A quick blog post (aren’t those the best kind these days?) to offer a glimpse into a few things grabbing my attention lately…

I’ve spent my life running from my fears. Most of us have. I mean, who wants to go down the mental path of playing out a worst-case scenario to its bitter end? Seems too intense to face such harsh realities. Going deep into our fears is more than most of us are ready to embrace.

It felt as though my heart—my self-compassion—was floating up and away from my chest. The cold loneliness that remained in its place was more than just a bit uncomfortable, so without haste a (softening) version of my inner leopardess* stepped in to protect me. Her protection was short-lived and could have been detrimental to my growth had I not noticed and shifted.

I have a thing about chocolate chips. I think it’s a waste of sugar and caffeine to eat them cold. The flavor essentially vanishes! I like my chocolate too much to waste my daily dose on tasteless, hard cold brown chunks. So even though I love a good, rich mint chocolate chip smoothie, I don’t usually opt for the chips.

Enter the Mint Chocolate Brownie Smoothie.

If you follow any of my Instagram posts or stories then you may have gotten a sense for my love of ceremonial cacao. It took me a few years of hearing about it before I investigated further. I mean, I didn’t need another reason to feed my chocolate addiction, so why explore some weird tradition of sitting around a circle drinking more of something I already consumed plenty of?

I was cleaning up my hard drive over the weekend and came across this story told by my then 11-year-old son. Couldn’t resist posting it…

There once was a seed. It sat buried beneath the dirt covered by the warmth of the sun and the occasional bathing of the rain. It grew, and it grew.

Society has us hardwired to believe that exploring our inner emotional worlds should be reserved for those who are sick—depressed, anxious, addicted, despondent, mysteriously ill with diagnoses like chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia… Do you see where I’m going?

This year, more than ever, I’ve been conscious of product sourcing. As online consumer giants and big box retailers are weathering the 2020 storm quite well, many independent businesses are struggling or closing their doors. Now is the time to support our local farmers, spend the extra effort to seek out locally-made essentials, and kick any “fast fashion” habits. Not only do we lessen our carbon footprint, but we vote with our dollars. I no longer want to be a part of perpetuating the cycle of child labor (clothing and chocolate both come to mind!) and environmentally harmful production practices. Sure, mindfully shopping takes more time and effort, but in the end it’s totally worth it! Here are some of the more eco- and human-friendly finds I’ve come across this year.

After one or two stellar wins (and many more sad misses) at making light and billowy sourdough loaves last year, I finally decided to give my starter another shot. There’s something about being cooped up inside, sheltering-in-place for what is beginning to feel like forever that can inspire you to get a little adventurous. That or life begins to look like groundhog day, and I’ve never been one for routine.

For many of us, electronic communication has become a bigger part of our lives than ever before. As we sheltered-in-place for months and now find ourselves transitioning to an increasingly virtual world we’re becoming more and more tethered to EMF-filled devices.

The arduous mountain range that tested us twice on the way up to Luray wasn’t as challenging on the way back to North Carolina, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a nail-biter. The Ford chugged and bucked its way up the steepest inclines and Matt did everything he could to keep us on the road. Our lowest speed this time hit around 25 mph—better than the 5 mph we had endured on the way up. But the truck apparently wasn’t fixed.

The next morning we awoke to a gorgeous break from the rain (and from the flies now that they no longer sought shelter in our temporary home). After several days of being relatively cooped up together, I discovered a few cleaning tricks to help me maintain my sanity amid 400 square feet of boy-ness.

Despite my husband’s original plan to push through the pouring rain and drive in the dark to our destination in Virginia on the heels of the towing setback, common sense prevailed and we made (the loud and bright) Walmart parking lot our home for the night. The next morning we prepped the RV again for the trip and piled the family into the newly “fixed” truck.

Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, we excitedly packed our family of five (one with paws) into our rented Ford f-350 attached to this 40’ fifth wheel and departed the unusually temperate June Florida day. Destination No. 1: Charleston, South Carolina.

Now that the shelter-in-place is being lifted (some states ahead of others), it’s important that we re-enter public spaces with robust immune systems. Unfortunately, magnified stress and anxiety, worsened pre-existing health issues, and the effects of a stagnant lifestyle have left many weaker than before.

Exposure to toxic cleaners in a confined indoor environment with toxic news playing 24/7 in the background while eating toxic comfort food to cope with the stress certainly hasn’t helped our immune systems. For optimal health, our bodies need fresh air, physical movement, healthful whole foods, and a balanced nervous system.

I’ve written before about the dangers of the online world as it relates to limbic system dysfunction and mystery illness. While screens, in general, are known to suck the life force from us, spending too much time watching the news or scrolling social media places our power in the hands of all the other “experts” out there. And the current pandemic is the ideal time for those experts to tempt us away from trusting our inner knowing.

So many of us feel locked up right now. We need visual cues to help us get the sense that we’re not actually constrained. At first, I was thrilled that my newly free 16-year-old would have to spend more time with us. I was given the gift of precious time with him that I was otherwise losing as he started to naturally take small flights before eventually leaving our nest completely.

I’m officially reinstating the Bored Jar. Back in the day, when my boys were in preschool and elementary, uttering the words, “Mom, I’m bored,” meant playing Russian roulette with the family jar. There were plenty of fun games and activities inside that little glass container, but there were also a few chores sprinkled in. I miss that age.

As we enter another month (or maybe three) of living on top of one another, I’ve found comfort in the social media posts from my homeschooling friends. If anyone knows how to exist in the trenches with our kiddos 24/7 it’s them! Every day seems to bring a new challenge, and somehow we’re making this thing work for us. I might even go out on a limb and say we’re thriving. How? This is what I’ve learned so far…