“Hey, it’s good to be back home again. Sometimes this old farm feels like a long lost friend…” John Denver

We’re back home on our little piece of heaven, the farm, where our relationship began and where it continues to grow and thrive, surrounded by apple, peach, plum, pear and walnut trees. And now, in summer, berries, squash, juicy tomatoes, green beans and other treasures to discover each day. The pumpkins are turning bright orange so there will be fresh pumpkin pies in the fall. (Thank goodness for drip irrigation on automatic timers, so we could come home to all of this thriving!)

We loved our trip to Europe, where Landon won not only in Henley, (our last blog post), but also became the World Champion in single sculling in his age group at the World Masters Games in Turino, Italy. He also won a gold medal in an eight and two silvers in a four and a quad.

We spent the three weeks between Henley and Turino in Talloires, a little village in France on Lake Annecy, where Landon could train and I could swim and speak French. We spent some time with a friend, then in a hotel and also a little apartment on the third floor, with a tiny peek of a view of the lake.

I loved it all, fulfilling my passion for speaking French, writing and swimming, while Landon pursued his dream of training to win the World Masters Games—which he did!

Travel can bring out things that staying home doesn’t, and we experienced that. But our commitment to working it all through until it was resolved, not holding a grudge and never going to sleep angry held up, even with the changing places we were in.

Rowing and competing mean so much to Landon, and he works hard to prepare for these events. This is his time to shine and I loved supporting him in that. I also used the time to begin to prepare for a triathlon that I will be doing on September 15th,—a ½ mile swim, a 12 mile bike ride and a 3 mile run. I got so inspired by all the athletes at the World Masters Games, so jumped into the ring, so to speak, myself.

We have so much to be grateful for in our lives and remember each day to express and to feel that. In my childhood, I was never taught how to embrace the good things in life and to open up to that. There was plenty of modeling of how to suffer and lots of drama. So now, it is a practice to let in all the good, to appreciate our good fortune and to look at how we can give back to the world from there.

So in that vein, we’re very excited to offer our first seminar, The Awakened Relationship, November 15, 16, 17 in the San Francisco Bay area, Mill Valley, California. Watch for more details to come about that. In the meantime, send us an email if you’re interested.

But for now, as fall begins, what are you grateful for? And what good are you opening up to letting into your life? What area can you clean up and let go in to create space for that?

I have a BIG birthday coming up in November, so I’m cleaning out and cleaning up even more to prepare for that. I believe that when you let go of things you’re not using, and of course outmoded ideas and that kind of ‘stuff’, the universe sends you more good. There is more room for it!

Wishing all the best for you in your life,
Diane