Follow Your Heart

My daughter left me a note of advice.

Reading this part makes me feel like I did something right. How many 19-year-old’s say this?

“Take this time while I’m gone to do things that fill you up and make your heart smile.”

This morning, I woke up feeling guilty about recent purchases. Does that ever happen to you?

I’m over it now because without even realizing it, I took her advice and acted on it.

scottstabile — Photo Credit: Scott Stabile

As you see in A Doggo’s Life, our doggo’s are sharing a dog bed. I wanted our new puppo to have her own bed, so went in search of the perfect dog bed. In my mind I pictured exactly what it should look like, but 4 stores later didn’t result in that bed.

That was my mind, but what did my heart say?

Step One.

Back before Thanksgiving, my daughter and I were in a store where everything is pretty, but reasonably priced. I saw a rug that made my heart smile. My daughter saw my face light up, but she also knew we were setting aside all extra money for England.

Guess what? She’s in England and I still have money. Glory to God!

Yesterday, I went back to that store see if the rug was still there. It had been months, so what were the odds? Would it be on sale after Christmas?

It was in the rug bin along with one other rug.

It wasn’t on sale, but I had a price in mind that I was willing to pay. I found a sales lady, and inquired about the price of the rug. Full price was too much, but I’d walk out of there with it if she took $50 off.

Step Two.

The sales lady found an online coupon she could apply to meet my price! Then it became confusing.

She asked, “Is that the color you want? We have another one in the back that’s grey.”

The rug standing in the bin is a light color, which I gravitate toward, and it has pale gold shimmers running through it, but my daughter loves grey!

They grey one was equally pretty, and I knew my daughter would love it. What did I do? Like any good Mother, I loaded the grey one in my truck.

Score one for the mind.

Step Three.

I sat in front of the store staring at the rug laying across the backseat. The sales lady told me if it wasn’t right, to bring it back and get the other one, but I wanted to know in my heart what to do.

I found myself walking back into the store swapping the grey for the one I wanted. I followed my heart all the way through. My daughter will be happy.

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Looks like we found the perfect dog bed after all.

Taking Her Advice

She followed her heart, and so shall I.

bay — Photo Cred: Simply Semloh Eiffel Tower lastnight.

Do What You Truly Want to Do

I am honored to receive another Sunshine Blogger Award within the same week. Thank you Pascales Healing Journey for the lovely nomination.

Her questions are thought provoking, so I wanted to share. If you have won an award, and cannot think of appropriate questions, maybe these will help. I’ve been pondering the first question for over a week.

Are you doing what you truly want to do?
Do you have a dream to follow?
Are you proud of what you’re doing or what you’ve done?
What’s the one thing you really want to do but have never done so, and why?
Have you ever abandoned a creative idea that you believed because others thought you were a fool?
Is there anything you can’t let go of, but you know you should?
Is there anyone who inspired you and made you who you are today?
What’s the thing you’re most satisfied with?
When was the last time you laughed and what did you laugh at?
Are you doing anything which makes you and people around you happy?
If happiness is a currency, how rich do you think you are?

They are all good questions, but that first one really got me. At first, I looked at the overall scope of my life. Life is a beautiful journey, but there is always room for improvement. I find this question works best applying it minute by minute, hourly, or daily.

Are you doing what you truly want to do?

If not, we have the power to change it at any moment. Maybe you have a job you don’t particularly like, but it brings in income, which is a good tool to have. I have two jobs that are not ideal, but I can work them while practicing this dream.

The hours are flexible, and I get to work from home.

Time is my most valued commodity, and my jobs don’t take a lot of time or energy. What I really want to do is write, and become better at it each day. It takes time to find your voice, and I feel I’m getting close.

Our voice evolves with every click of publish.

I hope you enjoy the list of questions.

May you find yourself doing what you truly want to do.

Be the Love

My daughter left Saturday for Boston, and will not be home until Wednesday. Her father took her to see Harry Styles in concert. If you don’t know who Harry Styles is, he was the member of One Direction with the massive head of hair. If you don’t know who One D is, I don’t know what to say.

Here are some things I learned while she’s been gone.

*Kick up the self-care a notch. Take the Yoga class already!

*Buy the t-shirt you fell in love with the minute you saw it.

*Go to the coffee shop that re-opened, and encourage the owner.

*Start a Google search, and follow the trail. It leads to a book you wish to read during this quiet time. Call the local bookstore to see if they have it. They have ONE. Drive.

*On the way to the bookstore, stop at places you haven’t stopped in forever. Encourage the owners of the business, and the people working there. Tell them, “I appreciate you.”

