It’s November already! Isn’t it amazing how much can change in the space of a year?

Just like Everyone Else Ever, I’m not always great at taking the time to slooowwwww down and appreciate my life and how far I’ve come. Left to my own devices, I will gogogo and miss those sweet moments in life because I’m busy scheduling meetings or grocery shopping.

The last couple of weeks I’ve been a lot more mindful of the moments in my life I want to enjoy –

 taking a few deep breaths,  shutting off my phone or taking a walk outside to check out those gorgeous leaves. I force myself to just enjoy it a little bit more, work a little less, and pay attention to my kids and what’s happening at school. 

 Really, I had to laugh when conference notes came home and the teacher asked me to bring Foster to conferences with me.  

My boys

My immediate thought process went something like this:

  is he getting in trouble and I haven’t been paying attention and I’m missing what’s happening and I should be a better mom and throw the x-box away and make better suppers and feed them more organic food …

and on and on and on.
But I then I took a deep breath and just asked Foster “How’s school going?”

 “Fine.”

That was his answer! I changed my question to “How is school feeling?”

“Good, I haven’t gotten in trouble in a long time.”  I laughed and reminded him that I hadn’t asked if he was getting in trouble. Was there anything we needed to chat with your teacher about?

“No, I like her and school is going good.”

Now, with my calm Mom head back on, I was able to feel into his answer. He was calm, he wasn’t nervous or chewing on his shirt (A tell tale sign he’s hiding something).

  He felt quite good about all of it. I know his teacher will have some suggestions. I know he can be obnoxious in class (he gets that from Dad, I’m sure of it!)  and that things may look different to his teacher than to Foster.    But in the end, I know how my son feels.

 I know his “tells” and I know when he is feeling off or scared or nervous because the last few years I have learned to tune into those emotions. 

  If I slow down and remember who I am – a mom who can feel when something is off –  then I can put myself back into a place of being centered and relaxed.  

I can breath. I can enjoy. I can let go of the guilt. I can just BE. 

Now that is how far I’ve come.

Today, this week, this month, take a moment to see how far you have come.

 Think about how you used to react and how you react now.  Celebrate your growth – not the things you still need to work on. Acknowledge the wins!

Need some help getting there? 

I have a few new things on the horizon that you may want to take advantage of. A bit of a new style + flair for my ever-changing ways.  But I promise it will still be filled with as much fun as we can come up with!