keeping my eye on the ball

Sometimes it can be easy for me to find stress in looking at the big picture - feeling mired by the enormity of the tasks that lie ahead. And if I instead take a step back and look at what is just before me to do, it seems more doable and not so overwhelming. I like to make lists, so that I can see the items on them being crossed off - it makes me feel much more accomplished. My NAET practitioner and acupuncturist, Sophya (I highly recommend her if you are anywhere near Vancouver) said to me, "Make your goals small - give yourself things to do you know you will be able to do in a day. Than when you do them, take time to feel good about that and acknowledge yourself. Then if you do more, WOW! Look how much you did that day!" (Okay, so I'm paraphrasing a little bit, only because unlike my sweet son, I don't have exact total recall. But this is essentially what she said, and the 'WOW' was definitely there, in her charming Russian accent.) She is our new Russian grandmother, Sophya. She is an amazing woman, and so very intuitive.

Inspired by Sophya's words and in the interest of bringing myself up and out from being bogged down in the details of packing and moving, I wrote a little reminder of what we're looking forward to about the move.

In no particular order:

PORTLAND

comfy house
sunny, with lots of windows
large fenced backyard
kitchen windows that look out to yard
fireplace
windows we can open in bedrooms
safe neighborhood
quiet street
garage
mudroom
clean air
lots of kids
friendly, fun neighbors
tree-lined streets
eco-friendly
trampoline!
lots of good friends
lots of homeschool group events/trips/fun
lots of fun places to go
lakes in summer
LEGO store
kid and adult swaps (toys, clothing, stuff)
lots of movement and activity
short (or no) commute for Hubby
support!
wellness
ecstatic dance
yoga
tai chi
love
bliss!