The next day came and went and my friend Beth was staying the night at my house for our early morning flight. We celebrated with a cocktail as we finished packing. Then the dreaded phone call came. Hannah mentioned we didn’t have everything in order yet.

This week I’ll be saying goodbye to one of my besties. She’s moving away after many years in the area. We’ve lived in the same neighbor since 2006 but met many years earlier when our daughters played on a softball league together.

This week my family said goodbye to my Mom and Dad’s house. The home they’ve know for the last twelve years or so. The dream home they built together high on a hill, adjacent to the family farm. A place where everything was brand new with little to no worries for them. An easy transition from the place my bothers, sister and I grew up in just across the street.

Not to count my chickens before they hatch but I’m hopeful my family, friends and I’ll be heading to warmer temperatures and sunny skies soon. Our original trip to Hawaii was planned for March of 2020 but you know what happened next …..Covid!

Have you ever thought about setting a goal for yourself and suddenly an hour later, you have several new goals you’d like to reach by tomorrow? Start small and don’t try to do them all at once.

As we send March on its way and welcome in April, it’s filled with anticipation of new life, green grass, budding trees, flowers, and warmer weather. It’s also a sign Easter is on its way. This Easter will look different than any other year, and I’m trying to embrace the feeling.

The celebration was around what we dream for our own life. We are creating and writing our story every minute of every day whether we realize it or not. We wrote down how we wanted our life to look, including what we wanted, how we wanted to feel, our experiences, and relationships. A guide for us to use and live by.

The Mars Resort was situated along the shores of Lake Como in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and lucky for us the weather was very mild for this time of year. We were able to enjoy a cocktail under a tiki hut lakeside and watch the beautiful sunset prior to our reservations.

The very first exercise, she lead was described as a character sketch. A personal journaling story while examining our own house. She continued to explain that the house represented our personality and our life. A character sketch of ourself from an observer’s perspective and getting to know ourselves in a more intimate way.

The woman leading the call had described her experiences of connecting with her mother and brother through unexplained occurrences, like a song being played unexpectedly or a symbol that showed up out nowhere. I too have noticed some oddities over the past few years and felt my Dad close by or at least the essence of his beautiful soul.

I was wrong! Flat-out, there ain’t nothing restorative about these yoga classes, wrong. They were filled with planks, downward dogs, high leg flow series, and twisty-pretzel-like moves while sitting on blocks. After class, my friend and I were excited about getting into the spa hot tub for a relaxing soak.

If you currently go to yoga or an exercise class, people usually have a specific spot they migrate toward each week. As I walked in the door and inquired which spot I could use, my yoga instructor ticked off the people in her head and it happened to be, my normal spot was usually empty. WOW…..”OK, it’s meant to be,” I announced.

The good news is you don’t just get one wish or three wishes, you get as many as you can dream, create, activate and nurture. Wishes don’t just happen, you need a vision and desire to manifest them. You can use prayer, thought, meditation, journaling, or creating a vision board to put your request out into the universe. Then take the necessary steps in making them come true.

Growing up, along with my bothers, sister and a few neighboring children built snow forts, had epic snowball fights, rode snowmobiles and were pulled behind them lined up on a toboggan and metal saucer. Those were the days. Playing carefree, full of imagination and curiosity.

We followed the road as it became steeper and steeper, trudging through the snow stopping only to catch our breath. It was quiet and peaceful with only birds spotted occasionally chirping and sitting among the empty branches. We passed one couple and asked them if the hike was worth it and they assured us it was. Onward to the top.

At the beginning of a new year many people make goals and set intentions for the following 12 months, and until recently I hadn’t really thought about the difference between them. Goals are something to work towards. You see something in the future and you make a goal to work towards having it. It also implies you don’t have what you want yet which implies distance. Setting intentions is as if you already have something, and being receptive to allowing it to come.

I’m choosing my life story of 2020 to reflect my second perspective; one of purpose and growth. Moving forward and not looking back. Fighting the dark forces that try to pull me down. I’m standing up for the kindness, and light people are sharing, that’s part of a bigger love story. A love story that weaves into every corner of the world. You are a beautiful soul with a beautiful story.

The good news is we now have the advantage of experience and time. We’re learning how to navigate and adjust to a new normal.