The Balanced Life, Huntsville Alabama

When I think of our forefathers who founded this country, I consider how they must have felt trapped by the way things were run in their home country of Great Brittan.  In addition to feeling trapped, other words that come to mind are oppressed, afraid, emotional, and at times hopeless.  And yes, it’s true, I’m making a stretch here to connect July 4^th’s Independence Day to this week’s blog, but I wonder if many of us feel the same way (trapped, oppressed, afraid, emotional, and at times hopeless) by the chaos in our lives. 

Most of us are familiar with the expression “all work and no play makes Jack a very dull boy”. It is time we took an inventory of our work to play ratio. Summer is definitely the season to play, as there is plenty of opportunity for fun in the sun, travel, and spending time with friends and family. Although we have to do some “adulting” most days, it is important to make time for the things we enjoy and the people we enjoy spending time with. So, without further ado, here are 10 ways to treat yourself this summer!

Let’s be honest.  We all struggle with comparing ourselves to others.  We compare relationships, accomplishments, physical appearance, intelligence, money—and the list goes on and on.  At times, this comparison leads us to believe that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.

Ok...so, I'm cheating this week. I admit it. It's my week to write and I've allowed myself to be stretched too thin and as a result I'm late writing and have one too many things on my plate! But, as I tell many a client, these are the results of my choices and while I don't regret all the things I've been doing, I do recognize that I need to take a step back and slow it down. I preach mindfulness...it's important to practice it as well!

I received a random email one morning last week called “Trivia Daily”. I have no idea how this landed in my in-box or how I got on their email list. Normally I would delete such an email and never look back and I might even delete myself from their email list. But this particular morning I opened and read the email.

Originally, I sat down to write this as a letter to my former self to express kindness, validation, and reassurance. But I would also like to pen this as a send-off, a good bye letter, a farewell to my past toxic relationship.

I turned 50 last Monday. Even just typing that feels a little surreal.

“No matter what age you are or what your circumstances may be, you are special, and you still have something unique to offer. Your life, because of who you are, has meaning.”  Barbara De Angelis

Most of the time, I feel very grounded and centered. I take things in stride. I feel my emotions but I don’t tend to get carried away by them. I don’t sweat the small stuff. But, one day recently, I wasn’t able to do this.

Most people are probably with me when I say, I’m looking forward to a new year! Possibly more than I ever have before. This year has been extra-challenging, to say the least. And while we still may have a ways to go before things are “normal” again, we have had time to adjust and stabilize to a certain degree over the last 10 months and things seem more hopeful with the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine. I, for one, am optimistic that there’s a light at the end of what has seemed to be an interminably long tunnel.

You may have seen the national campaign “Play 60” promoted to encourage children to be physically active for at least 60 minutes every day. Just as playing contributes to physical health for children, the same can be said for emotional health of adults and their marriages! Research has found emotional intimacy to be a strong predictor of happy marriages. Emotional intimacy can be increased in many ways and among them is shared leisure activities, or playing!

Last weekend I visited the city of Denver, CO, where a few of my family members live, and we had a wonderful weekend visit.

I have a confession to make. I am NOT perfect, nor do I have my stuff together 100% of the time. Actually, if I had to estimate on my best days I’m probably tracking at 75% of my stuff being together. I too forget things, procrastinate, and/or engage in other totally human behavior. I've found that life is much more enjoyable and my relationships are better when I give myself and others a break for being less than perfect. Also playing “Patty Perfect” is exhausting. Below you will find ways to give yourself and others a break when we fall short. 

Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year, with Spring running a close second. I guess growing up in the south with our extreme summers and damp, dreary winters makes me extra appreciative of the moderate temperatures that Fall brings us. While the season tends to end far too soon, I love so many things about it: the crispness in the air, the changing leaves, the harvest decorations and holidays, college football- you name it about Fall, I'm a fan.

Exercise has many benefits and has been linked to decreased risk of many chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes as well as depression. While exercise can be a great thing to incorporate into your day-to-day life, it is very easy to turn what should be fun into another chore.

Ok...so, I'm cheating this week. I admit it. It's my week to write and I've allowed myself to be stretched too thin and as a result I'm late writing and have one too many things on my plate! But, as I tell many a client, these are the results of my choices and while I don't regret all the things I've been doing, I do recognize that I need to take a step back and slow it down. I preach mindfulness...it's important to practice it as well!

So, one way I'm taking a step back is by cheating a bit with blog content. I have had this article in my inbox for a year now waiting for the right moment to share it and today seems like the perfect day! We are fast approaching holiday season and New Year's Resolutions, so it seems timely to talk a bit about healthy habits. I'm borrowing this from the foodmatters.tv website. It's a great resource for healthy living that you might like to check out.

Enjoy! (and I promise my own content next time!)

 A few years ago I had a supervisor who frequently used the phrase, “adapt and overcome.”  As life’s celebrations and hard knocks have come my way, I have referenced this phrase many times myself and credit my former supervisor, Paul, for repeating this phrase often and putting it in my memory bank to recall when needed. 

Sometimes, it's just better to let someone who's experienced something powerful share that experience first hand rather than try to say it for them, so that's what I'm doing (with permission, of course) today for my blog post.