Change

Taking a Chance on Change

 

Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Time just keeps moving forward. Can't stop it. Can't turn back. We are quickly approaching our departure date. We are on the cusp of a large, impactful change to our family. We are relocating to South Carolina to support my husband as he embarks on his new adventure. He will be starting school and retooling his skills for the automotive industry. Watch out world! Here comes a great Wrencher! I'm so proud of him for taking on this challenge, which involved serious prep for the GREs last summer, and a heavy lift to get us up and moved. This process has been cleansing - purging items from the home we've loved over the last 13 years, re-evaluating our priorities and refining what's important to us as a family. We have decided to take a chance on change.

As with all decisions, there are consequences. Some negative, some positive. I'm reminded of the movie, Inside Out, where she experienced joy and sadness together, and that in life it isn't all about being full of joy, but that sometimes joy and sadness go hand-in-hand providing a full spectrum of feelings for an experience. I believe overall that the consequences of this change will be positive for us. This gives our family an opportunity to grow and stretch, to experience new things and meet new people. All that to say also that I know it's not going to be easy. I just had my first spontaneous waterfall in front of a friend who was just casually inquiring how it's going. That was unexpected but insightful to me that I may be mourning this move, leaving a part of my life and moving on. I've spent over 26 years in Northern Virginia, not to mention the majority of my life has been lived in Virginia. I will deeply miss my roots here. However I'm also very excited about what is to come. I do believe that God will not give us more than we can handle, and he must have a purposeful plan for us as we travel across a few states to resettle and start new roots. I pray consistently for support and direction and grace during this time.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." ~Deuteronomy 31:6

""For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  ~Jeremiah 29:11

Change can often cause anxiety and I see it in my kids on occasion. I pray that I can be provided the right tools and words to support and lift up my kids during this very big event in their lives. I do think that this will be a good thing overall for them, but the transition may be rocky at times, and that's ok. That's where we find growth is among the rocks. Sometimes we just have to take a chance on change to see it.

Passion

What's your passion?

This is a question I recently re-investigated. As I'm sure many of us have done many times, I sometimes am stopped in my tracks in a moment and begin to question.... what is my passion? What do I like to do? What am I good at? When do I feel my best? 

In a conversation with my husband recently, hobbies came up as a sidebar and I begin to reflect on the fact that I may not have any. Odd. That just sounds odd. How can I not have any hobbies? Is cleaning the house not a hobby? I guess doing laundry isn't a real hobby either. What about food shopping? And so I began to realize - maybe I don't really have a hobby. 

My husband clearly has a hobby - he loves to tinker with cars. He's a true wrencher and is feeling his best when he is under the hood and all greased up. I love that about him; I can visibly see his passion and enjoyment during those times, and yes, I even see his joy between the lines of frustration and sputtering curses.

So how does one go about finding their passion? I think I'm going to embark on this adventure.... and I started with a simple google search: 'what is my passion'. The first search result was Clarityonfire.com. A simple quiz, and results immediately would tell me exactly what...I...hmmm.... interesting. Out of the four possible outcomes (Firestarter, Tribe Member, Side Hustler, and Thriver) I was deemed a Tribe Member. Now I just have to figure out what that means.

Yuck!!

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Health Nugget: Turmeric

Health Nugget: Turmeric

Turmeric has been known to be a great healing spice for centuries, and can be more beneficial than many medicines out there today. It is the curcumin in turmeric that provides many of the benefits seen from the use of this spice.

• It is a great anti-inflammatory to help relieve pain
• Helps with blood sugar control because of anti-oxidants to help balance levels
• Anti-microbial properties - can be used as a face mask with raw honey to help benefit killing types of bacteria, like found in acne
• Detox properties to cleanse the liver
• Known to help clean out your arteries - high blood pressure, high cholesterol, help clean out plaque in arteries

More ways to get more turmeric in your diet includes adding it to tea, add it to breading, or burger meat, salads, or add in a capsule form. There are many resources to learn about the health benefits of turmeric, below are just a few:

• Dr. Axe
• Today
• WebMD
• Plexus Dietary Supplement Ease

Gold Nugget

Health and Wellness - the gold nugget we are all searching for

Resolutions are those things we tend to focus on at the beginning of every year. Last year I made my family write down a list of goals for 2015 on our office wall wipe-board. But oddly, I'm th eonly one who did not complete my list. Although the lists weren't too long (except for hubby's - strange that his to-do list kept growing ;) ) the children did a great job checking off their items, too. Super proud of them!

So in order to maybe make-up for lost time, I'm starting my list early (or late... which every way you want to look at it).

First on my list is better health... along with millions of others. However this year, I'm committed to trying something new - supplements. As I've aged, I find that the body has changed - my metabolism has slowed, I can't seem to fit into what I used to fit into, and the scale is moving up, my A1C is boarderline, my sholesterol is boarderline, I've already been on blood pressure meds for a year (albeit a very low dose), but I feel as thought I'm on the verge of tipping down the cliff of the proverbial health moutain.

I watch what I eat, especially with a type 1 diabetic in the household. I exercise regularly, and although I'm still a stressball, I'm think I'm managing my work life balance 'better'. So, I've reached out for some help. I'm going to try Plexus, three products at first, slim, bio cleanse, and pro bio 5. Hopefully I can rein in some of these cliff diving numbers.

I'm sure I'll add a few other goals for 2016... but for now it's all about health.

Adventure

I'm on an adventure. It's not too fancy, and doesn't require reservations. It often requires traveling up hill, and does require that you carry a lot. There are some down hill moments where you can coast along with the wind blowing in your hair. And, occasionally I'll find a piece of chocolate on my pillow case.

I'm now in my 40s. I can't believe I'm here already. Seems like just yesterday I was carrying on without much to worry about in life. Now I'm responsible for so much and I am part of a larger whole, juggling life with kids, husband, dog, job, house. Life somehow got very complex and can certainly feel overwhelming at times.

This trip that we call life can provide us with so much joy, love, fear, anger, compassion, and frustration along with ups and downs all around. I am sure I'm not alone when I say that I can find solace in things like social media (search Pinterest today, anyone?), shopping, food, outings with family and friends; or just being alone to try to cope with what could potentially fly in my direction next. I have also, for most of my life, found comfort and boundaries in my religion, although in recent times that has sparked some unanswerable and uncomfortable questions, especially with the kids.

So, as I continue to spin my daily life webs and reset them each night, I have challenged myself to think about the things that truly matter to me at this stage in the trip, because I find that when I focus on the things that matter to me most, I more often will find at the end of the day that piece of chocolate on my pillow case.

Christmas Eve

There is nothing like the joy of the spirit of Christmas. This season reminds us to love one another truly, and to rejoice in the glory of the new born King. And...it's a great time to be with family undivided, full attention to one another. May you find that joy and enjoy every morsel of a moment with those you love.