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!
