I recently had an “ah ha” moment when browsing through one of my old journals. Reflecting on life, triumphs, struggles and how many things have changed.

I came across an entry from a couple of summers ago, about my beautiful little girl.

She was going into her sophomore year of high school and wanted to try out for the volleyball team at her school.

The school that she attends is very competitive and not everyone will make the team.

Practices start weeks before tryouts even occur and they are hours long.

She decided to go for it and push through.

One day, as I picked her up for her lunch and hour long break, she broke down.

She was halfway through the process, could barely sit down, walk, and was exhausted from the physical strains of it all.

She sat in my car, in the driveway and said, “I don’t want to go back today, I don’t think I can do this.”

We talked a bit and I proceeded to ask her why. She said,” I’m scared and I don’t want to get cut again this year.”

You see, she had tried to make the team her freshman year and didn’t….. and it was almost unheard of to come back and try again.

I asked her why she wanted this. She said because she loved to play the game.

“But what if I fail, Mom?” “What if I don’t make it?”

I looked at her and calmly replied, “So…make it”.

“Put your mind to it and make the team!”

She went back to practice that day and to tryouts that week.

She did it!

She made the volleyball team!!!

She said “Yes” to her goal and did it.

We were elated. She had remembered how strong she was and what she was capable of doing, if she set her mind to it.

That’s power.

Then, there’s my older daughter. One of the most determined young women I have met.

She sets her mind to something and it is accomplished. I have seen it over and over again.

“Mom, I’m going to go to college(a first generation student) and make an impact on the world.” “I want to help people”.

This is something she has told me since she was 4 or 5, performing “fake” surgeries on her friends with her costume glasses. “Fixing” people.

I believed her, but did she believe?

Yes she did.

She graduated from college in 3.5 years, with honors and now will be starting grad school this fall…going on to help others rehabilitate.

I couldn’t be more proud.

She is doing what she set her mind to. She has given herself “permission” to go after her dreams.

She was afraid, excited and a little unsure, but she wanted something much more than her fears.

So she did it!

I often find that we all seem to want more than what we have, to achieve more than where we are at, but for whatever reason….we don’t.

Why????

We sit and watch the game changers take the lead. We wonder how they did it. We wish we would have just said “YES”.

I’m here to tell you that you can be and do and go farther than you think you can.

My current goal is to say “YES” to anything and everything that scares me….within reason, of course.

I challenge myself to say yes to the things that give me butterflies. I reach for the goals that make me uneasy. I go after the dreams that are God given…you know them….the ones in your heart and mind when you are alone.

The dreams that seem unattainable….until you look back 5 years from now and realize you are living that very dream.

I will not sit by and observe any longer.

I am a GAMECHANGER too💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻

One of my daughters favorite books is below.

Molly Lou Melon.

Molly Lou overcame obstacles, moved forward and said Yes to what made her happy!

It made such an impact on my oldest daughter, that “SO SHE DID” is kind of her trademark😉

Ill leave you with this.

Be brave.

Be afraid.

Be uncertain.

That’s all ok. The most important part is to get up, in the midst of the vulnerability, and do it!

Whatever “it” is!!!!

SO SHE DID💜

There’s power in giving yourself permission.

Much love,

Linda 🦋

Every summer, around this time, I start feeling impatient.
I cannot wait for autumn!

The cooler weather,the beautiful leaves, first day of school, and things just seem to slow a bit. Ahhhhh…..Autumn.

This year really isn't that different, although as I lay in bed the other night, it occurred to me that it will be.

I am a Mama, through and through. Whenever asked what my favorite "job" has been, my greatest success in life, or what I love the most….it is being a Mama💜

As my children have turned into teenagers and young adults, I have had to learn to "let them go"…just a little bit.
Later curfews, more time with friends and the understanding that they are individuals.
Although it has been difficult…..it has been more amazing watching them fly.

I go to bed pretty early most nights, as I wake around 4am, to prepare to workout.
9-9:30pm to be exact.
Sometimes the kids are still at work or with friends.
I fall asleep, but not truly asleep until I know my babies(who are now 16 and 18), are safe and sound at home.

