I’ve only written 13 blog posts this year – my quietest writing year yet. Although the written words have been missing, my brain (and iPhone notes) have been alive with an almost overwhelming amount of thoughts, action plans, new understandings and unlearning of things I thought I knew. I do know for certain that 2020 was a monumental year for our family – some pretty tragic things happened that changed the gameplan for our future…..as well as some miracles that gave me hope along the way.

I want to capture those contradictory circumstances somehow here….for future generations to read and learn from our mistakes and our wins. To reflect on this historical year of 2020 and all that it was in the world, in our culture, and in my teeny tiny family as well. While I don’t have a whole lot going on this week (besides holding a few things together by a thread – see below image), it is my intention to reflect and wrap things up with some blog posts so stay tuned…..and join along in this reflection party if you’d like! I would love some (virtual) company!

Today was my Mom’s last day of work at a credit union she’s been at for 36 years!!! I have so many memories of her at work and all of the incredible people she has worked with so I can’t even imagine how bittersweet this might feel for her…..

Without the ability to throw a party, her coworkers (and us family members) got to be creative in how to celebrate her and her legacy of hard work and dedication to this place and their members.

The siblings and I each took a day to deliver a surprise to her for her last week. My day was Thursday but since I also had to work, we did a little secret mission Wednesday night for her to see the next morning.

Her coworkers organized a video with past colleagues sharing messages of love and appreciation so we joined in the fun with a little addition from her kiddos. Click here to see video.

As with any retirement, this brings up wonderings about my impact and how colleagues and clients will view me 30 years from now. I love thinking long term and keeping this big picture in mind to help clarify and motivate me for all the little stuff I do now…..

Happy retirement Mom!!! We’ll have to come up with some creative ways to keep you from being bored here in the next couple of weeks…..

One of the things I miss from my day-in, day-out job as school counselor is coaching parents on correcting problem behaviors in their homes. As part of my Ju-live event in my RootedWELL page on Facebook, I filmed this video and thought I would share the link here.

It got a little lengthy (20 minutes) but it’s just me downloading the most common and effective pieces of advice that I’ve given (and try to use daily in my home) throughout the years. Hope you enjoy!!!

Click here for video!

If you’d like to join my RootedWELL community for more content like this or info on essential oil madness:
Facebook page – RootedWELL
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WG got sad with her upcoming birthday approaching stating, “I just wish someone in this house had been there to see me grow up.” And although that statement is heartbreaking and we assured her that we wanted that too, I think it comes from a place of pride in how far she has come and truly how hard she has worked to overcome that very “growing up” she had to do early in life.

What many people don’t know is that WG was born at 31 weeks and weighed just over 2 pounds. She was a miracle and a fighter from the start….and there is every ounce of me that wishes I had been there with her holding a teeny hand and holding her body against mine to aid in her survival. And those same ounces of me are furious that others weren’t crowded around doing the same for her. But as you’ve heard me say before, her story is hers and I won’t share much more than that. We only have a handful of photos of her as a little but take in this cuteness for a second….

What I will share today on her 17th birthday is how much we HAVE seen her “grow up” under our roof and in our arms in the last 5 years and what a miracle it is we are all still standing. I will not ever pretend that this journey has been easy but I will say it has stretched us all in ways that can only strengthen us. I am proud of her spirit, her joy, her being a ridiculously loyal and loving friend and sister, and her recent gains in attachment to me as her mama.

Dear WG,

I hope you never stop fighting for life and for survival the way you did at 31 weeks old. You are in charge of your life and will always have a resiliency that will get you through. Stay pointed towards the light and the truth and stay connected to people that value you for YOU and not just what you can offer to do for them. Even though we weren’t there in the beginning, we are here now and will be forever….and can’t wait to see the explosion of growth that’s still ahead of you. We love you completely and always will.

Love, Mama