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Leaving Behind What Was

April 9, 2012 | by Natalie Caine | No Comments

White_Flower_3574.jpgA teacher shared with me years ago, “Confusion is great.”  I frowned because that made no sense.  Now it does.  Confusion takes you out of routine and what you believe to be true.  It is a choice to bring up courage and trust.  You have heard me say it before, TRUST IS EARNED.  You lose trust in yourself and others. 

Trust is not a given. You have more to lose than gain in the process of trusting because you can get hurt.  Hurt is not the end.  When you trust someone with private information and they tell your story to someone, you collapse from hurt.   You have seen where you rise again, after weeping, expressing, and grieving what you thought to be true.

Sky_Thur_Trees_3017.jpgConfusion swirls you.  I remember a woman shared with me that she told her sister never to tell anyone what she shared about something that happened to her in college.  Her sister told a mutual friend.  When someone breaks your trust, they need to earn it back.  You get to decide how that earning happens and how to take care of yourself in the confusion and hurt.

You leave a job, a lover, a partner, a home, or a community. Between the goodbye and the new hug, your inner doubter voice will emerge. You have an orchestra of inner voices that want air time.  The pusher, the critic, the fool, the child, etc.  

The doubter is simply a voice among your crowd within.  Rather than pushing that voice to dormancy, simply listen to what the doubter has to say and respond with, “THAT’S INTERESTING. THANK YOU. I CAN TAKE IT FROM HERE.” 

You can invite the wise voice to speak with you, “OF COURSE YOU DOUBT SINCE YOU ARE IN THE UNKNOWN. KEEP GOING. MAKE NO DECISIONS ABOUT WHAT’S NEXT, YET.  ENJOY THE UNKNOWN AND THE YES’S and NO’S YOU FEEL.”

Not knowing is a good thing, as is confusion.  BE WITH IT, RATHER THAN PRETENDING YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO. 

Bird_in_Tree_3678.jpg

Ask for help and let your vulnerability be present.  You would be there for someone who was in the unknown. Remind yourself of times you have left what you knew. What did you learn from that experience? 

 

It sounds simple to say be available to yourself in the moment and yet, it isn’t.  It takes practice. You lose present moment and come back… The key is to notice and come back.  No one stays present to a moment all the time.  False expectation.

When you are leaving and heading to the next, it is ok to be happy.  Happy is a choice.
You get to be happy even if your life isn’t how you thought it would be.  Maybe your practice could be to accept you don’t have answers yet and you are still happy with you.

Take good care,
Natalie

Natalie Caine M.A.
Empty Nest Support Services
Life In Transition, What’s Next?
(800) 446-3310 or (818) 763-0188
Los Angeles

Featured in Time Magazine, USA Today, Huffington Post, Better Homes and Gardens, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Lifetime Radio for Women, Chicago Tribune, Sirius, Associated Press, Miami Herald, and many more.

Change is inevitable. Get Ready. Get Support. Life transitions need a hand to hold.
www.emptynestsupport.com
www.lifeintransition.org
 
– Private Telephone Consultations
– Speaking engagements
– Support groups
– Workshops
– Mentoring
– Facebook, Linked In, Twitter

 

Don’t Count Me Out

April 5, 2012 | by Natalie Caine | No Comments

Bunny_3402.jpgHolidays like Passover and Easter bring memories and gatherings.   You know who at the table might punch your button because they don’t believe in you for whatever reason.  Don’t you count yourself out for happiness and success.  Leave the room for a pause, use humor, like “thanks for sharing,” use a more direct line, “you think you know me and I think you don’t…if you get curious about me, just let me know.

Change is a journey. It is fun to learn more about who you are and aren’t if you see the journey as a learning and a time of practicing compassion.

Some days you will be kind to yourself or critical.  The hope is you notice and not let anything ruin your day, which means don’t spin the experience over and over like a hamster. Get off that wheel of negativity. You could say, “STOP IT. DON’T THINK ABOUT THAT, AGAIN.”

Words don’t often stick when you have a conversation with someone who is “just not into you.”  Action like moving away or putting your hand up like a stop-sign might help in the moment.

