Thanksgiving.....

My favorite holiday and weekend has come and gone already. I love,love,love thanksgiving. The meal is wonderful to spend together with family and it's nice to have extended time to visit longer with more friends and family if we so choose. I find myself so grateful for my husband and children. I take great solace in Maryland's Eastern Shore and pinch myself to know we live here. It is not a hardship and has such a small town innocence. I am also thankful to be in the company of people who enjoy my family and I and are as eager as we are to share time with them. These, my dear ones, are part of my family of creation.

The fact that Thanksgiving comes without the stress of Christmas (because we as a culture, lack the full intention of it,) makes it more relaxed. Just being present - truly present to one another is the gift we give and receive. Sometimes we're successful, sometimes not so much.

In order to prepare for the Christmas season, I challenge you to put a new spin on your regular holiday preparations in order to bring back the true meaning of them. Maybe you could add some acts of service, truly reach out to someone in need with the full intention of the season in mind. Maybe try to resolve a conflict or just spend a little little time with someone who really misses your visits. There is no need to make your intentions public, but keep your challenge private and take action on it. If we collectively cut back on the greed one person at a time and reach into our hearts to take time and share our personal gifts and talents with one another, what a difference a day - Christmas Day - could make not only in our hearts and homes but in our world. This year make your preparations by opening your hearts.

I am grateful you stopped by and hope you will join me on Fridays at 11 am starting on December 10 by tuning into WCTR, 1530 am for my new talk show. Feel free to join me for topics about family, relationships and more.

Be well...

Warmly,
Andrea

Soulful Laughter....

I had a great opportunity to connect with some friends this weekend. We were friends from childhood but no longer live in the same area. I talked my sister into joining me and making the trip to our home town to meet us as well. What resulted was an evening of spontaneous laughter that had us all wiping our eyes from the crying and holding our sides from splitting. I haven't laughed that hard in a long while. It was a prelude to the evening where later I was to attend another friend's birthday gathering. That, too was incredibly special. I was able to share time with my very dear friend, her very funny husband and some of her good friends and felt right at home singing, dancing and reminiscing.

Today, when I returned home to my husband and sons, I felt a spring in my step for having been rejuvenated. It was good for my soul to be in such great company, share some great memories and celebrate the milestones we've achieved. I missed my husband and sons but it was nice to get a glimpse of the old me as well. She needs to get out once in a while so that she can recharge the now me to be what I need to be for my family.

It's important to honor your needs in this way. Laughter is curative and everyone around you benefits. It's contagious!

This week, try to connect with someone you haven't had the opportunity to see in a while and schedule time on your calendar before the holidays descend upon us or incorporate them into your holiday plans. Your soul will appreciate it and so will you and everyone else!

Have a great week!!
~Andrea

What kind of life will you author?

I have been having some interesting talks with some folks lately about goals and strategizing. We have been talking about really getting in touch with yourself, your dreams, goals and essentially creating a vision.

Unless we are clear about where we want to go and create a map to get there, we kind of wander aimlessly. We become interested in many things and may even believe we can achieve them all without really sitting down to carve out the steps to achieve them.

If you're single and wanting to be in a relationship, what is it you want in a relationship? If you're in a geographic location not to your liking, what does your ideal one look like? What is your ideal job? Are you physically inactive but want to be fit? What kind of exercise do you like? What is the state of your family life and how does that look against what you want for your family?

The most important thing to remember about authoring a life is that you need to take time to write down your goals, you need to commit to them and you need to spend time.

This week I challenge you to look at all of the areas in your life and start to create a road map. Write down specific goals and dates for achievement. You don't need to complete it this week, just start it and continue to work on it with dedication in order to execute. We're all amazing writers of our own destiny!

Have a great week!

~Andrea