The Grains are Shifting.....

 My home based friends/moms will get this... and this isn't meant to offend anyone but to express what has been on my mind and sometimes heavy on my heart for years.
Here is a positive I've found during this current situation ... for years I have always felt like homeschooling, working from home, gardening, cooking dinner or baking bread )all the things I often did during the week) was something many others viewed as odd about me.
I mean... obviously I still did me hahaha... My whole blog for years has been about doing what works or is right for you.

Comments like "I wish I could just lounge around all day" , when I worked but from my kitchen table.
or "I wish I could afford to stay home"... For the record just like many of you now.. I am earning an income and at the times I did not we chose to sacrifice to care for a loved on or child.
Once somebody said to me in reference to home schooling; "We are so sorry you have to do this", Excuse the expression but wth?  We choose to do this!

When I was crafty, thrifty (we had 5 kids) or spent the afternoon baking or making someone smile; comments like calling me Martha Stewart with snickers or saying "I wish I had that much time on my hands" can often be hurtful.
I dismissed these in general there were some who are repeat offenders so you know who you are.
Back to the positive.... If you need help adjusting to answering calls, typing reports, teaching kids, cooking dinner and keeping your family happy, fed and joyful (at home): all at the same time. Multitasking is my game.

I have run not one but several successful businesses with five small children running around and often on a very very tight budget (for years my husband was in grad school and a teacher). By the way, he thinks I am being a tad harsh.

 I get it we did not just start being home based overnight and neither will you. It takes trial and error to find your mojo, but you will. 

You have to give up your traditional way of thinking about everything and do what works for you. #lifecoaching

The past week has been SOOOO productive because I haven't gotten the, "well you were at home, so we just assumed you weren't busy tasks handed to me"

I have been training for this for 30 years ask me I am happy to help. REALLY!! I AM :

First time in over 25 years I didn't feel defensive about being home based  #soliberating #livevibrantly
Any other women out there feel like this is your time to shine!?!?
#justsaying #rockingthis #feelingempowered #fivechildrenandafarm #imaginethepossibilites #ridiculouslyamazinglife

This situation may change the way the entire world functions and some of us might be feeling like we were just given a head start.

For some insight on living from within, with family all around;

check out my blog "Five Children and a Farm" This could be the most amazing thing that has ever happened to you!!!!!
"You know not the plans I have for you"

Finding Gratitude in the Least Expected Places...

Today the forth Sunday in Lent I started this post yesterday but couldn't finish it.

In our readings today we are asked to sacrifice. to give up something that will shake up our lives in an undeniable way to create a strength and type of faith in us that has no compare.

“For it is love I desire, not sacrifice and knowledge of God like burnt offerings ~Hosea 6:5

This week and the last 2 days were very time intensive and stressful for me. My mother is losing ground and we finally needed to transfer her to the hospital for a while. She was stabilized and sent back to the residential care facility due to the current situation. We are closely monitoring her health the best we can using the staff to be our eyes, ears and our hands-on love.

I am telling you all this to allow you to take a few minutes to realize your blessings during this time of unrest.

I had a few hours where I could be with my mother. I had to come to the reality that those might be our last moments in this world together. Going through grief processing and yet also praying that things don't end with her alone (lock-down for safety where her care is)

We prayed and sang a bit. Her beautiful voice was broken and soft, her words were mostly non understandable. There was fear in her eyes, but I could see by her facial expressions that the music gave her calm. Singing and music have always been my mother’s language of choice especially more so as dementia crept in.

 We listened to “Hail Mary, Gentle Woman” so many times that night. I laid my phone by her ear on full volume so she could hear it: it is still playing in my head this Sunday afternoon as I edit this. I am surprised they didn’t ask me to turn it down, but the staff knew.

Several times I needed to turn away, so she didn't see my tears: as to not frighten her any more than she already was. She has a lot of fear and anxiety in good situations and always has.

My mother thinks we are at war. The irony is we are; but with an enemy we cannot contain. really her only audible words were of concern for my oldest son who is in the military.  Even in this darkest moment, her love for others was unwavering.

I was able to video just a bit of this for him.

I kissed her, I held her, I pray this wasn't the end but tried to be realistic and cover all of my bases as though it was. I always believe regret is a dark whole to be avoided when possible. As they rolled her into the transport van, I realized that this was probably the end of our earthly relationship as we knew it.

It has taken me a bit to be able to internalize and articulate gratitude for this situation. To have gratitude for those very few hours and for this moment.

