Long Winding River

Whenever I sit down to the keyboard after a long hiatus, I am usually filled with a kind of dread. So much history to capture since I last wrote. I want to convey it all, down to the little details, which I can't possibly remember let alone capture, so then I stumble over what is important enough to write about. Where even to start? Where did I leave off?

I could sit for hours trying to figure out my start, but I've returned to the board enough times to know that I really just need to jump in here and now and let the tale weave itself.

Its the eve of December. Where has the year gone? It has flown by and equally it has crawled along amid varying waves of challenging situations and new experiences.  We have weathered all that has transpired quite well and with our health very much intact. What a huge blessing.. to have your health.

Speaking of health, my business has not yet taken off. As time effects the path of the river, so has it effected the course of my business creation. I had big dreams at the beginning of the year which got rather sidelined with the shattering of my wrist and the demands of home. Despite that, I did manage to obtain my Integrative Nutritional Health Coaching Certificate, as well as, get certified as an International Health Coach. My wrist is now fully healed (hooray!)  and so my attention is turning back towards building the Here To There Health and Wellness Center.  But it is turning back with the inclusion of new circumstances (primarily the fact that Greg was laid off on November 2nd) and I (well really at this point it is "We") have yet to determine how this will effect its development.

Does Greg return to the corporate life? If so, that means, he lives away... at least until Connor finishes up school and  heads off into his life. Frankly that really isn't an option that we want to consider unless we have to. We have done the "moving for the job" thing. We've had lots of the "strike out on your own for an adventure" experience. We've endured months upon months apart for career/security. Is that the life we want to continue to live? Not really.

So that means something closer to home.. a step back in industry but ideally to a level that suits his desire to nurture individuals career growth...because ultimately that is when he personally thrived. Finding the right fit locally might be a bit of a challenge although opportunities are around. Plus I am now able bodied...my wrist has healed enough for me to return to lifting... And obviously typing... So I am capable and willing to fill in any wage gap through traditional means.

This idea feels quite comfortable. That is other than taking on the challenge of finding the right opportunities. Which, if we set our sails that way, I know they will readily present themselves.

Or.... We can step completely off the conventional path and forage our own way together.  We have been brainstorming the possibility of diverging into "something new" for a long time. And while we were setting our alarm for a year and a half off for such a drastic shift to happen, the universe made a time correction, because the wake up call came early... but not so early that we were unprepared. However, now our period of brainstorming has been greatly ramped up. In October, we began playing with the idea of opening a "Smash House" which is essentially a place that provides a physical outlet for stress, anxiety and anger. 

My original intention of the Here to There Health and Wellness Center was very nutrition centered. But Life threw me curve balls all year and so it really has not taken much form. Ultimately, it can become something different and more broadly health based and ultimately a smash house could prove therapeutic..not to mention entertaining.. It could be re-branding time. 

We have given ourselves until January to decide our way.. whatever that is.

Speaking of January, Willow is headed West to stay with my Auntie for a while. Her world has been small for a long time (out of necessity) but she is now ready to stretch her wings a little bit where she has a vast safety net of friends and family to support her growth and movement towards independence. She is returning somewhere she has called home and where she will be loved, cared for, and molded in just the right measures. God Bless my Auntie heart!  

Meanwhile, Connor has finished drivers ed. He is still working on his confidence and will aim to take the actual test in the Spring. Being on the student council he recently got to attend a Skills USA leadership conference which he really enjoyed. He is beginning to deepen his relationship with classmates outside of class and is becoming quite the young man. He is taking a class at the community college as well. It is a pass fail course which is in his favor as he learns the level of organization that college requires to be successful. 

It is 1 am as I write these final words and my eyes are drooping. It is time to turn in. Hopefully, I don't wait so long to catch up again!

Infused With Love

Hello All!

Holy Cow! Where did summer go??  To be honest, summer isn't really gone but compared to the big open sky and long hot days of the High Sierra Desert, the mildness and shortened season of the New England summer seems sleepy and cool. Already it is time to close the pool. Leaves are falling in the neighbors yard and my garden works to produce the last of the Fall Harvest consisting mostly of Brussels sprouts, leaks and butternut squash... not to mention the freaking monster cucumber plant. It was a surprise to find out that cucumbers are actually spiky fruits. I suspect we have about a month before the first frost.

Anyway.. despite its seemingly swift transition to fall, summer (August in particular) was chalk full of adventure and enjoyment. (Pictures to accompany this post can be found here as there are just to many to cut and paste.)

