Happy Mother’s Day ~Celebrating Love

Happy Mother’s Day!

What an excellent day to celebrate the essence of love.
There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to be a mother. And when the time came to fulfill that desire I prepared for Rebekah’s arrival in every way I knew how and if I didn’t know something, I researched and studied it like it was an exam. But no matter how much I had studied, nothing could fully prepare me for the life of being a mom and all the turns each experience would create.

No matter what circumstances take place in our lives we still carry the title mom. There have been many moments when I felt I didn’t deserve that title. Moments that I didn’t handle a situation as I should have, moments I just didn’t know what to say or do, moments that my personal life overrode my better judgement. I have definitely had moments of shameful regret.


But that being said, being a mom is a choice we have whether we planned to be one or not. A choice to learn what love is in ways that we are not always prepared for. Ways that are sometimes confusing, frustrating, and scary. But it is that word love, in the end, that sees us through. It is the love we find that lives deep within the core of our being; It is the love we’re born with and we have the courage and capability to allow it to shine through in all that life presents simply by being a MOM ♡ CHEERS to all moms everywhere. May you embrace the love that lives in you and shine it brightly today and every day!

Live Well~ xo

Embrace all Living Creatures~

“A human being is a part of a whole called by us the universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” ~Einstein
#collectivebody #beauty #embrace #love #support#share

My Brother is Getting Married!

Tomorrow my little brother, 6 ft. 3″  little brother, gets married. My heart is consumed with joy because not only do I truly believe he has chosen the right girl to have and to hold till death do they part, but tomorrow I officially gain another sister. She is as beautiful on the outside as she is within her soul; I couldn’t think of a more perfect fit for my “little” brother. I remember the day he brought her home; mind you she is the first and only girl he has chosen to introduce to our family.

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I have watched their relationship grow and change – ebb and flow as both learned the meaning of the word compromise and what the word LOVE in its purest form means.

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Tomorrow they will vow to love one another as family and friends look on in support of this new union. I am sure each person will ponder on the vows that were taken in their past and quietly send thoughts of well wishes and guidance from their own personal experiences.

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They have asked my Rebekah to read a passage from the bible about Love~

Love is patient,

love is kind.

It does not envy,

it does not boast,

it is not proud.

It is not rude,

it is not self-seeking,

it is not easily angered,

it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects,

always trusts,

always hopes,

always perseveres.

Love never fails.

This is love in its purest form, yet I am not sure if any one of us has attained such a heightened form of love as this. That being said if you take each portion on its own then piece them together one by one I believe that this kind of LOVE is possible between two fallible human beings. God is love – he created us in his likeness- we are love and though it may be hard to love in this manner it is what God intended. I will be praying for my brother James and his new bride Adrienne’s marriage. I will pray that they will remember each line of this passage they chose to be read at their wedding, for if they do, they will have achieved something most marriages have not.

May God bless both of you. I love you to the moon and back….. I can’t wait to see all the amazing things life has in store for you both!

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Changing the Equation to get the Right Answer~

“You can’t hold onto a fairytale just because you think you can change the ending of the story.”

What?! Of course I can change the ending of the story- Love will conquer all, Love will save the day, and Fairytales really do come true. At least they did in all my favorite Disney classics.

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Unfortunately, so far this notion hasn’t quite worked out that way in my life. I have tried to change the ending of more fairytale stories than I can count, but each one ended in a not so enchanted way. Where did I go wrong?  It is always the usual- Boy meets girl- sparks fly- then somewhere along the lines certain key components were missing and instead of moving on I chose to battle for that fairytale ending.  As someone once said to me, “I guess I like happy endings.” But at what point in a relationship is it time to realize certain stories are not meant for happy endings? I don’t want to give up on my ideals about what love is capable of doing, do I have to? Has this notion been the reason my equation keeps coming up with the wrong answer? Does X +Y not = LOVE?

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Here I am at the lovely age of 45 and I think I have finally come to a true understanding of how to get the right answer to the equation of fairytale love. Here it comes, “You must first love yourself before someone else can.” How many times have we all heard this saying, even agreed with it, but do we truly grasp the understanding of it?