So many of us never get final goodbyes. I remember speaking with a friend of mine years ago in her final days. the conversation was very open. she was sad but also felt blessed to be able to prepare her children, let them know how loved they are and take care of details. She has been gone many years but Lisa your words gave me strength and were a gift Friday night. Thank you. Thank you to her family for including so many in their journey. We are all better because of the walk you shared.

I come to all of you as we face lock downs and fear to look for lessons and gratitude where you can find it.

 I will end with "Trust in the Lord"

Micheline Edwards (c) 2020

Save Your Salty Sparkle for Later... Now is not the time to Share.

Are You Like Spilled Salt & Glitter?

Sparkle all You want from your own space....This morning while having a chat with a dear friend in Italy. We were discussing how blessed we currently feel. We both have our health, a home and space to walk safely even though there are restraints. Anxiety and fear are high for many right now.

Freedom in our country is a most valuable and wonderful thing. It is something that in many never experience in some places on earth. It is because of its spectacular value and importance that we covet it with such strong convictions. Are strong ideals and open speech combined with our freewill granted by God create a sense of strong will, determination, sass and entitlement. This could be why in other nations we are not thought of fondly. This is the foundation by which we were founded and have continued to prosper.

In my lifetime and certainly not in my children’s lifetime we have never been asked to do something of such great magnitude as a mass quarantine, against our will. Our neighbors are fearful of losing what they hold dear. They are afraid for their health, their safety and their freedom to speak and choose.

Our freedom while of epic value and not to be taken for granted or squandered is also something that stands in the way of creating us great loss right now. 

We have within our power the supplies (if we do not consume with greed), the space, the shelter and the medical care to ride out this storm.

We have been championed by other places in the world for our swift actions and the ability to stop the current issue in its tracks. We started out ahead of the game, with potential to nip things in the bud but are losing ground quickly. So why is this so hard? 

The reason is because we have freedom.

Our virtue has become our vice.

Freedom is a wonderful thing. Right now our freedom to do what we choose, when we choose and how we wish, is being threatened. This is a temporary inconvenience, but our fear responses are on high alert and many of us just can’t comply. Many are staying home; their fear is telling them to hide in their burrows till mamma bear calls the all clear.  The rest are running around like town crier and leaving an invisible but very damaging mess in their footprints.

Have you ever spilled salt or glitter and tried to clean it up; Only to find particles for days or months afterwards?  Our quarantine is like this, we are being asked to stay in our containers for a bit, so we don’t leave particles behind for others to find. No matter how careful you are or how much you clean something that involves glitter; there is almost always a few pieces here and there that get stuck to other things.

Nobody wants to lose their freedom or be told what to do but here’s the catch none of us want to lose anything… not our jobs, homes, cars, food, possessions, security or most of all our most cherished... our loved ones.

We must trust. Trust is a hard thing for most of us; even me,  but we have to right now. 

If you can’t believe the news sources or your own wisdom; ask a friend who is a doctor or nurse, ask someone you know in another country, ask God.  Your medical friends may tell you that yes, the threat is real, your friends in other countries will agree but they know that allowing others to do their jobs is paramount. 

Ask God… if you apply your faith we are taught above all else to “Trust in Him” and to “Have faith”.

Friends I am asking you to stay home for your safety, for the welfare of others and to allow this short few weeks to be a cleansing period and a time of renewal with our families and with God.; 

After all it is Lent. Its this not living the season with gusto?

Nobody is taking your freedom today. We are asking you to sacrifice for a short while for the better good. Unless everyone follows the rules, we are like spilled salt or glitter that just keeps showing up stuck to something when you don’t want it there. 

Sure, it hurts to disinfect or stitch up a bad wound. It hurts even more if it gets infected and you have to lance it or worse remove the limb. Temporary pain for gain is the answer here.

The current situation has no room for even a single grain of salt left out to be found or we will start cleaning up this mess repeatedly.

Demanding or taking freedom or using free will when you are placing others at grave risk isn’t freedom at all:  it is simply displacing your inconvenience on others and creating a greater possible heartache for someone else.

The longer we refuse to quarantine ourselves the longer this will take. So we can do this calmly while we are all mostly safe, healthy and have supplies or we can keep the particles showing up for months and wait until there is nothing.

Please stay home unless you are a person of absolute need (law, medical personal etc.) The more tightly closed you keep your container (just immediate family if possible) the better and faster this will be over.

My son and good friend both physicians, fear that because some of us can’t play by the rules, they will cost others great loss, much greater than most can imagine. Both have stated this could go on for months unless people pay attention to the warnings.

There will be time to spread your salty sparkle around…. this is not that time!

Stay home and place your trust in God

Micheline Edwards © 2020