Fun Friday!

I just discovered a nifty tool that allows me to search tweets via keywords of my choosing.  TweetLater.com is a free service that has a keyword search option. A digest of the tweets from people you follow that contain these keywords is emailed to you.  How fun!

Yeah, I’m a geek : D

It’s just nice to have a tool that cuts through the chatter and save me time. I still take time to peruse the tweets that come through,  but I can’t possibly keep up!  Twitter has become an important learning tool for me as well as a way to socialize and network. Tweetlater.com has made it that much easier to track  topics that I want to follow.

All Systems Go?

I’m in the process of systematizing my practice. It’s not easy…I’ve always made it a point to not “follow” the crowd and not to place too many restrictions on myself or my practice. Now it’s coming back to bite me! I’ve been wanting to grow and do more. I made writing down my processes and systems this year’s intention. It’s been very painful! I’ve managed to complete my client interview and intake process in the first 4 months of the year.

I went to the library and checked out Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
by David Allen.  Hearing great things about the book…I was hopeful. Got home and haven’t been able to get past the first chapter. It’s not the book, it’s my mindset about systems and not wanting to be boxed in. This sucks…

If you have any feedback on how to make this easier let me know!

And wish me luck…I still have 8 months left in the year to fulfill my intention!

Fun Friday!

It’s time to unleash that inner DJ with http://blip.fm Blip.fm is a fun free service where you get to spin tunes of your own choice, listen to other DJ’s play lists and give out props!  It’s a High School Musical/Hannah Montana FREE zone : D

Best of all…you can connect it to your Twitter account and share your fave songs with your Tweeps!   Love it!

Authentic Relationships

I want to give a shout out to Connie Allen. She owns Joy with Children and is a parenting and educator coach, consultant, all around wonderful person and client!

My husband and I took Connie’s Parenting with Joy Training last year and it was the best thing we ever did for our family. What I learned in her course recently helped me with a difficult situation that came up with my girls when our puppy was sick and we didn’t know if he was going to make it.

This is what happened….

When the girls and I took our puppy, Schmitty, to the vet hospital a couple of weeks ago and learned he had Parvo the Dr didn’t think he would make it. The Dr, to his credit,  was honest and compassionate with me and the girls. The girls were distraught. This wasn’t suppose to be happening and they couldn’t believe that he might die.  I was wavering, thinking that maybe I should have made them leave the room and then tell them. But I thought no this puppy was a family decision and as a family we agreed that we would all be responsible for Schmitty and take care of him.

When it was time to leave, Sam left the room in tears and Natalia walked over to Schmitty and said “good-bye”.  She then looked at me with her very large brown eyes and said “Mommy…I’m heartbroken”. I almost lost it. Every fiber in my being wanted to scoop her up, hold her tight and tell her that Schmitty would be OK, that he’ll live and everything will end perfectly.

I scooped her up and held her tight. I told her that Schmitty was in the best possible place and that the Dr is going to do everything he can to make Schmitty better.

Whew….that was hard. Even now I get emotional thinking about that moment. Being honest with her was the hardest thing I ever did. All I wanted to do was make it OK for her, but I knew in my heart that I couldn’t make this OK. It was out of my hands.

Later that night the girl’s were having a hard time absorbing everything that had happened that afternoon and feeling powerless. I told each of them that if they wanted to help Schmitty, to close their eyes and send their love and good thoughts to him. It seemed to help.  They had something to contribute.

It was 4 days of good news and bad news. Each day after school the girls would ask how Schmitty was and I was honest. If he had a good day I’d tell them that…if he had a bad day they were told that as well. On the 4th day Natalia came home after school and told me that she asked her 3 best girlfriends to pray for Schmitty. I again had to stop a moment and think about that. Pray is not a word I would have used…but it was my daughter’s word and that’s what she wanted to use. She said that was what you did when someone you love is not feeling well. My first impulse was to correct her about prayer being the only way…but stopped. This was her experience and she needed to find away to not only make sense of the situation but to find a way to make it OK for herself.  Schmitty came home 6 days later feeling better and on the mend. Natalia did not waste anytime telling me it was the prayers that made him feel better!

That week was a huge test for me. It was hard to not swoop in, be mom and make it all OK. I learned in Connie’s class that it was important to allow children their own experiences and emotions. And to have mine as well.

The gift that Connie’s class gave me was the confidence to step out of myself and not do what would make ME feel better but to do what is best for my girls’. In allowing them to go through this experience, I didn’t have to pretend that everything’s OK (much less exhausting this way!). I could be authentic around them and show my grief and worry. Do I think they need to know everything that happens…NO. Do I think I need to be age appropriate…ABSOLUTELY. What I learned is that it’s so important to be AUTHENTIC in my relationship with my girl’s and give them a chance to experience life through their lens…not mine.

So THANK YOU Connie!

Fun Friday!

Here’s a twist…my girls actually keep me sane!

This week has been Spring Break and they’ve been off visiting grandma and I’ve been working…a lot! It’s been great to catch up on things, coming up with new ideas and completing projects that I’ve been putting off. Then it hit me…if it wasn’t for them I’d be working ALL the time.

The trick is to remember this moment when I’m slammed with client work and they are in my office whining about being bored : D