September may be the start of back-to-school season, but in many ways,  it always feels to me like the last month of summer. Where I live, September is usually quite warm. There are always some cooler mornings, and there’s more dryness in the air, but basically, it’s still a month of light layers and bare arms. At the farmer’s market, there are apples and winter squash. But there are still stone fruits, tomatoes, and eggplants till the first week of October, and sometimes…

Sometimes, something happens that makes me especially aware of my ability to turn small things into big things. This is especially true when it comes to anything I’ve been avoiding. Unpacking is still in process around here. I’ve gotten a lot done, but my original goal of unpacking 2 boxes per day has become 2 boxes per week. At this point, I’m down to only a few boxes. But oh, how I’ve been procrastinating with those boxes. I always think it’s funny how…

I’ve been struggling to decide what to do about my windows. The windows in my studio are what made me fall in love with it. They’re really big, relative to the space, with black frames that stand out against the white walls. They allow the studio to become flooded with light during the day. But even when the sun is at its peak, the light remains creamy and warm. I face a stone-colored wall on another building. Somehow there’s enough distance between my…

In spite of the fact that I’m not an especially deep sleeper, I almost never remember dreams. So it’s always notable when one sticks with me. A few nights ago, I dreamt that my mom and I were making a collage with some of her oil paintings. It was huge, the size of a wall, bigger than either one of us. My mom has been a working artist my whole life. But I think that this may have been the first time that…

Each week, I talk to my clients about the importance of SMART goals. SMART is an acronym for small, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based. A lot of people in healthcare or coaching professions learn about them as part of training. The idea is to encourage people toward small and realistic goal-setting. This generally has the result of making people feel more effective and empowered as those goals are achieved. I don’t actually talk to clients about the acronym. Nor do I limit our…

Happy Monday! My plan yesterday was to write about the fact that today is the one year anniversary of the first time I practiced with my yoga teacher at the yoga studio I now call home. My life has changed so much in that year, as a direct result of the community, friendship, and inner reserves of strength and resilience that I found there. Moving apartments (in large part an effort to reduce my yoga commute) has been about much more than relocation….

Well, I’m more unpacked than I was a week ago at this time. I finally made some progress yesterday. I came home from yoga, listened to Rumours straight through, and unboxed. And unboxed. I made the best of it, but I didn’t want to be doing it. It was a long week of work, and my stress levels have been high. I was craving a pause. But I knew that delaying the unpacking more than I already have would be more stressful, in…