Friday, July 18, 2008

Saying Yes to a Sunset

It amazes me how beautiful life can be. Thursday has become a busy publishing day and usually I am up early in the morning working until late at night. I work on editing, finding photos that work with articles, correcting any bugs, and trying to see if there is anything missing. I don't seem to see much of the world outside on Thursdays, which is okay for me, since it is only one day and I love working on my ezine. Yesterday, in the middle of everything, my husband decided it would be wonderful if we watched the sunset at the cliffs. My first reaction was, "Have fun! I am not even close to being done." but when I took a second look inside my heart, I realized that I didn't want to miss out on being together as a family, a walk, and the sunset.

I quickly changed my answer, and soon we were all walking out the door. The night was just lovely. It may be very hot this time of year for a lot of people, but where we live, it has been in the 70's and it is very windy living out here on the cliffs. It felt somewhere around 60 degrees with the wind and we were all wearing our fleece. The air was crisp and the streets were quiet. We all felt so much joy as we all raced to catch a glimpse of the sunset. The boys, of course, won the race!

Usually, it feels to me like the sun sets quicker than I can appreciate all the beauty, but tonight, for some reason, it was slowly easing its way down the sky. It was as though it didn't want the day to end. I could understand the resistance. It was a beautiful day and I was there giggling with my beautiful family. I didn't want it to end either. We waited for quite awhile until at last, the last drop of fiery light dropped behind the sea. We were much quieter as we walked home. Happy, relaxed and tired.

I knew I was going to have to finish my work for the night and I did happily until midnight. Sometimes it is so easy to miss out on amazing opportunities spending time with those we love, because we can always find some excuse why you can't that sounds real. "I have to work. I can't find the time right now. We can do it again another time." The only problem is, as life goes on, and time moves faster, we miss out on the intention we had to enjoy our lives. Each time we say, "next time" we lose the opportunity to be in the now, to enjoy what is right here in front of us, and the fact is, it may just not be available when you finally decide that you can finally take the time to spend with those you love the most.

I am so grateful for the gift of saying yes!

Friday, July 4, 2008

A Holiday After Week Two!

Hooray for the holiday! What a gift to get a holiday after only 2 weeks of a new business. I am sure that is highly unusual. Though... I am ready for it. While getting used to the very bugged system I have to publish my online magazine through, it was just not easy this week. I am so thrilled to be able to relax and write what feels good and fun.

Our family has a tradition to spend this holiday with old friends. We spend the night, have a BBQ, let the kids play until all hours, watch the same firework show we have seen for the past 11 years, and chase off to catch the ferry before the end of the night. This year, we have decided to stay an extra night. When my family asked for the extra night, I didn't protest. I am ready to continue to play and stay on holiday!

Starting a business, no matter what you decide to do, and how easy you hope it will be, is extremely time consuming. There are so many aspects to think about when you and your husband are the sole employees. You wear so many hats, you have to really know what to do and how to do it. However, when starting a business, more times than not you actually have no idea what you are doing. You are usually winging it! Okay, okay, I am usually winging it... When you have no idea what will work and what doesn't, life couldn't be more entertaining (for lack of a more colorful word.) The most effective way to get a job done, is well beyond your newbie grasp. It is the serious learning curve that makes what could be a 1 day job, into a 3 day job. So when it takes 5 days, you have to laugh and realize that one day you will look back and say, "Ah, those were the good ol' days!" And even if you don't say that, you will at least look back.

For now, I am not as overly tired as before, not as caffeinatedly (yes that is a word, regardless of what the spell check says) excited as before, just really happy to be working on this new business that brings me insight, fun and plenty of neuron connections.

Most of all today, I am just thrilled to be on holiday.

Happy 4th!

smiles,
Rain