Everyone Needs a Little Lovin’
January 15, 2012 by Holly
It is 4:45 a.m., my absolute favorite time of the day. I am sitting with my tea, a book and a little ‘ginger boy’ named Clive snuggling (and purring) on my chest. Two months ago this skinny 5-month old kitten showed up on our daughter, Amy’s doorstep looking for affection. She said he was more interested in staying in her arms than eating food. As it has turned out, we adopted him from Amy. We thought Clive needed a buddy so we rescued another little guy, Henry from a shelter....
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Turning Down the Effort Knob…AGAIN!
November 20, 2011 by Holly
It doesn’t matter how many times I turn down my ‘Effort Knob’, life has a funny way of sneaking up and making it seem difficult.
This past week I had one of life’s many lessons in dealing with my husband Dave. He has Frontotemporal dementia and as it progresses, he is less motivated to do any activities outside of his jigsaw puzzles or exercise. I’m glad that he is still capable of doing these activities but the reality is that I need help to maintain a house, garden, pets, and car while...
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The ‘D’ Word
September 30, 2011 by Holly
Everywhere in the news there are stories about the rising incident of the dreaded “D” disease. It seems there is more mass panic over developing Alzheimer’s or some other form of dementia than developing cancer. When someone is diagnosed with cancer, the doctor will usually have a plan for the patient. There is treatment, hope for remission, and guidelines on what to do.
But being diagnosed with dementia is different. When we left the doctor’s office 5 years ago after my husband,...
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Slowing Down and Really Smelling the Roses
This morning I sat at my computer and was browsing through my journal when I came across a note (and reminder) I had written on July 21, 2011…
I went for a run along our country road and it was full of surprises. There is an abundance of wildlife in our area but it seemed more acute today. The list of birds is like opening the Audobon bird book. I saw a pair of western tanagers chasing each other, a group of cedar waxwings eating dogwood berries, juncos on the side of the road, yellow warblers...
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A Story with a Beautiful Message
This morning I was reading my email and I came across a story that I’ve read several times and each time it settles deep into my heart. It has a beautiful message. Here is an excerpt from the book, The Dash by Linda Ellis and Mac Anderson from Simpletruths.com…
In the faint light of the attic, an old man, tall and stooped, bent his great frame and made his way to a stack of boxes that sat near one of the little half-windows. Brushing aside a wisp of cobwebs, he tilted the top box toward...
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Food for Thought–SELF-LOVE
July 6, 2011 by Holly
There is a saying…’you teach what you need to learn’. This is what I’m doing by writing and sharing what I’m learning about self-love.
These past few years have been a time of massive personal growth and uncovering the ‘real’ Holly. It isn’t an easy process but definitely worth the sweat and tears that come along with it. Living with a husband with dementia has taught me about unconditional love, patience, surrendering to what is, and living in the present moment. In addition,...
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Insightful Living from the Wild Side
June 29, 2011 by Holly
If you are a subscriber to my newsletter–Tips for Insightful Living–you may have already read my ’bear story’ but it is worth repeating in a blog. I gained so much from this incident that I wanted to share it with more readers.
When someone is upset or having an angry moment, my sister says, “there’s a pony in there somewhere” (ie. A golden lesson). This past week I phoned her because I needed to ‘vent’ about a persistent bear hanging around our bird feeders. She...
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Turning Down the Effort Knob
June 1, 2011 by Holly
I am taking a year-long intuitive coaching course and one of my biggest lessons has been turning down the Effort knob. I had no idea that I have a tendency to make life more difficult than it really is. For example…before I travel to courses I used to fret about the list of things I had to do for Dave, the house, preparing meals, our pets etc.
Last month I was speaking with a fellow colleague and telling her about my list and she simply said…”it doesn’t have to be hard”....
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The Dance
There is a beautiful song written by Garth Brooks titled the Dance. The first time I read part of the lyrics was in an obituary in 1988. A young friend of my son was in a tragic horse accident and her father wrote…”how could I have known you’d ever say goodbye. And now I’m glad I didn’t know the way it all would end the way it all would go. Our lives are better left to chance. I could have missed the pain But I’d of had to miss the dance Holding you”.
Every time I experience pain or...
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Don’t Make Assumptions
It is 5:30 in the morning and our ginger cat with white boots is knocking at the front door. Actually he is scratching at the side glass panels to let me know he has another present for me. Usually I see the minimal remains of his capture (a mouse) but this morning I guess he didn’t feel like eating fur and left most of it for me to pick up.
Living in the wild has its ups, downs, good and bad. I love living in the country but it isn’t always rosy. Just before letting our kitty kat in the front...
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