Essential Ingredients: Life-Motherhood-Career-Simplified

Happy Christmas

During the coming Christmas season

May you be blessed

With the spirit of the season, which is peace, 

The gladness of the season, which is hope,

And the heart of the season, which is love.

 

 

From Burnt to Bounce

Last week I had the pleasure of speaking at the Mentoring Partnership of New York's Breakfast Forum on the subject of burnout.

Ironically, this session came on the heels of a day where 482 things HAD to get done before noon or else the world as we knew it would end.  (I exaggerate slightly, however, it was an intense day).

Once the 482 items were checked off the list, I could look back and laugh at the almost burnout that almost befell me before I had to give a talk on preventing burnout.

Sometimes (in addition to the tools below discussed at the seminar), laughter is indeed the best preventive medicine!

Download Values Game

Download Annoying List Instructions

Burnout Symptoms 

 

 

 

Brag Book

There is an awesome book hitting the shelves in December that you need to check out!  In the spirit of full disclosure - the author is my sister and this labor of love is a must read!

 

Hope you are as excited as I am for my Amazon order to arrive!!

 

 

 

Beginnings and Endings

 

This month has been a whirlwind (tornados and all) of activity - some of it good, some bad, some bittersweet.

The back-to-school ritual went off without a hitch.  All the new activities, classmates, and routines were for the most part celebrated and embraced.  To see my former preemie board the school bus with confidence and fearlessness was astounding to me.  She greeted the day as if there were hundreds of new adventures waiting just for her.  As I stood there bawling after the bus pulled away, it felt  as if every conversation, activity, word of praise, and word of correction was all for this moment.  And it was.

This new beginning corresponded with an ending.  My grandmother passed last week at the age of 93.  As a family, we came together to care for our matriarch and support each other.   Her five-week hospitalization was exhausting for all of us, yet somehow it was filled with resilience, hope, and ultimately, peace.

So now, another beginning is upon us - the beginning of our family minus one.  Even though my grandmother had been declining for some time, she continued to be the glue that brought the family together.  Whether at the assisted living facility, the nursing home, or the hospital, we gathered and celebrated the occasion du jour (birthday, holiday, Tuesday).  No matter the locale, we were her raucous bunch of granddaughters catching up, great-grandkids racing about, and sons and daughters-in-law most certainly bragging about our latest accomplishments.

I have no doubt we will continue to be “glued,” but in a new way.  My hope is that we will create it with that same excitement and sense of what-is-yet-to-come of the school bus adventure. 

Calm in the Storm

Lately, life has been a bit chaotic (Hurricane Earl has nothing on the Casey's).  Things have been feeling a bit like this:

 

Perhaps as a reaction to my ducks being amuck, I have been creating "happy places" in my home.  These are little patches I can catch a glimpse of throughout the day to help me remember there is order in the universe somewhere...

 

 

 

 if only on my windowsills and ledges at the moment...

Cinema Al Fresco

I am not what you would call the handy type, but recently I constructed a backyard movie theater, and I was so proud of it.

All it took was a white sheet, binder clips, my laptop, the office LCD projector, and speakers.  I closed off the curtains on three sides of our backyard gazebo, removed the nature that was living in the curtains (yuk), and hung a white sheet on the back wall using binder clips.  Then, I hooked up my laptop, LCD projector, and speakers and, viola!  Instant family-friendly entertainment under the stars.

Who knew office equipment could be so much fun!

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
  

 

Check me out at Hybrid Mom!

Summer Systems

Another Rare Moment

Evidence of Fun

I have just finished my daughter's nightly bath and bed routine after a long day of summer fun.  At this late hour, I have come to a realization. 

It seems to me that the amount of fun in any given day can be measured by the volume/kinds of residue that is washed off in the tub.  For example, this evening there was scrubbing off of:

• Chocolate ice cream
• Green paint
• Dirt
• Grass
• Bug spray and...
• Macaroni and cheese

The data suggests that this was a day filled with good food, outside play, and arts and crafts.

Not too shabby (especially after a good shower)!

Independence Day

This past week has been momentous.

 

My daughter has accomplished so much in such a short time – swimming in the pool without gripping several floaties, needing to leave the pool for not apologizing for an accidental dunking, and riding a big-girl bicycle in the Fourth of July parade.

 

These summer rites of passage have all the more meaning when I think back to when my former preemie was hooked up to every imaginable monitor.  How amazing it is to see her strength and resilience (and faux pas) now that the leads and tubes are long gone.

 

These steps to independence bring joy (and consequences) for both of us.  She is proud of her accomplishments and is learning from her mistakes.  I am remembering how far we have both come and celebrating the little victories.

 

Together, we are soaking in the moments and I am reminded daily of what really matters.