Recently, my family and I headed north for our yearly, 4th of July tradition of spending time at my brother and sister-in-law’s cabin in the deep woods of Wisconsin. We’ve been vacationing there for as long as I can remember with the exception of a few years. It’s a tradition my children never want to miss. They love it as much as I do.

At the beginning of the year my brothers, sister-in-laws and I worked for weeks organizing, packing, discarding, saving and donating items from my parents home once my Mom decided to sell. During the time, my Mom had already been staying at my sister’s 900 miles away so we had to communicate with her by texting pictures and video-chatting to determine which items she wanted to keep and those she no longer needed.

Over the last several years of practicing yoga, I’ve learned how to consciously breathe throughout the entire hour. It keeps me focused, calm and stress free … well except during the plank series … HA! Even though the instructor is constantly reminding the class to breathe, it’s becoming second nature for me. So why then don’t I apply these same breathing rules in my every day life?

I’ve only recently considered myself a sushi fan. I was never able to get past the green layer of seaweed (a.k.a. nori). The problem was I tried to eat the piece of sushi in more than one bite and I could never get the nori to rip apart. It usually ended in a chewy sea-weedy mess. I finally understood I needed to put the whole damn thing in my mouth.

The ride started out slow and steady until Richard decided to pick up speed, but because it was chilly, Hannah had asked him to slow down. He decided to turn off the boat so we could just hang out in the middle of the lake. We were just talking and laughing when Richard announced there was a dog. A dog?

Summer is just around the corner which also means so is my birthday. June is my birth month and this year I decided to celebrate all month long. What I mean by celebrate is doing something good for myself each day. For 30 days I’m committed to moving the needle forward on my spiritual journey.

I had a choice, I could remain standing on the bank of the river and watch those make it the other side, or I could take a leap of faith and trust in my ability to navigate the process, albeit rocky and a bit scary. The tour guide was standing in the water below me extending his hand; encouraging me to take a chance.

My friend, it’s time to discover what lights you up. What brings you joy and new meaning? Picture a future vision for yourself. I believe everyone was put on this earth with special gifts and talents that no one else can duplicate; making each of us, one-of-a-kind.

“A best friend is a person who you value above other friends in your life, someone you have fun with, someone you trust and someone in whom you confide.” Best friends see you at your worst and your best.

The next day came and went and my friend Beth was staying the night at my house for our early morning flight. We celebrated with a cocktail as we finished packing. Then the dreaded phone call came. Hannah mentioned we didn’t have everything in order yet.

This week I’ll be saying goodbye to one of my besties. She’s moving away after many years in the area. We’ve lived in the same neighbor since 2006 but met many years earlier when our daughters played on a softball league together.

This week my family said goodbye to my Mom and Dad’s house. The home they’ve know for the last twelve years or so. The dream home they built together high on a hill, adjacent to the family farm. A place where everything was brand new with little to no worries for them. An easy transition from the place my bothers, sister and I grew up in just across the street.

Not to count my chickens before they hatch but I’m hopeful my family, friends and I’ll be heading to warmer temperatures and sunny skies soon. Our original trip to Hawaii was planned for March of 2020 but you know what happened next …..Covid!

Have you ever thought about setting a goal for yourself and suddenly an hour later, you have several new goals you’d like to reach by tomorrow? Start small and don’t try to do them all at once.

As we send March on its way and welcome in April, it’s filled with anticipation of new life, green grass, budding trees, flowers, and warmer weather. It’s also a sign Easter is on its way. This Easter will look different than any other year, and I’m trying to embrace the feeling.

The celebration was around what we dream for our own life. We are creating and writing our story every minute of every day whether we realize it or not. We wrote down how we wanted our life to look, including what we wanted, how we wanted to feel, our experiences, and relationships. A guide for us to use and live by.

The Mars Resort was situated along the shores of Lake Como in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and lucky for us the weather was very mild for this time of year. We were able to enjoy a cocktail under a tiki hut lakeside and watch the beautiful sunset prior to our reservations.

The very first exercise, she lead was described as a character sketch. A personal journaling story while examining our own house. She continued to explain that the house represented our personality and our life. A character sketch of ourself from an observer’s perspective and getting to know ourselves in a more intimate way.