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.

a garden tour and lunch

Before our summer trip Gary surprised me with a fun afternoon activity. We drove way up the mountain and ended up on a beautiful organic farm property. We gathered with a group of people and toured the farm, seeing all sorts of food being grown including coffee, tropical fruits, all sorts of vegetables and herbs and macadamia nuts. We all picked from the garden to create a big salad. They had a smokehouse where they cooked the food, a chef with a great sense of humor, and enthusiastic young people working the land and serving us lunch. The food was so good, four courses in all!

more about 2018 thus far

In February Sky visited us for a weekend with her boyfriend so he could meet the family. It was fun. I also went to visit her for a week during her spring break. We stayed at a friend's house near the beach. It was really relaxing hanging 1:1 with my girl. We took walks, cooked together, watched movies and talked a lot.

Shawnie was cruising through second semester of freshman year of high school. He reconnected with friends, got really into CAD, continued with gymnastics classes, went to the beach and had fun flying his new drone.

Annabel had her first job working at a pizza place. She visited with a friend she met last summer on her Nepal trip. She played in a band and also performed her original music a couple of times. She wrote a bunch of songs and played a lot of music.

I worked in my garden and harvested quite a few bananas and sweet potatoes.

Gary wrote some new songs too.

for my children~sorrow

Hello my beautiful children. It's been awhile since I've written. I hope one day you will read these posts. I wanted to tell you all something I have recently learned. 

Sometimes things happen that can really throw us off. It could be that something that gave comfort begins to cause pain. Or that you realize a best friend is not even a decent friend, and you need to let go, and are left with sadness. Or that you aren't as good at something as you thought you were. Maybe you aren't passionate about something you once felt passion for. Or you feel you can't reach your goals or dreams. Maybe you feel physically drained and no matter what you do, it remains. You might feel really depressed, like life is against you. You might get really down and feel like you can't pull yourself out.

Sometimes negativity can overwhelm our minds. The worst part about this is that once we feel like we are a victim of outside negativity, it is almost impossible to not see more and more and more negativity around us, and we begin to expect it until it becomes part of us. Be cautious if this begins to happen. If you catch yourself in this negative mindset, reverse it as soon as possible.

Outside negativity is everywhere in the world. We see it in politics, in news headlines, on the streets and in our schools. It is easy to start to feel like the world is a negative place to survive. This is especially evident as we get older and have to face harsh realities. When we are children our innocence protects us. When we start to grow up we lose our innocence and with this loss of innocence is some sadness. That is natural.

Try to not dwell on sorrow. Instead just move forward in life, lighting your little lamp. Be easy on yourself. Be kind to others. Love your family and friends. Smile. Surround yourself with positive people. Find things to laugh about every day. Spend some time with children or animals. Be grateful for that which is good in your life. Do your best. Stay optimistic and I promise you, you will always be successful.

And remember, everything changes. No matter how dark things get, the pendulum always swings back to happiness.

Love,
Mom