Bella Bellagio

OK, I am letting the cat out of the bag. The past two days we have been in Bellagio, an idyllic old European town on Lake Como, on the Italian side. The only problem is it is raining. And apparently I control the weather, so it hasnt been as wunderbar as it could be.

In its quaint beauty it has highlighted the difficulties and really the frailties of my mother. Frail is not a word I would have ever chosen to describe her. This is the pack mule of a strong woman who would trudge from our house in Danville to Giant, the grocery store in town and back again and think nothing of it. All my Danville friends know her well, and often would remark that they saw her walking up Kaseville Road carrying her groceries. After all, in NYC thats what you do. Shop for what you need for today (and its Biblical! Think only about today, dont worry about tomorrow, doesnt God take care of the sparrows) and nothing more.

Bellagio, in its beauty is difficult to navigate. The streets are cobblestone and narrow, shared by pedestrian and fiat alike, and you had better get out of the way, or you might find your way to an Italian community hospital, not on my top ten of must sees. And the town is perched on a hill, so the stairs are also cobblestone. It only complicates the mobility issue for my mom, not to mention the fact that most places are walk ups and we are on the third floor...so it hasnt been enjoyable for my mom at all. She has sequestered herself inside the flat, which is dreary, especially in the rain. So she is unhappy.

So we put on our sunglasses in the rain and try to shine delight.

Even in dreariness there is joy.

Peace.

What Will the New Year Bring?

Happy New Year! I am moving my office upstairs to make room for a main level bedroom for my mom. This will not only make it easier for her to get around our house, but it will force me to clean out and get rid of lingering papers, projects and to do's that haven't gotten done 9and are unlikely to get done anytime soon). Yes, there is a log of pink in there..

Here we are. Another year, and I have been giving quite a bit of thought to what may be in store, how to prepare for it, how to live with grace, and how to have FUN! You know, living, laughing and loving well. Here are my thoughts and dreams for 2009, and what I aim go dedicate myself to. What about you?

That has been what much of the past year's slow (and sometimes painful) purging and pruning process has been about. Putting relationships first, and getting rid of all of the things--commitments and stuff -- that get in the way. Fortunately, God has saved me from myself a couple of times (at least!)

I have also been giving much thought to the direction I want to go in with my writing and outreach. I have to say I have come to the conclusion that the four core values that JeanAnn Duckworth the founder of Extreme Diva Media have as her foundation to everything she promotes are right on: (And the fact that bling, pink and fun are all wrapped up in that package are all a huge plus for me!)

Relationships. Spending time with people when no one seems to have enough time always needs to trump getting other stuff done. That leads to value number two:

Simplify. Get rid of the stuff--all of it--that distracts you or occupies you from growing relationships. This may be hard to do. You may need to sacrifice a bit, or face some poor choices you made (that in turn make you feel not so great about yourself...) Two of the things I purged were quite a bit of gorgeous yarn I bought in China. I still haven't used it, so I donated it to the shawl ministry at my church. Now I don't have the pressure of knitting projects needing to be done.

And then I also got rid of a bunch of notes from an online marketing program I signed up for. It was not an inexpensive program that I fell for, and never implemented, because what they didn't tell you was the time and computer skill necessary to implement it. Ouch. I never did it, and every time I see those notebooks full of notes that I never did anything with I get a little ill. It was at a time I had a good job, and I didn't make a good choice with the money it cost to participate. Unfortunately I have too many other examples of variations on the same theme.

Less really is more. Which leads to the third value:

Increasing Joy. There is a lot of joy in having freedom. Freedom from obligations, self imposed or otherwise. Why do we as women have such a hard time saying "no?" Fortunately I am getting better at this. I am really trying to carefully consider each choice I make and line it up against these four principles. If it brings with it a nagging feeling of angst, I am now trying to say "no". Since I have historically had a difficult time saying "no" and have such passion for so many different things, I frequently jump into very deep holes without any thought to how I am going to claw my way out.

A recent example of this is when a writing friend asked if I would like to lead a writer's coaching tele-seminar. Initially I jumped at the opportunity, and then carefully considered what it would entail, and thought, "what, am I crazy?" (Don't answer that!)So I emailed him back and told him he had done such a good job coaching me that I considered it, but it wasn't a good fit. I was honored that he thought of me, and left it at that.

And when taken together the end result should be:

Decreasing Stress. And who of us don't want to do that?

So, the focused area of my writing and any speaking will line up with Diva-izing lives for other stressed out women and moms. It has also seemed to be the focus of all the writing I have been doing. My friend Connie and I are also exploring sharing these principles with other stressed women and moms through "Diva for a Day" events.

And my crazy life will provide plenty of stories. All identifiable with I am sure. How many of our lives are lived from distraction to distraction, putting out fires, responding to demands and needs, and losing ourselves in the process, and ultimately we are good for nothing and no one.

Of course, I suspect it gets worse before it gets better. The photo proves that!

So those are the things I am going to be focusing on this year. And the difficult part, I suppose, for me will be maintaining the focus. In case you didn't know this, I get side tracked very, very easily. My life seems to be made up of bunny trails. Distractions that take over leaving me with gazillions of ideas, passions and unfinished projects (which result in too much stuff which in turns leads to more stress).

I think I will start with re-naming my blog and putting a truer to me picture up top. How about, "Living Life on the Edge, Without Falling Off"--I'll bet there are more than a few who can identify.

Do here's to a simpler, more joyful, less stressful year ahead, creating and maintaining meaningful relationships.

Take Time to be Joyful! Slow Down...

OK, so I am still going on and on about Monday and here it is Wednesday already...Sixty degrees Monday and ice responsible for a two hour delay today. To say that put a kibosh in my plans is an understatement! So instead of working today (too much ice to drive to the hinterlands, never mind a late start...) I tried to get errands done. Stress "tried." Long lines everywhere, desired items gone (could that have anything to do with the fact that today is December 17th?!?!?!) and multiple calls from Tianna on her friend's cellphone; apparently she found it necessary to keep me posted on her whereabouts moment by moment.

We have a Christmas party with Howie's department tonight. I decided to get dressed up.

And the highlight of my day was getting an email from a friend, fellow writer and blog reader who shares similar feelings and passions about community outreach. God is up to something...Oh, and a phone call from another writer friend who asked me if I would like to lead a teleconference/coaching session for beginner writers. Wow!

Tomorrow I put my nurse chart reviewer hat back on. Maybe I will wear the one I have on in the picture...

Cheers!

PS I know I am not the only insane one out there trying to get too much crammed into too little time. My readers have fallen off the face of the earth. They are probably stuck in a long line somewhere, which is OK as long as they aer having fun.