that effing groundhog…

Listen, I’m done.

It’s been 12 days since the first day of spring, and we’ve had more grey skies, snowfall, freezing rain, and hail than I care to tolerate.

As my almost-six-year-old just said, “I don’t get it. It says it’s spring, but it’s still cold.” Even she gets it.

As I’m sitting here at an Airbnb in Ketchum, Idaho, the snow continues to fall and stick to whatever it hits first. While I can’t deny how beautiful and magical a blanket of snow can be, it’s time to give the proverbial mic back to the sun.

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october… (pt. one)

October was hard for me. From what I hear, I wasn’t alone.

Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse November 2022 - Total Lunar Eclipse - photo via Ed Piotrowski

And then there was a blood moon lunar eclipse on November 8. I don’t know about you, but I woke up with a sort of optimism that I hadn’t felt in awhile.

It was like a breath of fresh air.

Not gonna lie. I was worried there for a minute…

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the power of intention… (pt. three)

So, what have we learned so far? That one (seemingly) random intentional choice can change the trajectory of your life and, by applying this concept practically, you can change the energy of your home. Nice!

Now, let’s explore creating a daily practice of setting intentions to inspire personal transformation…

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empath coping methods (collective devastation)

The U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has left many of us feeling A LOT. As an Empath, it’s hard enough managing our gift on a daily basis, let alone when our society suffers a massive blow. Since we naturally absorb the feelings and emotions of those around us, protecting ourselves from heavy energy takes active effort. So, how does an Empath cope with such a sudden collective devastation?

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starting over…

While I was pregnant with Caroline, Collin and I found out that we had to move; the owners of the house we had been renting wanted to sell. Even though the thought of rental hunting at eight months pregnant made me a nervous wreck, it would end up being a cosmic blessing.

Let’s just say that our landlords had not really been interested in being landlords, so to be free of them was a great relief. We also ended up finding a place for a lower monthly rent and in the most perfect location near my older kids’ schools.

The new home was A LOT smaller, though, so it would really force us to start paring down. At the time, I was reading Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up at the suggestion of a few friends.

The book’s philosophy on decluttering helped us go from shelves upon shelves of books to just the essentials (You’re welcome The Last Bookstore). We figured that if we REALLY wanted to read one of our books again, we could check it out of the library. (Did you know they still have those?!)

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an empath parent… (the early years)

My older kids have always been described as “sensitive.” This word has been used both as an insult and a compliment at various points in their lives. Having grown up self-conscious of my own quick-to-cry nature, I always thought it was one of my flaws.

It took me a long time to realize that this part of me was actually a superpower. In fact, it wasn’t until long after I had my first two children that I discovered I was an empath.

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surrender to the sound…

I was talking to a friend of mine the other night about music. It was harmless enough⁠—talking about Nirvana and The Smashing Pumpkins⁠—but then nostalgia started doing the thing it does, when it instantly beams you back to a long forgotten moment in time and makes you feel things you don’t necessarily want to feel, but it hurts so good. It’s that car wreck that keeps you from averting your eyes. Ya know what I mean?

On this particular trip down memory lane, I landed back at my high school orientation. As I recall, that 14-year-old girl felt many things that day: scared, shy, embarrassed, lonely, and exposed. What will usually happen on a look-back, such as this one, is that I’ll let myself be taken away; I’ll feel all the feelings and get lost in the mini-movie in my mind. I’ll sit in the sadness for a little while and feel a deep sense of loss. On this night, however… I didn’t. Instead, I laughed. I laughed at, ultimately, how small that moment really was. And I smiled knowing that there was a big world full of big experiences yet to be had. But why? Why, this time, did I feel joy instead of melancholy?

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