Treats_3324.jpgThis week I have gotten calls from clients about how to handle the ongoing gatherings that are sometimes disappointing due to buttons getting pushed.   Expectations need a review before you open the front door.  Check in with who you are now and how some want you to be who you were last year or even last month.   I love the lines, “We disagree.  We can drop that now and have a fun time here.”

Find an object, back yard, pet, or something that you can look to in the moment that shifts the negative energy.  Maybe there is a table decoration, flowers,  a bunny, or stacked matzo, that you can really look at in detail. This is a way to not give attention to a downhill roll.

Happy Spring and Freedom,
Natalie

Natalie Caine M.A.
Empty Nest Support Services
Life In Transition, What’s Next?
(800) 446-3310 or (818) 763-0188
Los Angeles

Featured in Time Magazine, USA Today, Huffington Post, Better Homes and Gardens, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Lifetime Radio for Women, Chicago Tribune, Sirius, Associated Press, Miami Herald, and many more.

Change is inevitable. Get Ready. Get Support. Life transitions need a hand to hold.
www.emptynestsupport.com
www.lifeintransition.org
 
– Private Telephone Consultations
– Speaking engagements
– Support groups
– Workshops
– Mentoring
– Facebook, Linked In, Twitter

 

Take 24 Hours

April 3, 2012 | by Natalie Caine | No Comments

White_Daisies_3377.jpgWomen in my empty nest group hadn’t spent much time dreaming about fun and new possibilities. Some are still with children at home and some empty nesters now.

We started a discussion called, THE NEXT BEST THING, meaning what we might do even if we can’t do THE BIG DREAM now.

Flower_3511.jpg

 

We had so much fun doodling, and making a story about our doodle that changed our neighborhood, our family, our best friend, our home, our daily routine, and our work.   “THIS DOODLE SHOWS YOU HOW YOU CAN……..  “

It was a practice in being creative and allowing a part of us to speak that rarely gets on the board. The result was laughter and a plan.

Colored_Flowers_3380.jpgOne idea that got on the calendar, was a woman offered to make over another woman’s  bathroom.  She is not going to paint.  She is going to organize the bathroom and surprise her with “nurturing, healthy products.”   They are doing an exchange.  The bathroom beautifier will receive one area of her garden with plants that carry less pollen, since she has allergies.

Each will take photos to share at our next meeting.  The practice for the week is to doodle in the morning and say something about your doodle. Doodle at the end of your day and again, write something about it.  We will share our journal of doodles, pencils are fine…this is not an art project.  This is another way of learning more about yourself and having fun.

What might be your next best thing?

Take care,
Natalie

Natalie Caine M.A.
Empty Nest Support Services
Life In Transition, What’s Next?
(800) 446-3310 or (818) 763-0188
Los Angeles

Featured in Time Magazine, USA Today, Huffington Post, Better Homes and Gardens, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Lifetime Radio for Women, Chicago Tribune, Sirius, Associated Press, Miami Herald, and many more.

Change is inevitable. Get Ready. Get Support. Life transitions need a hand to hold.
www.emptynestsupport.com
www.lifeintransition.org
 
– Private Telephone Consultations
– Speaking engagements
– Support groups
– Workshops
– Mentoring
– Facebook, Linked In, Twitter

 

Celebrating Spring?

March 29, 2012 | by Natalie Caine | No Comments

Floral_2790.jpgThe vote from my groups, that I share with you is, MAKE A PLAN. 

Some mothers shared they have a habit of waiting around to see if their children who are home from college will be free to do something with them.  The wait made them feel resentful that they wasted their day. 

Their children did not ask them to wait around.  A woman who is not a mother said that she is joining a local community garden for a day to help out and seed some new energy in the dirt. 

Some shared they are having house guests and left a list of FUN THINGS TO DO IN THE CITY, so they wouldn’t get burned out helping them for four days. 

Karen booked a city tour in her own city with a roof top opening van.  She wanted to make a plan for something she has never done.  Her family is not around and there is no HUNT or MATZAH.

You can easily get seduced and lose a day on your computer.  You can wait and see what you want to do or you can plan the night before and get out the door on the weekend doing what you don’t usually.

