“Do whatever is in the power
of your will to
“make the season bright.”
Light the lights. Light candles.
Light up our hearts with your smile,
your dancing eyes
and your beautiful soul.
See the irony in a crisis,
and have as much fun as you can,
whenever you can,
for as long as you can.”
–Alexandra Stoddard

Good morning my dear <<Name>> and Happy Saturday to you! As I write you this love note I am sitting by the fire with my 2nd cup of coffee in my hand.

I've always been a morning person and most of my life have been wanting to "get busy" as soon as my feet hit the floor. Something that still to this day astonishes JB as he is SO not a morning person. And I know made my mother a little nuts when I was a kid.

Yet, more and more these days I'm finding that while I still love the mornings, it's not about rising early to get things done. As I get older, the more often I want to sit with my coffee and allow my thoughts to wander rather than tackling my to do list. Especially when I can do it by the fire or by one of our Christmas trees with a cup of coffee in my hand and a blanket over my lap. HEAVELY! 

It isn't that my to do list is shorter. It's just that I am realizing that this year especially a lot of soul work is incubated in this space of being and thinking.

One thing I've been thinking a lot about is this love note.

I've been writing to you for almost ten years now. At first I wrote weekly. And then a couple of years ago, I shifted that to every other week. My goal has always been to connect.

To share how I am traversing this thing called life in hopes that my experiences and what I'm learning help you feel not so alone in your experiences. If, along the way, I can inspire you to take some action that leads to loving yourself and your life just a little more than you did before then all the better!

Because sometimes the spark we need to shift something comes from seeing someone else do something differently from us. Or the comfort we need is to see that others are dealing with similar challenges and we aren't alone.

I know how valuable that is. Just yesterday I was telling a girlfriend on Voxer that often I feel like "everyone" is managing the lengthy COVID lockdowns SO much better than I am...and she messaged back "AS I heard that, I was eating PIE CRUST. Not pie, just a pie crust I sprinkled with cinnamon, baked on it's own,  and ate". And yep, that made me feel like I wasn't lone in managing my soul in these long days.

But before I regress too far away from the subject of this missive to you I want you to know up front that has always been my goal. Because we always learn from the stories of others.

And because I believe it's important that being in your in-box demands I am stand within my integrity to show up when you expect me, I want you to know I'm changing the timing.

Beginning in January 2021, this love note will only go out once a month. 

This isn't a decision I've made lightly. And honestly? I've been pondering this change for over a year. Most business coaches would tell me that to connect (and hopefully sell) I need to show up MORE. But because I've always valued connection over sales, I hope that showing up less allows us to connect more.

Yes, it seems like an oxymoron to say I'm going to show up less often but hope we connect more deeply.

But like me taking more time in the mornings to just BE before DOING, reducing the amount of email you get from me offers both of us a chance to virtually sit together and savor our time rather than the cursory same-old-same-old note that you've been getting from me for years.

And to be honest, I don't know exactly what I'll be including each month. I know that there will be a love note and I can't imagine not including a recipe to nourish your body along with your spirit. 

If you've ever read "Leaving Church" by Barbara Brown Taylor, Taylor tells about a time she was invited to speak, and her host assigned her this topic: “Tell us what is saving your life right now.”  Those are the things I'd like to add. Because while I can always tell you what's challenging me, I want to call out the small things that are helping keep me afloat.

Taylor says it’s too good a question to not revisit every once in a while: what are the things—big or small—that are saving us? 

I've been longing to tell you what is SAVING me...how I am finding ways to nourish my spirit and manage the challenges. Most of the time, these things seem too small to write an entire love note about. Yet, they'd make a good bulleted list.

            ---Like how an impulse buy of a giant measuring cup (it holds 2 quarts) was the most useful thing in my kitchen this past month.

            --And how sing a sparkly mask chain my friend made has helped make running essential errands SO much easier. Plus it's so pretty!

            --And how putting up ALL our Christmas decorations this year - including fulling blinging out two trees in the house has made me joyous. 

            --And how enchanting the first snow always is to this Texas girl.

While those things seem incredibly SMALL when you look at the news, to me they have been HUGE.

So you'll still get this note in two weeks ( on Dec. 19th)  And beginning January 9th, 2021 this missive will arrive the 2nd Saturday of the month.

And on that note, my dear, I am going to rinse out my coffee cup and grab a fresh glass of water. I hope you have an amazing week.

And if I don't tell you often enough, I am ever grateful for this space in your inbox.

I hope no matter how you celebrate in December that you do it up in a way that lights you from within. As the quote I shared from Alexandra Stoddard reminds us let's do whatever is in our power to make the season BRIGHT. Because bright invites love, kindness, and joy.

Remember that I'm just an email away. I love hearing your stories and helping you find the resources you need to create a life you love.

With so much love...........






PSS - I am taking ONE or Two new clients beginning January 18th!  If coaching is on your list for 2021 feel free to  book a Discovery Session now and we can see if we're a good fit. If not, I am happy to refer you to other coaches I know.