What does loving yourself really mean?

Through trial and error, I have learned that loving me means making better choices that produce better results. It takes time, patience, strength, and a lot of self –forgiveness. Rewinding and re-recording over old messages, learning from past blunders, searching and seeking the inner consciousness, and hearing God speak, and allowing him to heal.

Learning to love you is the key to the future success of a fairytale ending.

carrieI still believe in true love that lasts the test of time, I just changed the equation around a bit. This time I will hold onto me first, instead of the fairytale and by doing this, I am able to change the ending of the story-

Live well~ xo

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Finding Strength in the Unknown~

As I go about my day… the feeling of loneliness tries to creep in– but I ignore it knowing that something has changed in me these past weeks.  I am starting to feel the strength of knowing who I am again. The calmness and peace of truly knowing who you are in this world and what you have to offer is nothing short of a gift.  As I sit in the silence of my home sipping a glass of chardonnay and eating left over chicken salad for dinner, I listen to the sounds of spring; the melody of frogs chirping and croaking outside my open window brings an immense sense of peace and calmness. Not wanting for anything in this moment, I know that my true self is slowly emerging into place.

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It has been a long two weeks; I don’t ever want to feel even the remanence of emotions that my past has evoked, though it was a necessity for me to feel every last bit that had haunted me within. When you choose not to distract yourself with false monetary pretenses, it is then that the lessons you are meant to learn in life show themselves in the light that you need to see and feel them. There are times when you are amidst these lessons that you feel there is no possible way you will ever be whole again, but it is also at those most intense times that change is occurring deep within your being; it is important to know and hold on to the knowledge of this.

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Though my most recent changes have been the onset of this raw and all-encompassing  emotional state, it is these changes that have freed me to seek out who I am, where I belong and to accomplish in this life what I have been predestined to. –“Woman must come of age by herself. She must find her center alone.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh

I do feel that the path we take in life creates who it is we are meant to be– though I can’t help but to wonder if some of the choices I made while traveling my path has prolonged the arrival of my destination. Destination – is there a final destination? I think I am now learning that there is not and furthermore, that there is not meant to be one. I have been on a search since I can remember, for something to grab hold of me and give me that feeling that I have arrived at the right destination. I am finally realizing and taking hold of the true meaning of a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Life is a journey, not a destination.” I find peace and excitement within these words. The fulfillment of not knowing what is going to happen and the endless possibilities that this notion creates is enough to launch me leaps and bounds ahead of where I was just one short year ago. I am grateful for my resilience and dedication to press on through all the discomfort and confusion and to be able to arrive at this very place.

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As the warmer weather has been ushered in by the onset of spring, I realize through the winter there was a sense of renewal taking place. Each year as winter approaches the trees shed themselves of their leaves so in spring their renewed beauty has a place to reveal itself and so it is with me, through this winter I was shedding my old self  to bring forth the renewed beauty of who I am becoming.

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So here I am as Memorial Day weekend is approaching, a time when families and friends gather to enjoy one another’s company. I have been on the pursuit this whole week to find a place to fit in so I don’t feel the absence of what this weekend is about to bring, a feeling of loneliness.  My Rebekah is with her father, my parents are out of town and my friends are preoccupied with their own life’s challenges. Having an evening alone is a welcomed thought, but enduring a holiday weekend for four days and nights without plans goes against my grain. I have settled into the notion that this is for a purpose; I am learning and practicing to trust the process of life. I have changed my mindset to embrace this time to have a more deepened sense of self- by myself. Becoming honest with me and trusting life’s process to guide me has been an incredibly difficult feat. My past has taught me the need to challenge and control- but within that there was a sense of responsibility that was exhausting and uncomfortable, like swimming upstream against the current. In letting go of this need to predestine my time, I am learning to feel content with not knowing. My openness to an unscheduled life is an olive branch extended toward learning to trust life, myself,others, and God.

