Hello Amy,
No matter what we do, time keeps marching on…
I just returned from a visit with my older daughter, Nina, and her family. It was my oldest grandchild, Hunter’s birthday. He turned 7! I can’t quite wrap my head around that. It seems like it was just yesterday when I received the call that Nina was in labor, a month early, in Florida, and on her own as her husband was deployed somewhere in the middle east by the Navy. With a lot of finagling, I was able to change plane tickets, and Maya and I got to Florida in time for Hunter’s birth!
This visit was to see them, celebrate Hunter’s birthday, spend some special Hunter/Grandma time with animals (we now have a tradition of going to a cat cafe to play with cats and kittens since his mom is allergic), and spend some time with my youngest grandchild, Luna, who is now almost 9 months old! It has been almost 8 months since I last saw Luna and OMG what a change there has been! This rolly-polly baby is sitting up, eating real food, holding her bottle, crawling, laughing, and has learned to clap her hands on command (just last weekend when I was there!).
You might be wondering why I’m sharing all this about my grandchildren and time passing. Well, I just released a new podcast episode which is an interview with Holly Strelzick who is an end-of-life doula. She works with individuals and their families to assist those who are dying in having their last wishes and comfort maximized.
Holly has also started an organization called, the Center for the Heart whose mission is to provide compassionate end-of-life and grief support to all in need, regardless of ability to pay or past actions.
Please watch, or listen, to the podcast and let me know what you think. If you have ideas for guests and/or topics around life transitions, loss, and grief, please reach out!
Since Earth Day is around the bend, it seems appropriate that this edition talks about life and its cycles. I remember the first Earth Day. I was in junior high school and a group of us got involved in the celebration in NYC. I remember being stationed on West 14th Street and giving directions to the events happening and adding, “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the pollution” to everyone I spoke with.
This calls to mind Mother Nature and the four seasons. In my way of thinking, the first season is spring. We re-emerge from our winter of cocooning and begin to see color in our trees once again; bulbs spring forth from the ground and give us a very showy display of bright, primary colors. Summer is like our youth, with lots of energy, a bravado showing off strength and beauty. Then comes fall when leaves begin to change color, still bursting with bright color and energy; a second career, perhaps, as we age. And then it is winter, the leaves have fallen, and the color of the landscape, at least here in the northeast, is stark, black and white. In winter, Mother Nature reminds us of the need to go dormant – to rest. And then, just when we have had all the rest we need and are beginning to get stir-crazy, spring is back. and so is the circle of our lives.
Time continues to pass. We continue to move through the seasons of our lives. I am reminded with the change of each season to be more appreciative and grateful for the gifts of each day – to remember that life is fragile and that change is the only constant in our world.
For whom and what are you grateful? I hope you’ll respond and tell me! I am grateful for my family, friends, pets, and of course, you! I am grateful for each day and each experience I get to have. I am grateful for a long career in innkeeping and now as a life coach helping people navigate through life’s transitions.
Until the next time, I love you and appreciate you,
Amy
Amy Lindner-Lesser