Elizabeth planned for two friends to come over and bring their favorite photos from their past.  Each person also brought food to share.  They talked about the photos and had great time together.  Elizabeth sent each home with a seed packet to plant in their home to celebrate new beginnings.

People like to gather and get uplifted with new places and energy.  What would be fun for you to do in the month of April?

Take care,
Natalie

Natalie Caine M.A.
Empty Nest Support Services
Life In Transition, What’s Next?
(800) 446-3310 or (818) 763-0188
Los Angeles

Featured in Time Magazine, USA Today, Huffington Post, Better Homes and Gardens, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Lifetime Radio for Women, Chicago Tribune, Sirius, Associated Press, Miami Herald, and many more.

Change is inevitable. Get Ready. Get Support. Life transitions need a hand to hold.
www.emptynestsupport.com
www.lifeintransition.org
 
– Private Telephone Consultations
– Speaking engagements
– Support groups
– Workshops
– Mentoring
– Facebook, Linked In, Twitter

 

Will I Be Accepted?

March 21, 2012 | by Natalie Caine | 7 Comments

My son got into the college of his choice and we have been celebrating.  Now I feel a huge relief.  It sounds silly, but I had this thought of accepting that I am no longer the mom he needs daily.  I have good and bad days about that. 

I feel like I always have to be strong for my family.  I of course cry about not seeing him daily come July.  At the same time, I have a tiny smile about more free time for me.  I am tired.

I can’t really say much about accepting myself for who I am because I have been so busy for years that I just need to know who I am.  Part of the not accepting that needs no thought is, I am getting older faster than I like. 

Being a mom with kids in school makes me feel youthful.  Without the kids at home, I am not sure how active I will be.  I don’t mean I will be sitting at home but more that I won’t have the active energy to feed off of when the house was so full of kids and their friends.

I don’t want to just run around so the day ends faster.  I want to run into me.

Does anyone else feel like this?  Thank you.

Jamie

 

Is It Blooming For You?

March 19, 2012 | by Natalie Caine | No Comments

Cherry_Blossoms_2573.jpgCherry blossoms open Spring.  A client shared with me that Spring insures new possibilities, but what for her?  She was sad because romance is invisible. 

As often as you hear it, solution of loss means tears, grieving for what is no longer with someone you loved.  It is never predictable how long tears fall. 

She felt betrayed by giving so much of herself to this partnership. She came to realize she gave because she loved.  She believed in the commitment and the good feelings she use to have.

The shift she wants to practice is not being critical of herself for what she did or did not do in putting her voice in the room and her shoes out the door.   She wants to begin a journal of what she does love about her life.  She doesn’t like to write and at the same time, wants to heal.  Her journal may be three or four words before bed, along with the softest box of aloe Kleenex she can find.

Lily_Tears_2500.jpgHer second practice is to walk her neighborhood and get coffee at the local cafe in order to be around vibrant life.

Third, she wants to find a class to learn how to make cards into a business.  She is an artist.

Change of habit usually takes thirty days.  You will be motivated and you will collapse.  Both behaviors are normal when going through changes.  What matters is to be kind to yourself no matter what, and BEGIN AGAIN.  Get support.

Another client has been working on planning more fun for herself.  She is now blooming with two new things that make her happy, reading to children at a local library and training to be a docent. 

Cherry_Blanket_2478.jpgWhat do you want to bloom before the end of 2012?  Who can help you?  What small step can you make this week?

May the beauty of SPRING, move you forward to what matters to you today,

Natalie

 

Natalie Caine M.A.
Empty Nest Support Services
Life In Transition, What’s Next?
(800) 446-3310 or (818) 763-0188
Los Angeles

Featured in Time Magazine, USA Today, Huffington Post, Better Homes and Gardens, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Lifetime Radio for Women, Chicago Tribune, Sirius, Associated Press, Miami Herald, and many more.

Lily_Flower_2509.jpgChange is inevitable. Get Ready. Get Support. Life transitions need a hand to hold.
www.emptynestsupport.com
www.lifeintransition.org
 
– Private Telephone Consultations
– Speaking engagements
– Support groups
– Workshops
– Mentoring
– Facebook, Linked In, Twitter

 

Feeling Unhappy

March 15, 2012 | by Natalie Caine | No Comments

Dome_1477.jpgOne of the top reasons people don’t move on a dream I hear from clients and during workshops is, “I can’t really do this alone.  I get started and do well for about two weeks and then, if things aren’t going well, I collapse.”

