January 12, 2012

today, i am grateful for...

• laughing so hard i cried -- in a van with seven boys, ages five to eleven years old

• seeing the sunrise and the sunset... such gorgeous colors, the mountains, the clouds, the sun!

• Rom cooking us dinner. yum!

• snuggling with the boys, feeling Mica's little chubby cheeks... grateful that they both still love me so much and think of my body as part of them

• some alone time in the van... to read and write

December 9, 2011

today, i am grateful for..

:: my tormentors (those that teach me)

:: the release and shift that comes from honesty and authenticity

:: so many of my Hakomi-mates... easy familiarity and appreciation

:: wonderful Dennis, with so many spectacularly fine-tuned exercises for us

:: learning, and putting ourselves out there

:: a quiet evening at home, on my own

December 8, 2011

today, i am grateful for...

:: a car ride with Mica, taking him to Wendi and Ralph's for babysitting

:: the work of so many people -- Daniel Seigel, Daniel Stern, specifically, today -- that have helped us remember and understand our unique human brain-hearts

:: my Hakomi teachers

:: Wendi, for feeding me dinner

:: repair -- a big circle of hugging, which began with Rom and I and then Mica came and wanted up to give us kisses, and then Orlando came, and we were all together

December 7, 2012

today, i am grateful for...

:: regaining a sense of energy and focus in the afternoon. feeling grounded, connected, creative.

:: unschooling -- writing thank you cards with the boys -- watching them create, draw, write.

:: delicious, simple dinner prepared by Rom

:: time upstairs on my own still feeling connected and supported

:: healthy clean teeth in the kids' mouths :)

:: talking to Rom

:: seeing Orlando for who he is -- his gifts, his quirks, his self

December 6, 2011

Today, I am grateful for...

:: a neighbor playing St. Nicholas for the kids in our community, leaving small toys in their shoes this morning

:: playing St. Nicholas ourselves by shopping for groceries and taking them to the food bank. the woman there was really wonderful talking to us and including the kids in the experience.

:: decorating our little silver tree, same as last year.

:: unschooling -- watching The Story of Math (BBC Series) with the boys, seeing their minds at work!

:: well, i am not sure if i am grateful yet... but another difficult interaction tonight, while attending the Jataka Tales at my meditation community, with the whole family. still processing... grateful for my experience in Hakomi, which is allowing me to be with my feelings, at least this little bit, as i continue to find my way

December 5, 2011

Today, I am grateful for...

:: a quiet night-time conversation with Orlando, a heart-to-heart, sweet sharing about something upsetting that happened, about his interests and loves, his hopes and ideas.

:: a dear, dear friend

:: soft hankies for my runny nose

:: family dinner night at the common house

:: swing dancing with my sweet hubby!

November 10, 2011

today, i am grateful for...

:: spinning in circles with Mica and him reaching out to give me a big ole smooch on the mouth

:: spending the day with Mica, enjoying how relaxed I felt, how much he asked of me, reading and cuddling together

:: a good, supportive conversation with Rom on the phone this morning

:: autumn sunshine

:: a wonderful conversation with Rom and Orlando about design, how it works, and talking through the example of designing a door

:: feeling happy

November 1, 2011

today, i am grateful for...

:: crisp sunshine

:: friends with whom we can really be ourselves

:: helping Orlando modulate his energy... talking to him beforehand, brainstorming ideas, and then him spontaneously doing one of them (running around getting his ya-yas out away from the other kids when he felt "pokey")... and me helping him later, holding hands and running together and spinning and laughing, and feeling like, "yes, this is working!" working meaning it feels good

:: delicious simple dinner with Rom

:: waking up in bed, and then one kid after the other coming in to join me in a big, cozy pile

:: presence... being with Mica when he was upset, not wanting Orlando next to him, wanting to wear shoes not boots (once we already arrived at our destination)

:: meditating... persisting in sitting even though i am literally doing nothing but thinking almost the whole time... allowing that, accepting that, noticing that

October 29, 2011

today, i am grateful for...

:: rom

:: crisp and sunny fall day... sitting outside reading while listening to the kids playing four-square

:: a nap, on the couch, in an empty house... some much needed space for me

:: my brain working away, integrating and understanding the reading i am doing for my hakomi training

:: my breath, great big lungs that expand and collapse, the awareness of that as it is happening... magical.

October 28, 2011

today, i am grateful for...

:: chocolate

:: mica's body, healing from a week-long virus

:: a simple dinner at home and a funny movie with rom

:: my moods... awareness of them, curiosity, objectivity, visioning. i can feel something happening, shifting, maybe on a deep level.

October 27, 2011

today, i am grateful for...

:: a van full of boys! there is something so sweet about being nearby, a part of their world of games, jokes, characters, powers...

:: circle round the fire, sharing what we are thankful for... a parent's visiting day at Orlando's outdoor school...

:: the tumbling of leaves, tinkling just enough to get my attention... the slow falling of them to the ground, a scene of blue, white, yellow, brown upon green

:: more visiting with Tia and Tio, watching the kids so excited to share their lives with them

:: feldenkrais, and caring for my body

:: cuddling at night with Orlando, who waited up for me

October 25, 2011

today, i am grateful for...

:: a good connection with Orlando, finally, after weeks of struggle... watching him so happy about receiving his costume (Anakin Skywalker!) and sharing with his tia and tio

:: a friend giving me a call, just when I really needed some human connection

:: finding a place to put our indoor swing -- a place for the kids to get their ya-yas out!

:: a delicious, simple meal shared with Rom's sister and her husband, so nice to have guests in our home

:: the revival of dragon stories -- telling tales of our own souls -- the kids can't get enough! such nice sweet connections and sharing... so grateful

:: chocolate -- fueling me from a weepy morning into a productive and lively afternoon, fulfilled

October 16, 2011

today, i am grateful for...

:: the beach, always and ever... this time hopping logs with Orlando -- Come on, Mama! Now it's the running and jumping level!

:: a community-wide discussion about children in community. a chance to connect, listen, be heard, identify issues, and broaden the support.

:: taking the Power to Parent class series with Rom, and that we are meeting right here in our common house

October 15, 2011

today, i am grateful for...

:: an actual morning meditation of my own at home

:: taking care of my tenderness

:: Hakomi. As the shirt says, "This sh#t works!"

:: dear, dear people I've come to know

:: Wheatless in Seattle chocolate cognac cupcakes. Oh my!

:: delicious dinner -- rice, salmon, avocado, tomatoes from the garden, zucchini and kale, beets

:: time at home, alone, unexpectedly -- the kids off to a neighbors' house to play in the evening, Rom working upstairs. A previous quiet time, what I needed after two days of Hakomi.

October 14, 2011

today i am grateful for...

:: our house -- smaller spaces, rearranged places

:: a conversation with a long-time resident here, her children are grown now

:: Orlando singing songs to me and Mica that he learned at overnight camp

:: nettles tea, and thermoses! Amazing how they keep things warm all day.

:: the people who Ron Kurtz taught ten years ago who have created a community of Hakomi practitioners