Happy Birthday, my dear one.

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my boy with his grandma. he was seizing on the first day of life

my boy with his grandma.
he was seizing on the first day of life

This is the reason I began magic doorway(s).

This little guy here.

These pictures were taken sixteen years ago today.

My boy was born with a brain injury.

Born from a traumatic birth.

For sixteen years therapists, doctors, counselors and teachers have helped in the raising of this boy.

We have been so blessed to have them in our lives.

Some go, some stay, but all have made an impact.

And I am grateful for every single one of them.

My boy is thriving. He is sixteen now and taller than his mama.

Full of laughs.

A joy……on most occasions (he’s a teenager! I’d be lying if I said it was roses all the time. 😉

So, I am obligated to give back.

To help others like myself, like my child…
other families like my own.

This is why 20% of all of my sales go to charities that support either brain research or families/individuals coping with the effects of brain injuries, surgeries or disease.

It has been quite a journey so far.
Sometimes it  has brought be to the limits of my own sanity.

But he survived, and continues to thrive.

And so do I.

Procrastination

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Good morning!

I am so sorry that I’ve been so neglectful! I wont go into my list of excuses. I listened to a podcast yesterday on my drive home from work about PROCRASTINATION (the Do Over podcast – will link it if I have time this morning!). It was excellent. Lots of food for thought.

I took two things from this podcast:
What is the REAL reason that I am procrastinating? After deep consideration, I believe I procrastinate due to FEAR. Fear of imperfection, fear that I don’t know enough – that I don’t have all the answers yet, that I don’t have a solid direction for this blog yet.

2. I now ask myself, “Am I willing to sacrifice my goal/dream for _____________________(fill in the blank, ex: to get lost in Facebook for twenty minutes”, watch TV, etc.)?

So this morning I’m sending out an ultrafast post. I still have my goal of raising 10K in 2 years for BRAINS. And I still plan to have an online store by January 30th.

I found this picture at Jakes in Northampton, MA. It’s perfect for today, don’t you think?

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Finding my WHY

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Why?

Why did I start this blog? This teeny, tiny business?

And what exactly is my purpose here?

This summer my son was involved in a research study at Columbia Teachers College for children who have under gone hemispherectomies. While there the director of the study, Dr. Andrew Gordon, explained that this study is mainly funded by private donations from families like my own. There is not a lot of government funding for brain research. I was struck by just how badly these researchers needed funding and how important our private donations were. Dr. Gordon suggested that in lieu of gifts for the VOLUNTEER therapists working with our children, would we consider giving a donation to the college to help support continued brain research?

This struck a chord in me.

At the time I wasn’t able to give a donation, but I swore that I would someday.

And I didn’t intend to stop there.

And THAT is how this blog began.

This venture, the blog, magic doorway(s) and magic doorway images, is my attempt to give back to all who helped my son during his journey through living with a life-threatening form of epilepsy, the brain surgery that saved him, and his life after the surgery.

It’s been quite a journey.

We’ve met so many wonderful people along the way.

We’ve been shown such kindness. My boy is thriving. We are all so blessed.

It’s time to give back.

Stick around for the HOW…

The quest for perfecton

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I’m irritated by the photo that I posted yesterday. I’m frustrated because it really does have the potential to be a good picture but it needs some tweaking. I’m irritated and frustrated because I can’t get the photo editing tools that I need to work on my little iPad.

I’m also frustrated, or irritated, I can’t tell, because I don’t want to put junk on this blog.

But then a thought struck me….

Who ever said that I had to be PERFECT?

No one.

Especially not I. (Or me?)

So, I’m cutting myself a break, because if it is perfection that I’m striving for, this blog, business, adventure would never have been started!

Perfection is a good goal. But I’m not going to let it stop me from taking action….putting my stuff out there…..taking a risk.

Perhaps perfection is a journey….

Thanks for coming along for the ride. 🙂

Losing my mojo

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I realized last night that I can all too easily lose the momentum I need to keep this project,”the shop”, and all it stands for going. Lately I’ve been succumbing to the fatigue that envelopes me after work each day. I’ve lost the momentum that kept me chugging along.

I’ve lost my MOJO.

So today, I will try AGAIN to write my “Morning Pages”. Taken from The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, this simple idea of writing three long-hand pages in the morning, before the day begins, has been life changing for me.
And I think it’s what I need now.
(But, as you can see, I’m not writing long-hand, I am tapping into my iPad.)

I don’t handle the time changes well.

I don’t handle winter well.

When it’s dark I want to be quiet….I’m slow, like a three toed sloth.
When the sun rises I pop up and am ready to go.

I’m a hummingbird by day.

But ENOUGH WHINING!
You live in the Northeast, Stephanie, and until your move to the tropics this is your life!

It’s a wonderful one, don’t get me wrong.
It is a wonderful one.

I’ll just need another cup of coffee….