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I will end with a quote from the book I am reading, A Year by the Sea – by Joan Anderson, “When one is freshly informed, has a serendipitous experience, one’s mood is changed. That is why taking time to see, hear, be present to images and language that arises from new experiences have the power to change one from one way to another.” – Clarissa Pinkola Este’s

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Live well xo

 

 

 

A Holiday to Celebrate Love ~ All Kinds of LOVE

Happy Valentine’s Day! ♥
I love a reason to celebrate, and Valentine’s Day♥  is no exception!

Today is a celebration of LOVE♥.

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It could be a romantic love,

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an unconditional love,

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the love of a best friend,

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parent, grandchild, siblings,

 

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or even your beloved furry friends.

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Maybe you will celebrate loving yourself today.

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Regardless of who or what you LOVE, take time today to celebrate it,  for it is a gift from God and is meant to be shared.
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” John 4:7

This year’s Valentine’s Day♥ I will be sharing all my hugs and kisses with my little Rebekah.

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We be making a special Valentine’s dinner together complete with Valentine Pasta! Then back into the kitchen for a round of baking some yummy chocolate chip cookies in the shape of hearts.

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I hope on this Valentine’s Day you take the time to reflect on the moments in life, past and present, that love brought much joy into your heart and how to keep it there all year through.♥♥

 

Happy Valentine’s Day friends! Sending my love, hugs and kisses out to you all ~

Maureen~

Turning Goals into Resolutions~

As this year quickly came to an end, I began to feel slightly anxious about what I was going to focus on during the upcoming year. There are so many facets within my life that I would like to improve upon and enhance, where do I start?

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Traditionally a New Year’s resolution would be the starting point, but New Year’s resolutions were never something I really cared to commit to. It seems rather intimidating, announcing to the world my “promise” to make a permanent change in my life. This is not how I visualize a great start to a new year. What if those visions changed, what if they didn’t work out the way I intended, what if I just down right failed at this attempt of a permanent change? So each year as I ring in the New Year amongst family and friends I choose to start the next day just as the one before it, no resolutions.

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This year I felt the need for a more focused start but I have so many ventures tucked in the back of my head I don’t know where to start!

Focus, Simplify and Grow ~

I found these three words on Lou Mongello’s facebook page New Year’s Day. When I read these words I breathed a sigh of relief, (thank you Lou). I tend to make complex strategies in my pursuit of “life”.  I get lost in an overload of details that I create for each pursuit, causing my focus to blur.  I need to learn when to use the wide angle lens and when and how to focus on the subject to simplify the picture of each endeavor. This will enable growth not only in each venture but also in my overall character.

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Staying on Track- Resolution or Goal ~ how do I focus, simplify and grow?

Though I have never committed to a New Year’s resolution, I have committed to goals. This got me thinking about what the difference between a resolution and a goal is; I simply looked up the definitions.

Resolution A firm determination to do something, a course of action determined or decided on.

A resolution is a long term change you intend to keep, it is not something you complete, and it is permanent. Resolutions tend to be vague, such as eat healthier or exercise more.

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Goal: The object toward which an endeavor is directed; an end. Looking to achieve a result, a target to reach, an end point after a chosen period of time.

A goal can be short term or long term and is something you have a conclusion to, not necessarily a permanent change. Goals are more specific such as, choosing to run a marathon and working toward the completion of it.

The key contrast between the two is they differ in terms of duration.

Goals seem less intimidating to me. Having a start point and end point will allow me to focus, simplify and meet my objectives.   A resolution seems so wide open; I would lose direction without set time frames to complete those objectives.

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But maybe I can make a New Year’s Resolution ~using them together ~

How can I make that New Year’s resolution less intrusive? Maybe starting with a goal would help maintain a resolution, meeting each goal to work toward that life changing resolution.

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Setting goals and achieving them is empowering, making a resolution that never comes to pass would take the wind out of my sails. So if I start out with realistic goals that I can meet within reasonable time periods, I can work my way up to that life changing resolution. Who knows along the way I may find new gifts and talents I never knew I possessed!

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What are your thoughts on Goals vs. Resolutions? Tell us if you have set any for 2015!