for my children~stepping in

Hi kiddos.

Two of you are now living out of the house part of the time. Hard to believe this time has come. But it has.

You are all growing up. You are all learning so much about life and yourselves. You are meeting lots of new people, and having new experiences.

As you go through life, remember, everything happens at the right time. It's not always exactly as we wish or think it should happen. But life is unfolding. The seed has to be under the ground for some time before it becomes a flower.

Try not to worry too much about figuring it all out, in terms of education and career path. Just follow your passions and interests and trust they will take you to the right places.  Seek positive mentors.

You are all strong, capable, intelligent young people. You all have unique strengths and huge hearts. I am most proud of the kindness you have all shown over the years. It is a strength like no other.

Strong.
Smart.
Kind.

Those three words you all grew up hearing from Dad. It's important to have a balance of them all. You have all developed these qualities in spades!

And remember, step into your unique brilliance. No one else can do it for you. Shine on my sweet children. I love you all!

summer 2018 part two

After our Europe trip we met up with Annabel in Toronto where she had been on tour with Amma. We took the girls to stay in my home town and got to spend some quality time with my parents, including my birthday. Gary went to pick up Shawn from five weeks of summer camp where he had a blast. On the way home we stopped off in California and got to see old friends.

europe 2018

This summer Gary and I visited Europe again. We spent time in three countries. We started off in London just for a couple days. Then we went to Italy and stayed in Peschici, drove through a national forest up a mountain to Monte Sant' Angelo, and ended our time staying in a medieval manor estate/hotel in Fasano. Then we flew to Paris and stayed there a few days before returning to Toronto.

Highlights of our trip included the easy trip from the Scranton airport with absolutely no one in the security line, laughing and driving through the night to catch our flight to London from Boston, meals at the Landmark in London, hearing the ocean at night at Hotel Marcavallo, the quirky front desk guy who kept saying "cool-a," being served a lovely pasta meal by a mother-daughter team at a tiny restaurant a walk from our hotel, driving through the incredible forest, people thinking we were French, finding homemade breadsticks in a tiny Italian town, the amazing hotel in Fasano - Masserina Salamina, meals at this hotel and picnics on the deck, meeting all sorts of nice people including a family from the US, falafels at Le Marias in Paris, seeing the Eiffel Tower, finding one of our favorite restaurants in Paris, Rue Cler dinners, meeting our "adopted" son in the airport - we helped him fly to Toronto from Paris. And of course, gelato.

sky, 22

Sky I remember your face when you were a little baby. You would look at me with those beautiful eyes and there was so much being said without words. Deep connection, trust, love, happiness, comfort, joy.

All the things your eyes said to me then are qualities that define you as a young woman.

This has been quite a year. You started college where you will finish. You have lots of credits from other schools which is great. You started a relationship where you are learning and growing. You did great in school. You traveled to Europe and had well deserved fun.

You are a hard working, strong, and resilient. You are level headed and trustworthy. You are so forgiving and always willing to see the good in people. You are very funny. You are loving and unselfish.  You are always looking out for people you care about. (like making smoothies for me every day for three weeks on summer break :). You are optimistic. You are a good friend to people.

But most of all my sweet girl, you are happy.

I love you soooooo much!
Mama

our summer, part one

In June we took the kids to northern California, followed by Los Angeles and New Mexico to spend time with Amma. Sky joined us on the first stop and brought her boyfriend to meet Amma for the first time. The kids participated in seva (service), mostly serving food. We all got to send time with Amma, hear some inspiring talks, meditate, and see lots of friends along the way. In New Mexico Gary and I got to tour the ashram there, outside of Sante Fe, founded by our friends Steve and Cathy. It was beautiful. I love spending time with my family, especially now that the little birds are leaving the nest.