Brave Actions

Sometimes being brave means standing up for yourself or facing a difficult situation or signing up for something you've been to scared to do. Sometimes it means standing in line to get on a roller coaster that didn't look so bad from far away. Then that roller coaster stops two rides before yours at the safety check because two people weren't buckled in... there's a loop... you go upside down. It means staying in that line even though all your inside voices are telling you to get the hell out. I stayed, I rode it twice (they send every ride twice, I would have been fine getting off after the first go). I screamed bloody murder the whole ride- twice. I hurt my throat but I was glad I stayed. I am not sure if I had fun or not but the other two I was with had fun laughing at me and maybe that's why I was there.

Roller Coaster at Calaway Park outside of Calgary.

Sometimes being brave means walking out onto a glass floor 160m up and watching the teeny tiny cars below. It means holding your breath when you take that first step. It means asking the youngsters beside you to "please stop dancing on the glass floor", it means to breath slowly as you tell your brain that you will not plummet to your death. The brain is a marvellous thing and it certainly played a few mind games with me while I was out on the floor. Anna was so brave, she came out, freaked out and asked "What if it breaks?" and then left. She came back and stood with me and then all on her own. She was so proud and we cheered he on. Cory on the other hand stayed off, he couldn't take a step, looking down alone made him queasy but we love him anyways.

Glass floor at the Calgary Tower. 

ps. I read the brochure after we came down, it read "less than an inch of glass between you and the bustling city street below", LESS THAN AN INCH! thank goodness I read it after.

Brave

(layout created to celebrate my one little word using the January month kit from Treasured Memories)

January brought a lot of fear. A lot of anxiety. When I chose the word Brave to lead me through 2014, my dad in the hospital was not what I had in mind. In fact I didn't feel very brave at all. I then remembered a quote from Brene Brown- "You can't get to courage without walking through vulnerability." Never before have I felt vulnerability like I did in those few weeks. Still it creeps in and I talk myself through those feelings. My dad is at home and recovering very well. I would like to thank all my friends and readers who sent their prayers and their well wishes to me and to my family. Who still pop by through email and texts to check in. They helped/help greatly, like arms reaching around and offering hugs. You're all so very special to me.

While January was hard, it also brought a lot of really great things and it is important to talk about those here too. To focus on the wonderful & light and not the dark. Anna started dance and it makes my heart swoon every time I see her get excited about it. She also started gymnastics and we practice somersaults on the couch all the time. I got to see Pink perform live. I spent 2 weeks with my mom. My dad is well and at home. I spoke to my grandma's often. I became an auntie again to baby Morgan. I had my brother & his family over for dinner. I have been trying to catch sunsets. And I said I Love You A LOT.

I am grateful for lessons learned and for the love that has surrounded us this past month but I am ready to see what beautiful things February has to offer. As some of you may know... I love love.

xoxo

One Little Word 2014

My one little word for 2014 is Brave. 

Tattoo from Kal Barteski, you can find her amazing work here.

I am participating in a year long workshop lead by Ali Edwards called one little word. The basics- choose a word to focus and reflect on as you go about your days. Let the word guide you and inspire you. In this workshop she will be giving a monthly prompt to make your word more visible throughout the year. Even if this workshop doesn't interest you, choosing a word can become a mantra of sorts. Something to guide you through, something to give you that little nudge you might need, something to remind you what you want. For example, Cory has chosen "follow through" to guide him in 2014. When the voices creep in and the desire to do something fades he can remind himself to follow through. Me, I will be reminding myself to be Brave. To "embrace the discomfort over resentment"- Brene Brown

Do you have a word for 2014?