First, Greg and I went up to Montreal to see Iron Maiden.  The last arena rock show, we attended was Before Kids when we won tickets on a party bus in Phoenix to go see Megadeth...1998.  Now the bands of that era are gentrifying so I really don't expect to ever see another arena rock concert but after that absolutely amazing show, I don't need to. I've seen the best.

As for Montreal.. it is a beautiful busy city on par with San Francisco. It has a very impressive bridge which is called Pont Champlain. The city is divided into different districts. There is a banking district, a china town, piers and a gay town. It is strongly pedestrian and bicycler oriented and sports the the old world charm of very narrow streets. In other words, driving is insane and added to that, the rules of the road are not the same. For instance, right hand turns require a light meaning you can't turn right without a light even if it is clear to do so. A basic knowledge of french and or the metric system are helpful. There are a couple of reasons that I highly recommend visiting Montreal over San Fran but the biggest is that Montreal isn't a cesspool and you wont be trecking through human feces.

A few weeks later, I left the family behind to soak up some sun and get in quality time with my western roots. This was an important trip for a number of reasons. My grandparents are 90 now and their time on earth is dwindling.  Spending quality time with them was really my main objective. Grandma is in better health than she was a few months ago but when having a one on one conversation it becomes obvious that her stream of consciousness is far from linear as she jumps from topic to topic and back again. Grandpa's mind and body are as well as can be. He likes his whisky though. He likes it A LOT ..  a 5th lasts him 2 days. For someone who never really drank, it is significant. But he is very conscious of not drinking until he does whatever driving, appointments or errands he has to get done. So that is a positive.

Other than seeing the grandparents, I also got in super visits with a number of dear old friends who happened to converge with me. Elaine was visiting from Japan, Nell and David were in vising in Oregon and timed in a stop on their way home in Alameda. Sidney, Melissa and Terri  are all educators and the first week back to school is always a doozy but that didn't stop them (or their families) from joining in the various activities. I love these people. No matter where life takes us, we always pick right back up. They are very dear and I feel blessed to have them in my life even when time and distance puts them on the back burner. Sidney commemorated the event by gifting us wool socks that she had knitted. I will cherish them! 

I also took a brief dip in spiritual waters while visiting with the McNallans, Lisa and Megs. How wonderful to reconnect with these individuals who where instrumental in helping me connect to the wellspring of ancestral knowledge and understanding.

I joined the cousins for dinner and a movie. We watched the classic "Flight of the Navigator" The little ones have a huge selection of movies but this was not one they had seen before.

I drove to Bishop and converged with a couple of old neighbors, Matt and Kathleen. They now live in San Diego and were returning home from three weeks in Ogden UT where they were attending to Kathleens mom who had broke her back and then had a stroke. Despite the ordeal, they were in good spirits and brought me the joy of their smiles.

Since I was down there, I planned to take a few moments to myself and spend the night camping, looking at the stars and decompressing. We all need time alone sometimes. It is important to our self care. My plans didn't work out as anticipated. I didn't stay the night because my gear wasn't quite adequate for the conditions, but I did get as much out of the break as I could and conducted a mini sweat lodge which was easy given the 95 degree temps.

During the trip I also dropped in on a few other friends that I wanted to give some appreciation too. A brief visit with Denise who was fighting Pneumonia. A stop in at work to give Heather E. a big hug. She has had a very troubled adulthood but has turned it around and is doing really well now. It did my heart good to see her. I stopped by the Pitts to with them happy birthdays but missed them. I also missed Dan Oster but got to see the golf and rec center he is developing.  And lastly I got in a decent visit with Vince. He may not have a mullet anymore but his heart is the same. He carries his hardships with a smile and a laugh and is a rockstar in my book. 

And before too long it was time for me to return home with far more luggage than I arrived with. My Dunkle gifted my with display of my Grandfathers WWII medals and a walking stick he had hand carved/created for my Uncle Don. Don was my godfather as well. They were both very special gifts. And my mom gifted me with health related books written in the late 1800's. I had always wanted them! In addition, she restrung my amber necklace and totally spruced it up. Then she scavenged through her closet and gave me a bunch of dresses. And Sidney gifted me with a pair of beautiful wool knitted socks.

It took a whole week to recuperate when I got home. It was mostly jet lag. Because I ate right the whole time, I went home tired but not falling apart as I typically have after such an adventure. It was a very full and satisfying trip.

Now on to the next adventures!

"Springing" into action

Has it really been that long? The last time I posted here was in October? It feels more like a blink than 3/4 of a year and yet so much has been processed, moved through and achieved.  Whew! It is nice to finally sit down and exhale a bit. 

As I start writing it is 8 am, 69 degrees and overcast with a big drench headed our way.  Its a perfect day to dedicate to some serious keyboard time. Plus.. I no longer have to worry much about any interruptions that require me to drive someone somewhere. 

