SANDY HIGHS & LOWS

Do you notice how sand has a way of getting into everything? I am irritated & pleased with it, leftover sand in my shoes weeks after a beach trip makes me smile. It also scratches floors, is hard to get rid of, & makes my son rub his eyes in frustration.

I took H camping a couple of weeks ago to Nehalem Bay. It’s a great place, a short walk from a very beautiful beach, standard camp sites with a picnic table, faucet, hook up, & fire pit. When people asked me about how it went I answered, there were highs & lows. I think I’ll wait another year before trying it again!

YES, I DROPPED MY CAMERA & SAVED HIS BURNING MARSH MELLOW!

I have a friend who has five kids, whom I’ve shared about those highs & lows with. She says, they are just doing their job. Your job is to point them towards right instead of wrong.

I had a dream a couple of nights ago that H kept going missing. I would walk with him & then he would be gone. I would retrace my steps, searching for him everywhere & frantically. I would find him & the whole thing would happen again. It was one of those unpleasant dreams you wake yourself up from. Those in the middle of the night moments of terror when your mind is most likely to play false tricks.

Some highs & lows:

High: Waking up with my son’s blue eyes peeping at me in wonder when we woke up in the tent.

Low: We woke at 6am to birds screeching.

High: Train ride!

Low: Train ride at nap time!

High: S’mores.

Low: Child picks chocolate out of s’more to eat & then yells/cries about sticky marsh mellow all over hands.

High: Running through the ocean with glee, not wanting to stop when with parents.

Low: Refuses to have anything to do with water while with Mama only.

High: Not being in a controlled environment.

Low: Not being in a controlled environment.

But what is life without these highs & lows? Wouldn’t it be boring if he did exactly what I wanted him to all the time? And my reaction is parallel to how much I am in acceptance in that moment. I find myself constantly praying to be a better mother, to make the right decisions when I’m with him. I wonder if he’ll remember this one night flurry of a camping trip when he is older. Aren’t many Summer trips filled with such a juxtaposition of rampant emotions?

We cut our trip a day short because it was supposed to rain. I wasn’t about to deal with that presumed low. It worked out, we ended up going to Cannon Beach on our way home & spent the day with my parents & H’s cousins.

We head out to Idaho next week, thankfully to indoor sleeping spaces to visit with my aunt & uncle. I know there will be highs & lows & I look forward to them.

Summer 2016 is starting out on the right foot. I am grateful for all that it has been so far in the past couple weeks. Wishing/praying/hoping that you will be provided much grace for whichever elevation you are walking upon in this present moment.

Namaste~

Published by Liz Brower

I've practiced yoga since 2006, I stumbled into a class at my local gym. I didn't really "get" yoga, I wanted to do all of the poses to the max, I didn't focus on breathing, and I was very competitive. A year later I quit smoking and my mom purchased a three month unlimited to a local studio. I fell in love with yoga! Plus the metaphor was strong, my lungs began to repair, I could take really deep inhales without coughing! I later began to go to a free outdoor yoga classes in downtown Long Beach, CA that was also affiliated with a donation based studio. Yoga was fun, affordable, accessible, and outside! I loved it. I started practicing at home by myself. I started meditating. Right after I found the classes at the gym stopped drinking alchohol. My sobriety and yoga have intertwined ever since. They compliment each other amazingly and I am so grateful for them both. I stopped practicing yoga after getting pregnant and being caught up with the taking care of a newborn in 2013/2014. When he was 9 months old I realized that I really wanted to redirect myself back to yoga. I also had the seed planted in my mind while driving home from Christmas break, why don't you go do a yoga teacher training?! I started practicing yoga at a local studio and began scouring the internet for a teacher training program. I found Three Sisters Yoga, a lovely program, based out of NY & PDX. I was more than motivated to teach, I started teaching some free yoga in the summer of 2015 at a local park. I continued after that with an internship at the same studio I had signed back up with at the beginning of the year. I quit my day job. I hit the pavement, scouring for yoga gigs that would hire a newbie. I found a job and began to teach! Now I am navigating the great balance of being a single mom, a yoga teacher, and doing my best to trust my higher power with my future. I love to teach and practice vinyasa, but also know what it's like to be drawn to slower types of yoga due to injury or body type. I feel a special affinity for yoga new comers and like to teach practice at all different levels. Thank you for taking time to read a little more about me and I wish all of you the best in your own individual yoga practice. ~Namaste! View more posts