1. Love
2. Re-invention
3. Healthy choices
4. Spiritual practices
5. Forgiving
6. New friends
7. Creativity
8. De-clutter
9. Moving
10. Talking less and listening more
11. Valuing yourself
12. Getting a reality check on finances
13. Entertainment time
14. Working more effectively
15. Reading

The list above, of wants people have, is a lifelong add-on.
Dreams can get dropped because we stop too soon and we don’t have trusting support.

Girl_Statue_1620.jpgPEOPLE DONT ALLOW THEMSELVES TO RECEIVE SUPPORT.  SUPPORT VALIDATES AND INSPIRES.   ASK FOR HELP.   Focus for a week on asking for help.   Who could you call?  Who wants you to be happy?  Who is focused and open?
What support can you discover professionally from others?  Who have you supported? 

Write down daily, who you can ask for help. JUST DO IT.  You would answer a need for someone else if they called.  Fear of being wrong or embarrassed underlies a concern that the person you are sharing with won’t hold the information in CONFIDENCE.  Let them know you want to keep this private between the two of you. 

Sky_Thru_Trees_1736.jpgWhen you know what stops you from moving forward, you can course correct. 

 Melanie told me she just doesn’t have the time.  When your want is happiness verses dullness, maybe you can find the time.

 Annie shared with me that she feels unattractive these days.  The help she decided to receive was going by herself to a top department store for a free make up session. 

 Leslie made a list of five people she would run her idea by for re-invention, asking for connections and feedback with her presentation. 

 Mike didn’t want dating sites online.  He chose to go early for coffee, out of the house and start up a conversation. 

 Miranda wanted to lose weight and move forward with her health.  She made a list of two healthy recipes and cooked ahead with those ingredients.  

 Kelly wanted to begin a real spiritual journey.  She walked in nature. She practiced ten minutes of eyes closed, seated, and breathing. 

 Todd decided to make a daily check sheet of his happiness. His hope was to discover what brings it down and what lifts it.   

These brave people allowed me to share their first names with you in the hopes of making it real that all of us have dreams and need help.

As you have read in my blogs before, my two lifetime friends are COMPASSION AND CURIOSITY.  Change needs a friend.  You have an orchestra of voices inside you. You can decide who needs volume up and volume down.  It is fun to practice something new.  Call someone.

Take good care,
Natalie

Natalie Caine M.A.
Empty Nest Support Services
Life In Transition, What’s Next?
(800) 446-3310 or (818) 763-0188
Los Angeles

Featured in Time Magazine, USA Today, Huffington Post, Better Homes and Gardens, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Lifetime Radio for Women, Chicago Tribune, Sirius, Associated Press, Miami Herald, and many more.

Change is inevitable. Get Ready. Get Support. Life transitions need a hand to hold.
www.emptynestsupport.com
www.lifeintransition.org
 
– Private Telephone Consultations
– Speaking engagements
– Support groups
– Workshops
– Mentoring
– Facebook, Linked In, Twitter

Critical

March 9, 2012 | by Natalie Caine | No Comments

Car_1859.jpgSome days are boring.  You decide to get in your car.  Not sure what you will do, you go to the familiar. 

 

I asked my groups where do they go to have a better day and what do they do:

 

1. Shopping for bargains
2  Look at new cars on the market
3. Garden shops
4. The beach for a walk
5. Dog adoption
Outfits_1808.jpg6. Bookstore
7. Hit golf balls
8. Buy a new shade of lipstick
9 .Farmer’s market
10 New cafe
11 Used book store
12 Gallery
13 Shoe store
14 Yogurt stop
15. Buy a new game board
16 Museum
17 Buy new music
18 Computer store
19 Feed the ducks
Swimwear_1817.jpg20 Read the newspaper at a café
21 Watercolor outside, usually flowers
22 Charcoal art
23 Collages to make with magazine pages
24 Photo animals in the park or shelter 
25 Add to my website

I am sure you could list what lifts your spirits. What you hope to leave in the house, as you venture out, is your inner critic that says, “YOU NEED TO DO SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE. YOU ARE WASTING YOUR DAYS.  YOU OVER SPEND TO BE HAPPY.”

