"Chance favors the prepared mind."

So, are you prepared?

For the moment?

The moment in the morning that you wake to the life that you're living.
The moment someone disappoints you yet again.
The moment you walk by a homeless person.
The moment when it's easier to do nothing than to speak up.
The moment you could "settle" for your boyfriend/girlfriend.
The moment when it seems like everyone else has more stuff than you.
The moment your child asks you to explain something you've done.
The moment you are rejected.
The moment that you could decide to take the job because it's the "right" thing to do.
The moment that someone cuts you off in traffic.
The moment you need to decide if you are going to stay safe or jump outside your safety zone.
The moment your body won't do the things you want it to.
The moment your friend needs you and you feel like you have nothing left to give.
The moment you realize that sacrifice will be required.
The moment that the sun sets; gone, never to be recaptured.
The mention you have to say yes or no.
The moment that a person you love is gone.
The moment you're told that time is running out.

The moment your time has run out.

Prepare your mind.

Start with KNOWINGNESS. Ask yourself:
Who and how you want to be?
What do you want to do?
What do you want to have?

Write it down. Revisit it often.

And you'll find that, in the moment, chance won't win.

5 Short Steps to Achieve FOCUS

Are your days passing and you find that you are busy but you aren't busy doing the right things?

1. Brainstorm for 5 minutes - "What am I trying to accomplish in my life?" WRITE the answers!
2. Circle the 3 most important things.
3. Review the list at the beginning of each day. 
4. Review the list at the end of your day. Did your activities drive the 3 things?
5. Adjust. Repeat.

                                                   

Rhubarb, Pogo Sticks and Pompoms

I REMEMBER:

• The smell of lilacs from the bushes in the backyard
• The simplicity of dirt, water and what they could be
• The afternoons spent with my Barbies on the front porch
• The determination of making the swing go even higher
• The belief that THIS year the rhubarb that I pulled from the ground would be sweet, not bitter
• The stain of green on my hands and the smell of green in the air as I tended to the garden
• The silence of the earth while lying back in a fresh blanket of snow
• The sense of adventure, taking off for the day on my bike - new places to find my independence
• The excitement of slumber parties - the danger of the Ouija board and the endless giggles
• The competition of who could stay under water the longest
• The disappointment of just how boring a pogo stick was
• The nights of potential at the roller rink, pompoms on my skates, comb in my back pocket
• The first and last days of school

What do you remember?

An Angel Scrubbing My Floor???

Do you ever feel like you're in the presence of an angel? I used to really NOT like the whole idea of angels. Then, over the last few years, I've had encounters with people that have left me after feeling like I was just in the presence of an angel. Yesterday, I had one of them.

It was one of those times where you feel like so many things aligned that you couldn't possible believe that it was a coincidence: 

• I brought a Groupon over a year ago for housecleaning. I was going to use it to get my townhouse cleaned when I moved out.
• I didn't use it.
• It expired.
• I call the company and asked if they would extend it for me.
• They graciously said, "Yes."
• I had to book my appointment 3 months in advance and I promptly forgot about it.
• I got a call yesterday morning to remind me that they were going to clean my house that afternoon.

• I rushed home. A woman arrived.
• I started to talk to her.

Well, we talked for the ENTIRE time she was here. 

• We talked about our daughters and how they frustrate us in the same ways.
• We said the same, atypical words at the same time.
• We shared the same fundamental life perspectives. It was haunting. It brought tears to my eyes.
• She was tattooed with stars and she said one of them stood for existence because she always like that word.
• And so much more.

By the time she left, I only felt that I couldn't let her just walk out of my life. We weren't done. I told her that she couldn't just leave. We were meant to stay in contact. We exchanged information. We hugged.

I smiled when I walked back into the house. An angel was just here.

Don't let the angels walk out of your life.