Shutting down the Hamster Wheel

This is a postscript from my last post ( http://hollyeburne.com/life-lesson-2/balance-is-it-possible/)on balancing your personal and professional life… This morning I was wide-awake at 3:36 am and although I wanted to get another hour of sleep (my usual waking time in 4:30 am) I couldn’t. My mind was racing with my day’s schedule, planning new programs for my business, websites, coaching clients and last, but not least, all of the personal chores piling on my plate. After spending a couple... 

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Balance…Is It Possible?

There are 2 camps on this topic: a group of people who say it’s not possible and another one, me included, who believe that balance can be achieved but it takes work. More than work, it takes ‘awareness’ and listening to your body giving you feedback on how you are doing. Earlier this week I went through a painful experience involving our 8-month old kitten, Henry. He is the sweetest, most innocent cat eg. he doesn’t draw a claw when you rub his tummy although he doesn’t really... 

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The More Painful Side to My Story

The story I’m about to share with you is difficult for me to write. By now you are familiar with how I’m meeting the challenges of living with a spouse with dementia. I’m proud of the person I’m becoming because of it. What you don’t know is my other story– one that has to do with money and getting myself into a financial mess. There is so much shame and fear (far more than caregiving) surrounding it that it has taken me 3 years to write about it in public. It is important to know... 

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Bottling Fun

My sister arrived for Easter weekend on Thursday night excited to have a 4-day holiday from work. After her 2-hour drive my husband, Dave, greets her at the door. He has a gigantic grin on his face—not because he is happy to see her (although he loves when his ‘silly sister-in-law’ visits), but he wanted to tell her his big news. “Guess what I’m doing tomorrow?” What Dave? “I’m riding into town. You know why?” No why? “ It’s Friday.”  (Dave’s conversations are riddled with... 

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Stuck In My Story?

Earlier this week I watched Oprah’s First Lifeclass: Tour and there were so many aha’s I had to bring out my writing pad. Relationship expert, Iyanla Vanzant spoke about PAIN—not our physical pains but our emotional, mental and spiritual pain. Iyanla’s definition of pain = pay attention inward now. She said “having one story in your mind about yourself can trap you in a world of pain”. Yes, I know what that feels like because 3 years ago I found myself swirling around in a pool of massive... 

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Just Do It!

EAV:3b924f7fb00d00da This morning I was listening to a class on Money Manifesting Mastery by Andrea Hess and she said that every time you do something new, or out of your comfort zone, your ego will try to keep you safe by sabotaging your efforts. Maybe not at first, but as you persist in creating new habits, there will be feelings of self-doubt, fears of failure, worries of what other people think, procrastination–anything that will convince you to go back to the safety of your old patterns.... 

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Everyone Needs a Little Lovin’

  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!

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

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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