Catching Up on Autumn

DenaNovember 16, 2020

I haven’t been as present here as I would like lately because wonderful things are happening for our family. There is so much that I plan to share in the coming months, but for now I want to do a little catching up about what’s been happening this autumn.

This season has been a whirlwind of change, strife and growth.

Back in August, I decided to stop drinking alcohol. I wrote about that here. Last week, I celebrated three months alcohol-free. It’s been a learning experience to say the least. I will write all about it one day, but for now I’ll say that these last three months have been some of the most productive that I’ve ever had. I have the clarity and peace that I was praying for. Aside from the immediate physical and emotional benefits of sobriety, I have also resumed my in-studio yoga practice and that has been tremendous for my spirit and body. It’s safe to say that my overall wellness–physical, mental, emotional–is at an all-time high.

For posterity’s sake, we are still in the grips of the pandemic. There is always so much to say about that, but honestly I am exhausted of speaking about it. In short, I will say that this long, trauma of a year has brought out both the best and the worst in people. For me, I believe that it was the best thing that could have happened.

Maybe it is terrible to admit that such a travesty could have been so good for me; but it is the truth. This year forced me to shine light on the weaknesses in the foundation of my life. It forced me to look at those weaknesses and make decisions about how to change things, so that things did not crumble. The pandemic presented all of us with a choice, we could sink or we could swim. I chose to swim and the muscles that I have formed swimming hard against the raging tides of this storm have made me stronger than I ever imagined possible. It hasn’t been easy, no, but it has been incredibly enlightening.

The most important lesson that I will take away from this time is that I can only control what I can control. It is better to put all of my efforts into doing my very best with the things that are within my reach, rather than wasting time and energy on the things that are outside of my control. This applies to so very many areas of life, the list is endless. All I know is that I will spend the rest of my life reflecting upon this important lesson, and so grateful that it presented itself to me this year.

Right beside all of this growth, there has been so much simple, beautiful joy. We were blessed with the most gorgeous autumn. Lots of sunshine, warm days, and all of the elements one could desire for adventure and exploration. I spent a lot of time outdoors with my little ones and also started taking my dog, Sam, for regular walks. Autumn is my favorite and I have soaked up every drop of the magic of this season.

Gratefully I was selected to be class mom for my girls’ kindergarten class. Even though this school year has been unconventional in so many ways, I am happy that we were able to put together the annual Halloween Pumpkin Patch for the kindergartners in October. We also had a wonderful time trick-or-treating. It was different, too, but our community was so creative in finding safe ways to hand out candy and make the holiday special.

Way back in January, just before 2020 dipped into chaos, I selected my word for the year, like I have done for the last 6 years. The word that I chose was Flourish. There were times, last winter and even over the summer, when I felt like it would be impossible to honor that choice. I felt like there was simply no way that one could flourish in times like these… and yet… here I am. While challenging, 2020 has been one of the most empowering, enlightening, growth-filled years of my life. I am flourishing in every single area of my life and I could not be anymore happier with exactly where I am. I am flourishing, indeed, and I fully intend to keep on doing so, come what may.

May peace, grace and joy light up your days. In each moment, remember that you are given a choice to sink or to swim. xo

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