Hall_1812.jpgWhat is your inner critic saying to you and how can you shift.  “This is the best I can do for today.”

Take care,
Natalie

Natalie Caine M.A.
Empty Nest Support Services
Life In Transition, What’s Next?
(800) 446-3310 or (818) 763-0188
Los Angeles

Featured in Time Magazine, USA Today, Huffington Post, Better Homes and Gardens, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Lifetime Radio for Women, Chicago Tribune, Sirius, Associated Press, Miami Herald, and many more.

Change is inevitable. Get Ready. Get Support. Life transitions need a hand to hold.
www.emptynestsupport.com
www.lifeintransition.org
 
– Private Telephone Consultations
– Speaking engagements
– Support groups
– Workshops
– Mentoring
– Facebook, Linked In, Twitter

 

Unsatisfied

March 2, 2012 | by Natalie Caine | No Comments

Shadows_1065.jpgWhat comes to your mind with the word unsatisfied?  Work, relationships, sex, home, fun, sleep, spirituality, etc.?  Good news about letting yourself feel unsatisfied is CHANGE. 

When the pain is more than the gain, do you make a shift?   Do you put your voice in the room?  A woman shared with me that she speaks up about her thoughts and feelings. What is unsatisfying for her is no change arrives from the other person she is speaking with, time after time.  At times, this behavior has diminished her voice, “Why bother? Nothing changes,” Her confidence in making change lowers.  She is hurt

Under the frustration of no change is the vulnerability of feeling hurt because she doesn’t experience having any impact.  Have you felt that way, too? She values herself and doesn’t feel valued by him.

Paradox lives again. On the one hand, saying what you need and not seeing change, is a practice of acceptance.  “This is how she is and there hasn’t been any change in the months I have expressed myself.” 

On the other hand, is self-care. No, you can’t make anyone hear you, implement change, and communicate with you.  Self-care also needs to stand in the room.  You want to express your feelings and needs so it doesn’t build to a fire or a brick thrown across the room. 

Room_Setting_1814.jpgFor one woman, she discovered she needed to walk out of the room when the same behavior showed up day after day , despite her expressing herself with different words and briefly. 

The story doesn’t really matter.  What matters is how do you self-care when you are unsatisfied?  What are you learning about you and the other person in the room?  What new tools are possible to self-care?

Where is the behavior that is unsatisfying at times, also, showing up in you, as a mirror?  We forget we can dig deeper and make new choices.  We forget the issue is a part of us and not the all of us.  We forget to ask for help.

Unsatisfied can bring explorations that lead to change.  We need to keep the conversations open and out loud so we don’t bury growth.  We need to be met right where we are and step away when no hand is available in that room.  AND is a calming word, isn’t it?

How are you self-caring?  When do you put your voice in the room and when do you not?
     

Take good care,

Natalie

Natalie Caine M.A.
Empty Nest Support Services
Life In Transition, What’s Next?
(800) 446-3310 or (818) 763-0188
Los Angeles

Featured in Time Magazine, USA Today, Huffington Post, Better Homes and Gardens, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Lifetime Radio for Women, Chicago Tribune, Sirius, Associated Press, Miami Herald, and many more.

Change is inevitable. Get Ready. Get Support. Life transitions need a hand to hold.
www.emptynestsupport.com
www.lifeintransition.org
 
– Private Telephone Consultations
– Speaking engagements
– Support groups
– Workshops
– Mentoring
– Facebook, Linked In, Twitter

 

 

Am I Too Routined?

February 28, 2012 | by Natalie Caine | No Comments

Piano_1035.jpgKara, asked me, as do other women, “I have habits that seem to run me. I am too predictable and at times, bored.”  As you know, life is complex and we long for ease, like routine. Maybe a question is, “Are you happy?” 

