Happy Valentine's Day!

How will you spend this February 14th? If you're in NY state, you'll be digging out of the snow and hoping for hot chocolate instead of bon bons! :-) What's on your agenda today? It makes me think of Valentine's past... long ago hoping that school girl dreams would come true in the form of the biggest red velvet heart filled with caramels and nut clusters. Or maybe the Valentine's Day that came just a month or two after my husband and I met comes to mind.

He had long ago planned the annual ski trip out West with his buddies... how could he know new love was coming his way? I offered to drive him to the airport so he stopped by my place to change clothes and leave his car. (Hey, I was going to pick him up when he got back, wasn't I?) We drove for the plane, only to be met with news of several hours' weather delay. As I looked around the VIP lounge, I spotted all the good looking girls who were flying his way. Hmmm. My sneaky insecurity crept into the corner of my thoughts for a brief moment. After a big kiss and smiling sendoff, I drove home to look forward to a solo Valentine's day.

With thoughts of him and our budding relationship, I turned the key in the door, walked in, dropped my purse and headed down the hall. Wait. What was that? Something caught my eye and brought me up short. In the corner of the dining room sat the longest, largest pair of black wing tip shoes I'd ever seen. Empty shoes that, as the five days passed by, came to be warmly regarded and as comfortable in the space as if they had been my own.

That was 18 Valentine's ago. We married later that year with a June wedding. And five fast-flying years later, our son was born. Those black wing tips (well, actually a pair just like them) now reside on his side of our closet. And what will we do to celebrate this year's Day of Love? Well, I think this Wednesday night, I'll tag along with Coach and Son to basketball practice...and that beats any five star dinner on the town.

Tennis shoes. Wing tips. Ski trips. Home comings. Happy Valentine's day to you and all your favorite memories!

Make Way for the Queen!

Remember those old movies where the loyal servant walks before the Queen and shouts in a loud and oh-so-official voice: "Make way for the Queen"? Well, the Queen wasn't just trying to keep the lowly subjects away from sullying her Royal Person, she was creating some much needed space to get her job done!

We all know that expression about not seeing the forest for the trees. And then there's my favorite colloquial variation: "When you're up to your you-know-what in alligators, it's hard to remember that your original intention was to drain the swamp!" Don't we all know that feeling!! LOL When we're multi-tasking to the max, it can truly seem that there's no room left to breathe.

Well, here's my suggestion. Each one of us knows with great familiarity that critical inner voice that's always chiding us about doing more, doing it better, you know the drill. It's time to introduce a new character into our Internal Play. Welcome your own Inner Herald to the stage.
Let him (or her) shout for you "Make Way for the Queen!) anytime you're feeling overwhelmed by the multiple-requests, the should's, the ought-to's, the oh-no-I-forgots.

Claim some space, even if it's just enough to catch your breath and start right back again. As my friend Mary would say, "It's voting for yourself." And with enough votes like that, even if you're not Queen, you'll be electing yourself Permanent Prime Minister!

Just Breathe!

Apparently I don't know how to breathe. No, really! Did you know that when we're born, we all start out life breathing deep from our bellies. It's only over time that many (most) of us lose the natural knack.

It was pointed out to me that I breathe from my chest. Well, I thought, that's where my lungs are, so it makes sense. Right? Wrong. By not breathing deeply, not filling my belly like its an inflating balloon, I'm missing out on some serious interior 'space' - space for energy to move.

Well, now that my awareness is heightened, I realize how right the observation was. When I find myself hurried or stressed (when is that ever NOT?) I notice that my breath IS shallow - I'm breathing from up high in my body. So, being the good student I've always tried to be, I stop. Focus. And begin to breathe deep, really deep, way down to the bottom of my core.

It works! It truly calms. It lets me focus. I feel the stress melting away. This must be what they meant in that yoga class I never quite caught on to. Maybe it's time for me to try again. Alter my fast-paced, multi-tasking life one breath at a time? Now that's a life-changing concept I can make happen!

Want to join me? All together now.... b r e a t h e....