jackie Collins or Maeve Binchy (both writers whose work I enjoy BTW) this might be a tad philosophical for your tastes, but if you enjoy contemplating our ever evolving lives while the surf pounds and the sea gulls swoop overhead then I encourage you to pick up this gem.
Two Words That Women Need To Think Twice About Using (if they want to be taken seriously)
Why I am loving Amy Schumer (and who isn’t?)-
Fresh, fierce and slightly off kilter is how I would describe this smart and funny lady.
In the attached article from Huffingtonpost.com and the video clip from ‘Inside Amy Schumer’ the comedian tackles how women diminish themselves by saying these two words and how, by removing them from your sentences you can strengthen your communication.
This skit, like a lot of her skits, made me uncomfortable (and it is a bit grisly at the end-you have been warned!) because I recognized myself in it.
I took this as a reminder that it is time for me, and all women really, to
STOP APOLOGIZING FOR EXSISTING!
and that recognizing our magnificence doesn’t make us arrogant-
it makes us CONFIDENT.
…and that is all she wrote for today my friend.
Hope you have enjoyed this post and if you did, feel free to share it.
Wishing you sunny patios, cold drinks and lazy days!
xo
Eliz
PS
The final details for my October Retreat with TJ will be coming in early August (there has been a delay with the Apache Springs Ranch website getting up and running) but should have more pics and info soon.
Due to this the Early Bird price has been extended through to September 1st.
If you are looking to Up Level Your Life we would love for you to join us at the ranch!
But…
…this is ONLY for women who are ready to access more JOY, CREATIVITY and ABUNDANCE
If this sounds good to you click here I’M IN! 🙂 (scroll to June 3, 2015 post)
Had a great evening with my pal Suzy on the deck at Mahoney’s Pub, Vancouver. Look at this view!