I’ve been thinking about the question “Now what?” As the home isolation orders are slowly transitioning into being, “I’m free……I’m free at last”…..now what? Like most, I have no idea how I’ll begin to navigate the new normal. In my mind, I want to leap feet first back into my life. The life I’ve known since…….well, since forever.

It’s been nine weeks of isolation, nine weeks of not seeing friends and family, nine weeks of missing appointments, and nine weeks of not being able to do what I want to do…….ugh. However, some states are starting to open up which is, on one hand freaking fantastic and on the other hand a little scary.

During this time while everyone remains isolated, I’ve been generously sprinkled with acts of kindness. Friends and family have gone out of their way to make me feel loved, which inspired me to pay it forward and spread a pocketful of sunshine myself. While spreading mulch at my Mom’s house a few weeks ago, my brother and sister-in-law were commenting on a recipe they found for the “famous” Double Tree chocolate chip cookies.

Our sisterhood of women are what makes our community special. Together, we’ve shared our dreams, wishes, goals as well as struggles and challenges. We’ve learned, they wanted to discover, heal and connect with their own hearts as well as each other’s; a tribe ready to support, love and hold space for one another.

This week happened to be my Dad’s birthday and is hard to believe it’s the third year we’ve celebrated without him. He was a man that loved his country, being patriotic, and served in the United States Army. This week’s post is dedicated to the story of my Dad and his flag.

Do you ever feel like you’re climbing an uphill battle of sorts? Looking ahead all you see is a difficult, seemingly impossible climb to the top. You can’t predict what’s waiting for you, so you must trust in the process. Lately, I’m feeling like I’ve been climbing and climbing with the top of the mountain just out of sight. Frustration, fear, uncertainty and vulnerability have plagued my view.

Having my daughter home during isolation has been a blessing. It’s been nice to be able to make and enjoy meals together. During the day, we work across from each other at the dining room table as her two felines, Tillie and Leroy have the run of the house. With only essential trips out and both of us occupying the space, some days there seemed to be a large amount of mishaps going on inside the fray.

At the end of 2019, I was part of a published compilation book with a total of 52 authors, titled Kindness Crusader. The idea of the book was one chapter for each week of the year. Depending on where the author’s story landed in the book translated into the week they were responsible for reaching out and connecting with the community within the collective group. My story landed on week 15.

My brother Jeff and I talk on a regular basis and one thing about him that always makes me laugh is the man is prepared for just about anything. I don’t mean because we are in week three of isolating at home due to COVID19 but just because! He has spares of just about anything you can think of.

Along with most of the world, I’ve been trying to come up with things to do during this Coronavirus isolation phase. This week in the US, most states announced shut-downs of non-essential businesses and asked the population to avoid going out of their homes unless it was a necessity. In doing so, people are coming up with creative ways to stay active and in-touch with others while cooped up at home.

Oh my goodness, what a crazy few weeks it’s been with the state of the world, the Coronavirus and the media. To be honest, I try to be informed about current events but also don’t watch the news on a regular basis because it’s mostly negative. It’s refreshing whenever I hear the feel-good news I know is out there but not focused on.

This past Sunday, International Women’s Day was celebrated and I was proud to be part of the movement that recognized women’s rights around the world.

This week I was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin kitty-sitting. My daughter had to go out of town for business and I offered to come up and take care of Tillie, the long-haired white and tan sassy but sweet matriarch and Leroy, the younger, short-haired gray with white paws, loving obedient servant.

Inner wisdom, also known as intuition is something we all possess. It knows our truth, authentic self and heart. We had no trouble following our inner wisdom as children; it was natural, easy and felt good, but as adults we think too logically and somehow manage to creep out of our heart space and into our head. Letting the head take over will wreak havoc on our mind, body and spirit.

Every December, my high school girlfriends take turns hosting our yearly holiday get together. The hostess decides on the menu, theme and particulars about the celebration; then cascades it to the group. This year my friend Jill, hosted the evening and decided it would be the year of “my favorite things.” She provided details for each person to bring three of their favorite “somethings.” It could have been different items or all the same.

There’s a little known secret in the land of motherhood or spouse hood, or family hood, etc., that women think it’s selfish to do for themselves before others. Where did that come from anyway?

Over the last few weeks I’ve seen noticeable changes in my yoga practice. So much that I almost gasped out loud at a pose earlier in the week. It was a pose I’ve done for many months and even though I’ve managed thought it, my form and grace could have been much better. Then this week, just like magic; I was doing the pose with ease. Queue the confetti…it was a little victory for my soul.

Recently, I was asked to speak about mindfulness for a local rotary club. I was both honored and excited to be able to share ideas with them. In preparing my presentation I wanted to make it interesting and valuable of their time. As the members entered the room and began to settle in I noticed the number of men that filed in. I was pleasantly surprised at the volume. For some reason I thought the majority would be women but that wasn’t the case. The men attendees were as much as the women, if not a little more.