That right, my daughter finally has her wheels on the ground. All 4 of them. Peaceful, radiant, grounded and ready to start expanding.  Im not just talking about her having her drivers licence either.  Her short life has  been spent fighting some serious ills. Autoimmune issues have crippled her and primarily attacked her ankles. She now has the tools to repress that. A year on her feet now and only one little flare when she ate a tomato. How huge it is to be mobile. But those terrible early years have effected her stride and carriage. I don't expect she will ever be a runner but Lord how good it is to see her moving and dancing. She has kind of put down the pole. I may have been judged by some for buying my daughter a stripper pole but it was therapeutic and allowed for her to support her ankles and develop upper body strength. An interesting aspect of both mine and Willows arthritis has been a developmental tendency to walk on our toes, thus feeding into how we carry ourselves. Anyway, shes moving on but the pole remains up for any of us wanting to take an occasional whirl. That of course has not been me lately but more on my wrist later. 

As if that has not been enough for her to contend with growing up, around jr. high she also started to display signs of what we only recently had diagnosed as the more extreme version of bipolar. It was not an easy thing for her (or any of us ) to contend with but she has made it through the worst and now, with the right supports in place, she is experiencing a previously unknown sense of peace.  

And Im experiencing tears of relief. 

My wrist is healing well. a plate, 8 screws and a pin all told. What an interesting process. I know that having this injury has sucked but it has also been fascinating. On so many levels. 

1. Just the physical process...How the body (and in particular the autoimmune system) responds to a physical trauma. I knew I was no danger so I kept myself very calm and managed the pain very well and just observed what my body was doing. Tylenol is amazing for certain pains. 

2. I was running backwards when it happened. And metaphorically this applied to the place I was at in regards to business development. I was working really fast towards an outcome I had not yet fully visualized.  It took falling down to turn my perspective around. I needed to slow down and work things backwards. All of that is coming along but more about that in a minute. 

3. Bone Doctors are the wood workers of the medical field. 

4. The pain of a broken bone is less painful than the pain of arthritis. This has been a humbling realization. And has given me a reference to understand the size and density of what I've had to packed around on my back. 

So rather than make this already long story any longer.. Im going to wrap up this topic and just say...  Ive unpacked a lot, learned a lot, processed a lot, released a lot, and am now ready to turn my attention to moving forward at a reasonable pace towards a goal that looms close. 

Now.. hehe.. to talk about the fun stuff. 

Where to start? There are two parts to the equation that need separate types of attention and development. The first is "Here to There".. the business itself. What is the outcome I want to strive towards? How do I support that with my steps now? And then there is the development of me as a coach and my programs. I had a hard time separating out the two initially. Now that I have, the processes have become clearer and simpler to contend with. 

So just some quick notes first... Sept 20 is the Here To There official opening. Sept 21 starts my first sessions. H2T will start as a membership based center. At the heart of our service lies the idea that "A persons journey to health and wellness begins first and foremost at home and around the kitchen table." As such, we will start by offering lifetime (For the duration of the business) memberships with enrollment in a three month " combative cooking" course. The current benefits to be received with this special membership is access to the centers physical resources (Art, sewing, reading/ meditation space, etc)  during posted hours.  Membership also entitles participants with deep discounts.  We are starting out small and running things out of the home but the plan is to eventually have an actual center  where we will host healing retreats and special events (Offering yurts and rooms) in addition to providing nutritional emotional and other forms of service. I also expect we will build in a hiking trail and maybe a disc golf course.  I also envision it as being self sustaining (Or as close as possible) with a few bison or water buffalo, goats, pigs and large garden. Plus just having all the benefits of Vermont at our disposal. I plan to create a heaven on earth. 

At the end of July I am sitting for an the International Health Coach Certification. I am working on my programs and getting the center set up. I have quite a bit  of studing to do. And a lot of other things.. best I wrap this up an get going. 

I had been thinking that I needed to leave this blog space for good as I moved forward with my new incarnation as Coach V.  However, after a false start and with a clearer perspective, I have decided that I am not moving from here. "Coach V" is here as a result of who I have been. This blog has offered me an outlet though all the hard times..not to bitch.. doing so would be counter productive.. but to celebrate the joy and beauty (and sometimes absolute weirdness) It has been my coping mechanism through it all ,as well as being a tool for me to share these moments with far flung family and friends.  However, I will be going through and archiving some of the posts before turning up the volume here. I may adjust the name a little as well.

Time to get some loose ends tied together. Time to grind.  But before I go.. Spring hasn't been all bad. It has also been quite beautiful!  Here are some photos!