So we have this routine where when they arrive, they knock on my bedroom door.
The knock typically scares me. But they say they are home and "I love you" and then I am able to fall fast asleep.
May seem odd, but it's so comforting to me. And who knows? Maybe even to them.

The last couple nights, after my son has arrived home, have kept me awake.

I realized the seasons were changing once again.
Wasn't he just starting middle school?????
And so it's time for the leaves to fall….

He starts college and moves in a couple of weeks.

The other night it hit me. How many more times will he be here to knock?

Huh. Kinda brings a tear to my eye.

There won't be many more.

Now granted, I still have my beautiful 16 year old at home, but it still stings.
I will wonder if he is safe. I will wonder if he needs me.
Until the season allows ME to change and accept.

The reason I am sharing this is that I thought about the changing seasons, as I was laying awake the other night, after the knock on my door.

We want winter to hurry along, we wait impatiently for spring. Summer flies by, and then we look to Autumn for change.

What if we just enjoyed it all?
The change of "life's" many seasons.
What if we lived in each moment, not anticipating what comes next?

What if we inhaled the cold air and went on those late night walks in the blizzard?

What if we sat up past midnight by the bonfire on a cool Autumn eve?

What if we looked at every single KNOCK on the DOOR as another opportunity to live?

Now, soon, I won't have to wait up for the kids to arrive home. But, I'll tell you this.
I won't take for granted the times they kept me up talking until late at night.
The times they were sick and needed their Mama.
The moments when they were young.

It's all beautiful, friends.

It's all this turning, beautiful, untouched mystery.
It's called life.

Enjoy the seasons of life like you never have before this year.
Inhale.
Reflect.
Take time.

Because you never know when the last leaf will fall. 🌳

And don't forget to listen for the knock….I know I will be 😉

Much love,
Linda 💜

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."
There could not be a more meaningful sentence this past week.

How do we, as humans, souls made up of energy and love, find the strength to sit back in some moments in life and "let things happen"?
Well, often times we don't have a choice.
I have been faced with some situations in my life that are teaching me how to take control over myself, instead of trying to control the situation, as I am learning….I can't.

It's a hard pill to swallow as an empath, to watch those that you love walk into a fire.
They are fanning a flame, trusting it will all work out, when your experience has proved otherwise.

You want to throw a fire proof blanket around them, throw water at them, scream at the top of your lungs and let them see the ladder you are clearly holding…beckoning them to come down….I am here to "save" you.

But I am slowly understanding….and accepting….that some things in this life have to be felt and experienced by the person, in order for them to feel the pain, realize their situation and then they can grow and move on.

I can't stop them from walking into the fire, but I can stand back, so that I don't get burned.

Life has a funny way of coming full circle.

I have always felt that I lived through my circumstances as a child so that I may "save" others from the same pain.
"Here….learn from me, let me show you how I survived, take this rope…..I will pull you up."

And then, even with all that "power", I can't stop those that I love the most from being "burned". And that paralyzes me.

So, just the other day, I wrote down something that was a game changer for me.

"I have decided that I can't stop them from getting hurt. That is how we grow. I can't control their decisions or how they live their lives, but I can control me.
I get to decide how I want to feel, the circumstances I will put myself in the midst of, and who I allow into my life."

I took back control of ME.
There's power in that, my friends. So much freaking power.

I can allow my loved ones to go, and be, and live. Knowing full well they will get burned again. It's just a matter of time. But, the freedom for me is that I will be safe. Because I have stepped back and protected myself from the fire.

"God grant me the serenity"….the peace.
"To accept"…..which is so very hard.
"The wisdom"……which comes from experience.
And, "the courage"…..something I will need to pray for every day.

I can do it.

Sometimes you just need to let it all unfold, as you stand back and watch it burn.

I will maintain my role, my standards and my morals. And when the destruction is left behind, I will clean up the debris and put everyone back together…..as I have done so many times. It's the empath in me.
We feel everything, sometimes too much.

At the end of the day, I write this to empower. Me, you, us all.

In order to find your clarity, your strength, your peace in any given situation…..you MUST take back control over the only thing you have control over in this life.
That, my dear friends, is YOU 💜

Renovate and Rise🦋

Much love,
Linda 💜