Archive for the ‘Priorities’ Category

“Mommy, for my birthday party, I want it to be princesses.”

Shocked, I held my breath for a moment.

I could not believe those words had come out of my toddler’s mouth.

“Okayyyyyy…” I mumbled. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Some context: Our almost 4-year old daughter has never before shown any interest in princesses. We don’t watch Disney princess movies and she doesn’t even know the characters’ names.

…But I sure do:  Belle, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, Snow White, etc….

My birthday is coming up this month. To celebrate, our nanny crafted a beautiful bracelet strung with Jade beads on an elasticized band. It’s just the type of present I love – easy to wear, beautiful, and has a cool, solid feel that grounds me when I’m feeling anxious.

My 2 ½ year old son likes it too. In fact, he likes it so much he wanted to play with it the other day.

I was at a café with a friend having a chat while my son was playing happily along with his Matchbox cars at the table. After a while, though, he got bored and was looking for something to do.

He spotted my bracelet and wanted it. As I chatted with my friend, I thought, okay, I’ll let him hold it for a moment.

Big mistake.

As I slipped the bracelet off my wrist and gave it to him, a small voice inside my head said this could be a bad idea.

It was…

By nature, I find that I am not innately grateful.

I don’t mean to say that I never experience gratitude; rather, I simply don’t spend a lot of time thinking about my blessings. Instead, I focus my attention on what’s not yet done, the wishes that have not yet been granted and the mountains yet to be scaled.

Maybe it’s my corporate background in project management and business analysis, but I tend to concentrate on what still needs work rather than all that has been accomplished already and the wonderful life around me.
I don’t like this about myself….

….And, I find that it’s a deep-seated trait.
Being this way is certainly a double-edged sword. There are pluses and minuses.

It comes in handy in my business. As an entrepreneur it helps me be productive throughout my day, concentrating on what needs to be done and ticking things off, one-by-one.

When I’m coaching, I’m efficient and focused on the goals my clients set for themselves. They appreciate my efforts to help them stay accountable to their aspirations for their lives. I find that I’m able to easily help them cultivate gratefulness in their lives, celebrating their accomplishments.

It seems, then, that my lack of natural gratitude extends primarily to myself and my own life. Which is weird, as I have been extraordinarily blessed.
 

I’ve always been a tad overweight.


Not hugely, and I hide it fairly well, but I carry around an extra 10-ish lbs that just won’t come off.


I’ve tried different diet programs over the years, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, South Beach, Nutrisystem, and some things have worked for a while but obviously not permanently.


It’s been pretty frustrating….


This past year I have gotten back into exercise with a gym membership I’ve actually used. I’ve done this for a few reasons:


I love to dance
I spend a lot of time in my head and need to get into my body more
I want to lose weight


At the beginning of the year I met with a personal trainer and he told me that to lose weight, I really need to be working out five days per week.


Yikes. That’s a lot.


He also encouraged me to do sit-ups. Yuck.


So, it’s not walking-the-dog exercise that’s going to get me where I want to go. Darn.


Well, I’ve been at it all year going three-ish times per week to dance class (yes, I know it’s not five times a week yet), and I feel fitter and stronger. I certainly have more stamina…

It started out as a typical day.

I showered, dressed, made the bed and headed for my kids’ bedrooms. As I do every weekday morning, I helped my 3 year-old get into her school clothes. After dressing my 2 year-old as well, we went downstairs for breakfast. I saw them off and headed to my office to start my work day.

Like I said, it was a typical day. Everything proceeded normally until that night, as we prepared for bed. I went to my daughter’s dresser to get her changed. The pair of pajamas she’d worn the night before, her “Daddy’s Princess” green footy ones with the white polka dots, was missing….