Now we are ten. Or thirteen.

Thirteen years ago today, Mr. Gibson and I became an item. Ten years ago today, we became husband and wife.

I’ve learned a great deal from this long stint. For starters, aside from writing, being obnoxious and just plain existing, I’ve never done any one thing for this long. And who knew (maybe you did?), but sticking to something day in and day out, choosing something over and over again, makes an incredible difference in your life. In your soul. (Granted, it’s markedly easier to stick to something that’s brilliant, hilarious and super hot. I mean, just for the record.)

Happy anniversary, Mr. Gibson. Thank you for your love, your patience and your willingness to wake up next to me every morning.

Today’s Reasons to be Grateful

+ Spending time at the tidepools yesterday with my oldest friend and her family

+ Remembering once more that the big, heady, briny scent of the ocean and the sand is vital…peaceful…joyful

+ The incredible meals my mister creates out of the simplest ingredients…he makes it easy to feel like the luckiest girl on earth

+ Seeing Neil Finn at Largo next month

+ Seeing The National at the Wiltern next month

+ Getting started on two new projects with a fantastic and talented person later this week

+ Getting together with some very excellent ladies later this month

+ The gorgeous paisley fabric my mama picked up for me (it’s made my dark green ottoman stunning and dignified)

+ The afternoon nap on my couch, with big, soft pillows, in my air-conditioned living room

+ Delicious green/white/mint iced tea with plenty of ice

What are you grateful for today?

Photo from Flickr by Picture_taking_fool

Pam Slim’s Big 5 Mid-Year, Game-Changing Questions

A few days ago, the fantastic Pam Slim published a post on her site that centered around the notion of examining one’s progress and direction, six months into the year. I loved the idea immediately (and you should go read it ASAP). One of the best lessons I learned from my five years in corporate America is the importance of process, and a hugely important part of process is tracking progress.

Maybe that terminology is a bit buttoned up. If you’re yawning right now, take heart. All it really means is this: if you want to arrive at a particular destination, you need a plan. And then, every now and then, you need to compare what you’ve done and what you’re doing to that plan. It’s so easy to stray off course (and if that’s not the case for you, you probably shouldn’t be reading this blog; may I politely recommend that you write a how-to book instead? Or, you know, a how-NOT-to book, whatevs.) . And it’s easy to correct, if you catch it early on. It’s also easier to change course at that point, if you’re finding it’s not working out. But wait too long and the recipe’s ruined, the presentation is all wrong, the car has run completely out of oil…you get the picture.

Anyway, this has been, as I’ve mentioned, a year of tremendous changes. Lots of amazing opportunities. Lots of great experiences. And, naturally, a fair amount of confusion.  A check-in, with some regrouping, seems to be in order right about now, and I thought I’d take a crack at Pam’s questions here.

1. What are you going to focus on? Making my home a smoothly-run, happy operation. Building my business. Honesty. Love.
2. What are you going to improve? The level of my fitness.
3. What are you going to grow? My packaging and networking.
4. What are you going to leave behind? The idea that I’m not allowed to set boundaries and expect others to respect them.
5. What are you going to learn? French.

It’s good to see these here, in black and white; it helps to cement them in my consciousness. I focused my answers on both my personal and business lives; you may choose to focus on just one. I’d love to know what your answers are. Post them in the comments!

With nothing on my lips but Hallelujah

So far this has been a year of movement, speed, distance, breadth and depth. Which is to say: it’s been a hell of a ride, and I am giddy kind of all the time these days.  My life is hardly recognizable from what it was even six months ago. And I spend a lot of time being caught off guard by this. The other night I flipped through a journal I was keeping in 2007, and even though I obviously remember what was going on then (I was there, after all), it was still bizarre to see how much the narrative has changed. I am working harder than I’ve ever worked, and yet everything is so much easier than it used to be.

It’s simple: every day, I get to do what I love, what I’m good at.  I get to be, well, me: that squinting kid in the picture up there.  I have the luxury of choosing what types of people and organizations I work with. And I’m surrounded by an assortment of amazing, kick-ass people, both at home and via the internet. It sounds trite, but I mean this quite literally: every day feels like a gift to me.

And it’s funny what that feeling does to a person.  It may be best to confirm this with Mr. Gibson, but I do believe I’m more easygoing, more forgiving, less suspicious, less angry. I don’t mean to imply that I’ve had some sort of grand awakening or anything, just that I have so much more mental space now that I am able to work with what I have, what I am, instead of trying to mold myself into something else. I wish that every person on earth had the chance to feel this way, but I know that most people won’t; they’re busy just surviving. I am one of the lucky ones.

So I’m going to continue to count my blessings and enjoy the ride.

Thanks for sharing it with me.

Independence

I’ve been working nonstop lately. Which is well and good; I’m in furiously-building mode with my business. And obviously love what I do. But all at once this pace has become too much for me. Suddenly drained, I find myself impatient and dissatisfied with myself, like nothing is quite right. Some of it, too, is the heat. Summertime does this too me. Even in the face of abject air conditioning, I get cranky, sweaty, cranky, irritable and also cranky. But the other part is the need to replenish. I tend to forget, when I’m feeling good and am on a roll, that I need to replenish, that I require soothing. My mind needs a day at a spa: a beautiful film or book, perhaps. A long bath? Or maybe just the tried-and-true favorite: lying in the dark listening to Beethoven and just breathing.

What do you do to slow down and become re-inspired?

Photo by pfala on Flickr, used under Creative Commons.