We seem to forget that happiness is a real need and not one to feel guilty about wanting.  It does not mean you are self-centered.  It might mean you are getting to know yourself better.  When you self-care by knowing more about you, then you can give to others without the automatic jump into action, based on, I HAVE TO DO IT.

Circular_Stones_2458.jpgNotice in your day, what lifts your energy and what depletes it.
Get outside, daily, beyond just a walk to and from your parked car.

Start your day differently and see how you feel.

Be a detective of your own happiness.  Jot down, at the end of a day, what you discovered.

Nurture yourself.  I know you hear that all the time. Nurture could mean you don’t answer the phone just because it rang.

Tableware_2918.jpgAsk for help to make small shifts.   I remember a friend and I would send each other an inspiring quotation through email or a “CHEER LEADER” email, saying, “GO FOR IT NOW.”

We all need reminders to have fun and shift our daily and evening habits, don’t you think?  What might you shift in a week that would feed your happiness?

 

Take care,
Natalie

Natalie Caine M.A.
Empty Nest Support Services
Life In Transition, What’s Next?
(800) 446-3310 or (818) 763-0188
Los Angeles

Featured in Time Magazine, USA Today, Huffington Post, Better Homes and Gardens, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Lifetime Radio for Women, Chicago Tribune, Sirius, Associated Press, Miami Herald, and many more.

Change is inevitable. Get Ready. Get Support. Life transitions need a hand to hold.
www.emptynestsupport.com
www.lifeintransition.org
 
– Private Telephone Consultations
– Speaking engagements
– Support groups
– Workshops
– Mentoring
– Facebook, Linked In, Twitter

 

A Deep Loss And Surprise

February 23, 2012 | by Natalie Caine | No Comments

Do you want the ending of the story or the beginning?  Patience will give you the surprise ending that was greatly needed during loss. 

Sweet_Sophie_2206.jpgMy cat, Sophie, who we adopted fourteen years ago, was still chatty and cuddly, until the Monday morning she suddenly died.  I wept and wept.  Home alone, I don’t know where the movement in me came from, to swaddle her in a blanket, as I prepared to say goodbye. I know I was in shock, even though, I also knew she grew thinner and older weekly. Maybe, she was 91. 

I had been out of town teaching for a week.  I am so grateful she and I had the weekend together and she didn’t die while I was gone presenting. She waited for me.

Sophie_5523.jpgI adore Sophie.

I miss her.

Monday morning, I wept goodbye to her, telling her all I love about her and thanking her for being part of me and my family.   I for sure wanted more time with Sophie.  Here is a list of what she loved to do:

 Climb through the back screen door to get outside and lean over the pool to sip water.
 Chase the sun to warm herself.
 Jump from the table to the kitchen counter to be right where I was chopping or doing dishes.
 Getting under my feet, so I would notice her
Sophie_Play_5569.jpg Jump from the printer to my desk and sit on my computer keyboard, blocking my work.
 Knock things off my table as she dashed around playing the chase game with something I never could see
 Leap on the bed, up to my chest and into my face, purring with happiness
 Pitter patter across the wooden floors, as she heard the bath water running. Sophie loves water. She would sit on the side of the tub, at times lean over, and I wondered if I would have to catch her. 
 Sit on the laps of friends in the living room and kitchen.  People cat.  Mutual love.
 Be at the door when I came home.
 Scratch at a closed door wanting to come in.
 Crawling into the refrigerator for leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner
Fridge_0583.jpg Dragging a brown bag across the floor as her paws were caught in the paper handles
 Curling into her peaceful self to be, reminding me to be.

Butterfly_0499.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So here is the wonderment and surprise….Sophie died in the morning.  That evening, I saw a yellow butterfly in the dining room on the window.  Sophie use to sit by that window on the table to look out and be warmed by the sun.  I don’t know how that butterfly came into the house.  I had never seen it before.  It stayed on the window.   I spoke to it.  I told it, “I am going to open this back door where the pool is, if you want to go.”  I looked for the butterfly every morning when I woke and before I went to sleep I chatted with it.  One day it moved to a window, closer to the back door.  It didn’t leave.  I closed the door.  This went on for ten wonderful days.  I woke one morning, doors and windows closed, as always in the evening, and she was GONE.  I still looked for her days after.  I looked again today.  No butterfly.  I don’t know how she entered my life or how she left.  I am kissed by her presence.

