best transition ever: grandparenting
natalie today show

with Natalie caine


What You, BOOMERS and EMPTY NESTERS, Didn’t Know About NATURE?

April 12, 2010 | by Natalie Caine | No Comments


Sheryl_Connor_2_211.JPGSpring cleaning triggers a part of you that wants to toss the old, clear out your space, and then pick a new, to decorate and bring in beauty. Beauty feeds your peace and your creativity. A plant, like rosemary, chamomile, or basil in your home can calm you. We forget to take in the scents of life.  I have an herb plant in every room and at my door step.  Five dollars to buy or pennies to plant by seed.

 

Did you know nature has a fantastic display of colors to spark your ideas for paint colors and decorating?


hike_089.JPGTake photos of what you are attracted to in your yard or on a hike. Print them. Tape them up and notice what colors keep getting your attention.  Take that color to your paint store and they will match it for you.

As you are metaphorically decorating your life with choices of what’s next for you, walk in nature. Stop. Day dream. Quiet your mind. Is what you have given to others, what you wish would be given to you? Have you put that want in your re-evaluation of your life?

hike_100.JPGNature will hold your tears and your dreams.

I carry a small notepad and golfers pencil, even though I don’t golf, in my pocket when I go for a walk.  Sometimes I don’t want to think or have words, so I don’t write.  I simply want to see what I see and really see it.  Other times, I pause and write a word or whatever enters my mind. Frustrating part, is when I get home, I can’t read what I wrote.  I guess I need to slow down my writing.

Did you use to go camping?  Bring those places, smells, colors back to you.

Maybe go camping again, even in your backyard.

hike_478.JPGDid I tell you the story of taking just my daughter and myself camping to we could sleep under the stars and cook outside?  Well, long story short, the bees were such a pain that we ended up eating the BBQ food in my car. The tent, we struggled getting up and three navy guys, who were also camping, came to our rescue and gave us cool lights to crack open for fun and in an emergency.  Not exactly how I thought we would be enjoying nature but it’s a laugh we keep giggling when we get reminded about camping.

Spring new colors for your eyes to breathe in this season.

hike_493.JPG

 

Happy Spring,
Natalie
natalie@emptynestsupport.com
www.emptynestsupport.com
Los Angeles
818-763-0188
Featured in Time Magazine, N. Y. Times, Chicago Tribune, Lifetime Radio for Women, Better Homes and Gardens, and more

 

,

Join conversation

Natalie Caine, M.A. natalie@lifeintransition.org