*Smile at people. Be kind, and leave them with a smile.

*Hug someone when they least expect it.

*If you invite chaos into your life, take it back, and leave it.

*Use your voice if your heart is not happy. It may begin an avalanche, and your world may fall apart for a bit, but it will fall back together even better than before. Trust me.

*Clear off the giant coffee table, and use it to work a puzzle.

*Just be what you want to see. If it’s love, then be the love.

Feel the Music

I woke up this morning pondering the men that have passed through my life. I’ve loved them all, and still do on a certain level. As I began making changes last year, the tagline to this Blog changed, and I’m still standing firm in these words. “Let it all go, and see what stays.” God stayed.

Hoping in my truck earlier today, this song began playing on the radio. Maybe it doesn’t pertain to only the men, but everything I have let go of to bring me to this space today.

I know my heart will never be the same
But I’m telling myself I’ll be okay
Even on my weakest days,
I get a little bit stronger.

Thank you God for pulling me through, and making me stronger.

Waiting to Bloom

It’s odd, how you pack up your belongings, and move into a new space. It’s the same stuff you’ve had, but it finds new places to nest. This house doesn’t have a mudroom, so the dogs are fed in a breezeway. Three weeks later, they know which cabinet holds the food, and which drawer has treats.

In Bénisse Cette Maison, Laura Jinkins commented, “I am happy for you and your new adventure. I am especially happy that after such a short period of time, your new abode already feels like HOME.”Looking at her Blog this morning, she has made her house even more of a home.

Making small changes, prepare us for bigger ones.

Laura moved rooms around, and repainted them, giving her home a whole new look, and herself a new work-space. She will be inspired in her freshly painted, private space.

When your heart finds a home, your belongings follow.

Last year, my daughter had been looking at houses online for months, before finding this one. She knew it was going to be a challenge to find a home that would feed both our hearts. I enjoy quiet, and peaceful, and she longed to be near her friends, and all her favorite shops. We knew the area we desired, but where, oh where, was the house?

We drove out to the lake area, over an hour away from where we were living at the time, to look at a house on the market. It was an older home, and the best thing about it was the front door. We walked through, and went from room to room, trying out figure out how to make it work, but it wasn’t right. My daughter was getting discouraged.

If it doesn’t feel like home before you move, keep looking.

As we were driving away from that house, my daughter received an email notification of another house nearby. We stopped by, and what I saw outside, spoke to my heart.

I stood inside this Arbor, looking at the vine, and pondered, “Would we bloom at the same time?” There is another vine growing along the fence at the end of the driveway.

The landlord assured me his landscape guy would come, and clean up the weeds clinging to everything. I said, “No. These are not weeds. They are flowers waiting to bloom.”

My daughter and I are freshly planted, and when the time is right, just like these vines, we will be ready to bloom.

Bénisse Cette Maison

Letting go of what is comfortable. Even though I knew there was more, where I stood felt okay, and it was easy. There wasn’t anything wrong, except my heart wanted more.

2017 was a year of following my heart, and believe me, my heart and mind were conflicted. What was logical thinking, didn’t feed my heart, and when my heart soared, my mind told me I was bonkers. It was time to set my heart free.

Richard Rohr says, “Houses are meant to move out of”.

I pondered that quote for what seemed like a long time, until it took root in my heart. My mind kept pointing out all the positive aspects of where we were living, but my heart wasn’t happy. The thought of moving was uncomfortable. We had lived in a country setting for a few years, and it was peaceful. No complaints, unless you asked my heart.

I mentioned that quote to a man in our community, and he was flabbergasted! He quickly opposed it, and said, “Oh No! Houses are meant to be lived in, and filled with family and friends!” I was living in my house, but it wasn’t filled with family and friends. They lived an hour away. For two years, my daughter had been driving an hour each way, every weekend to see her Dad. She was tired.

A couple of friends came to visit, and showed me what my heart was missing. Connection, and love in real-time.

This house had it’s season, and was meant to move out of.

I came across a picture of our porch, right after moving in.

We had been in this house less than a year, when I found out I had Breast Cancer. My Breast Cancer journey was in 2016, so 2017 was a year of healing, growing, and discovering the woman Cancer left behind. I let go of a lot last year, which I will slowly write about, but there were some major heart-strings tied to this little country home.

This home was perfect for healing, and offered privacy.

Here is the last picture taken of that little house of healing.

My daughter and I have moved away from country living.

We spent the month of December packing up everything except the Christmas tree. On January 2nd, we moved into our new house. It’s been a week now, and it feels like home.

Step One.

Step Two.

Step Three.

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