Butterfly_Window_0498.jpgHave you had this kind of surprise in loss or in life when you need love?

I am grateful for Sophie and the butterfly,

Natalie

Natalie Caine M.A.
Empty Nest Support Services
Life In Transition, What’s Next?
(800) 446-3310 or (818) 763-0188
Los Angeles

Featured in Time Magazine, USA Today, Huffington Post, Better Homes and Gardens, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Lifetime Radio for Women, Chicago Tribune, Sirius, Associated Press, Miami Herald, and many more.

Change is inevitable. Get Ready. Get Support. Life transitions need a hand to hold.
www.emptynestsupport.com
www.lifeintransition.org
 
– Private Telephone Consultations
– Speaking engagements
– Support groups
– Workshops
– Mentoring
– Facebook, Linked In, Twitter

 

Shades of Changes

February 14, 2012 | by Natalie Caine | No Comments

Centered_1463.jpgA parent called sharing she was waiting for her twins to be ecstatic from the long anticipated acceptance letters to college. She worried there would be tears with rejection letters, no choices.  What parent wouldn’t want their children to get what they want?  Changes can bring brightness, dullness, or shades of grey, usually the latter.

Learning to sit in the unknown is uncomfortable.  You realize you don’t have a choice but to go with not knowing or to spend your time in worry.  I don’t think our children or you, benefit from worry, and yet it is common for that to pop into your day.  You could say, “thanks worrier for sharing, but I can handle this not knowing.’  It is a practice to be able to say THANK YOU and to LET GO and move on in your day.   Thank you and I am moving on today.

A mother worries about her daughter’s health.  She practices self-care and not letting the fear of illness for someone she deeply adores, affect her own health.  Not easy.  She weeps and cuddles in bed until an energy lifts her to begin again, despite no changes in her daughter’s health, her bright , beautiful, young daughter.

A son care-takes his aging mother and longs for how it used to be.  You be the mom.  I will be the son.  You be strong and lead.  I will grow and become.  Change happens.   He is over-whelmed and peeks in her room to be sure she is still breathing. He remembers his mom telling him how she peeked in his baby room to see if he was breathing.
 
The wedding ring sits in her drawer, discarded from her thought of a forever life with her husband. This generous, creative, happy woman is now pulled to the underworld of tears and uncertainty.  No matter who said goodbye first, both will grieve for the life they thought they would share in old age, full of history and completing each other’s sentences.  Not to be.  Not to blame.  Not to regret.   She knows what the challenges were after twenty years of coupling.  She just doesn’t know what will be next for her.   Change happens.  Shades of shock, begging, anger, dullness, clouds, and then fresh air.  Never in a straight line.  Her hope is that she knows she is a great woman and did all she could to love. She keeps a door open that she will have a happy life whether solo or with a partner.  Her coping skill of the day, is to clean out her closets.  What would be yours?

He weeps for the routine he had.  He loved his job. They no longer needed him .  He is a worker bee.  Man who produces.  Now what? Change happens.  He didn’t see it coming, nor would that really help his meaningless days.  Grieve for what is no longer.  Write what you loved about your day and what you didn’t care for so much.  List what gifts you have to give, again.  Keep going. Keep going.  Fall and stand again.  When you feel and think, feel and think, when you let others help you, and let it be ok to change your mind, you get a routine again.  Ordinary days, which for him, need to be a routine, are good days.  Ordinary life is a precious life.   When he was able to shift to that perception, he put on his shoes.

Change is inevitable in life.  Let’s talk about it.  Let’s help each other feel fresh air.  Let’s listen and be, with appreciation that that is a wonderful life.  There are callings for doing and callings for being, both change our view. Wouldn’t the same view for a lifetime be dull?

Shades of change.  How are you self- caring in your day to day life?  How are you able to help others with their view? From your center, what is moving out and staying near?

Take good care,
Natalie

Natalie Caine M.A.
Empty Nest Support Services
Life In Transition, What’s Next?
(800) 446-3310 or (818) 763-0188
Los Angeles

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