Swimming with my mower

Jul 29, 2023

Happy Saturday friends!

I thought I'd start off with these fun shots of a client (who gave me permission) and Wynter in an Equine Gestalt Coaching session! He's often a gentle giant and that's who he embodied this time:

A large portion of our session was like this, with us talking under Wynter's neck ❤️

You may ask: Why are there are sticks on the floor in the background? Because this is also where I hold the Fairy House Workshops and the last one for the summer is next week on Tuesday, August 1st. There are still spots available! This one is a freebie, a great way to meet some like-minded people and hang out with all the animals at the Mother Ranch! You can sign up here!

And another freebie for you this week, a Zentangle style coloring page for you or your littles who are too hot to want to go outside and play. To get the printable version, click here!

I wrote a separate blog post about Mom, Dad, grief and how NeurOptimal Neurofeedback is helping me:

Going through the grief of losing my mom in November, I’m reminded yet again of the power of NeurOptimal Neurofeedback. There is so much more than “just” grief (as if that isn’t enough) but also so much anxiety and depression. Figuring out what my life is without her. Who I am without her. What my family of origin is without her. My dad, unable to share his grief with us, began dating immediately and was recently remarried to a wonderful woman—yet another change.

I was surprised by the anxiety I felt, in my own body, about my own life, after Mom died. The thought of dying like she did, from cancer, ruled all. I couldn’t get the final images of her out of my mind and it became a terror that rampaged through me for awhile.

And while I didn’t yet know if neurofeedback helped with grief, I did know that it helped with anxiety and so I started back with it consistently again—not just when I needed it. When you’re suffering blow after blow, consistent is best. When life is smooth sailing, you can do it when you recognize you need it.

So, I turn to neurofeedback to train my brain to stay out of anxiety. As the anxiety around my mom’s death lessened, I was able to see the situation more clearly and figure out what I needed to do. I’ve cleaned up my diet. I’ve cleaned up my life. I’m going to preventative doctor’s appointments and screenings. I just wasn't able to think under the weight of...(read the rest here.)

THE RANCH:

Well...we started with 8 goslings and were thinking, "My God, we'll be overrun!" But then life happened to them and we assume they were food for something else. This little one lost its sibling last Sunday. Someone saw a bunch of geese flipping out in the pond and a little while later, these 3 showed up. Sigh. Back when ManChild was 4 years old, I bought him a baby corn snake. We had to feed the snake teeny tiny baby mice called "pinkies." We did that the first time and were both pretty horrified until he took a deep breath and said, "Well, everything has to eat..." And that's what I told myself this time. That giant 100 year old snapping turtle in our pond has to eat too!

•••

I just about slid myself and the mower right into the pond a couple of days ago! My heart was POUNDING as I slid sideways to a stop about 2 feet from the edge! GAWD! I love our zero turn mower, it's fast and low to the ground and makes mowing so much easier than our old John Deere riding mower.

But! It can be a little squirrely sometimes. I kid. Not THAT 👈🏽 squirrely! I turned off the PTO (the part that makes the blades spin), lowered the engine speed and sat there breathing for a minute. I looked around and I was sitting on an old blacktop spill that goes from the driveway down to the edge of the pond. I don't mow it of course but I do go along the top edge. My back tire must have been too far over and I just slid right down the slope! It was a little hairy getting back up too! Needless to say, I will be only weed eating that area from now on! The thought of being pinned under that heavy mower in the pond...just breathe Julia! You're ok! 😱

•••

"What a shame and shame on you!"

Powerful words, yes? And such a "shame" that people use them ;-)

I was reading through Nextdoor and saw a post about someone who saw that there were slices of American cheese on the ground and stuck to cars around their neighborhood. My first thought was: Ewww.
Immediately I had a mental image of accidentally dropping a piece of American cheese on the floor and hearing it splat and I thought: God I bet that was funny to throw pieces at things and see if they stuck! What can I say? I'm a 12 year old at heart. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I can totally see a bunch of kids testing to see what they stuck to and what they didn’t. It gave me a giggle and I commented with this:
I’m sure that’s annoying! But also a little funny! I can imagine a bunch of teens doing that and watching them stick LOL. I hope it cleans up easily. And I’m glad it’s not eggs!

And someone responded with this: Julia I’m sorry but I don’t think it’s a darn bit funny. Their parents sure would NOT think it was funny if it was their cars. In fact they would be trying to find out who did it. This is the problem, the parents think it’s as funny as the kids that do it. What a shame and shame on you for thinking it’s a little bit funny.

That made me laugh harder. "Shame on you for having a sense of humor!" 🤣

Anyway! Back to shame, shame, shame on you! My response was: Ah well, it’s true that I have a quirky sense of humor. It’s ok that some don’t appreciate it. I feel no shame over it :-) I also would hope my kid wouldn’t do it and we talk about pranks like that and that it’s not okay. Peace to you.

And I honestly meant “peace to you.” Who shamed this woman over and over through her life that it spills out of her onto strangers when she’s angry? “Shame” sticks to us like glue and I see it in coaching sessions. It’s hard to fight your way out from under the feeling of shame when it’s heaped upon you, especially as a child.