We're Back!!!

I know it has been FOREVER since you guys have heard from us. I apologize for me going dark the past few months. I was under an immense amount of stress that took over my life around February. I had some major changes happen in my career (change of manager...WORST EVER and my territory increased in size). These changes created so much tension that it took all my energy. What little energy I had left was for Luna and just trying to survive everyday life. With the many changes, the thought of adding one more thing to my plate seemed overwhelming to me. I knew if I pushed myself to do one more thing, I would break. What am I saying, I did break multiple times! My body was responding very negative to all this stress. I would have multiple migraines and week and at one point, things got so bad I was having anxiety attacks. I was living in a professional hell the past five months. Working crazy long hours and traveling over 80% of my time. It was taking a tole on me mentally and physically. I was exhausted! I was barely surviving. Thank goodness I had my village and meditation to help me cope with this. More importantly, it affected Lunitas the most! It was starting to affect her behavior, she was starting to act out due to my lack of presence. Anyway she could get my attention she did. More importantly it affected our relationship. I was not my happy go lucky self. I was more impatience and not present. There were days I did not know where I would muster the energy up to care for her. I did and it was not always pretty. Somehow and some way I found the strength to give what little I had to her. I hated what I was becoming. I hated what we were becoming. Life was not supposed to be this. I became super depressed, stressed, and emotional. I did not know how I was going to go on one more day like this.

Things got so bad, I had to take a leave. I had to even ask my Mama' to come help me until I could start to feel semi normal again. She is a God sent! During this time, I was blessed to focus on Luna and I and the things that truly matter, her and my well being. We had some of the best days while I was on leave. It was so nice being able to reconnect to her and share so many wonderful memories. I must say she loved me being at home. During my leave, within in a couple of weeks, I was back and ready to conquer the world. I felt a huge weight and fog had been lifted. I am happy to report that life is back and we are back on track ready to kick some booty! 

I shared all this with you all one because I wanted to explain why we had gone missing and secondly, life can be hard and it is okay to ask for help. The best thing you can do is ask for help before it is too late. 

Love and Light!

Summer shenanigans at the Oregon coast...sand in our hair, face, hands, clothes, and mouth! (Cannon Beach, OR)

Summer shenanigans at the Oregon coast...sand in our hair, face, hands, clothes, and mouth! (Cannon Beach, OR)

Pause and Reflect 2017

As the year is winding down...the past couple of days has me taking a step back to reflect on what 2017 has brought to myself and Luna. As I sit here, a HUGE smile overtakes my face. I am 100% grateful for absolutely EVERYTHING and how it transpired! I know many times I will say I am grateful, however, I do not know if I truly feel it. I can tell you that this year I feel it with every fiber of my being as I write this. I do not know if there ever was time in my life where I have been so content and at ease with where my life is. I am really feeling totally in the flow and just being. If I look back few years when reflecting on the year, I might look back with some regrets "shoulding" on myself. Having some sort of dis-ease in some area of my life...physically, emotionally, or what not. This is the first year in a bit that I am not ready to send the year packing. Last year at this time, I could not wait to see 2016 in the rear view mirror. I want to bottle up what I am feeling and stick that in my heart and never forget what this feeling feels like. 

The year started off with many bumps and bruises. I was in an emotional tailspin and was unsure how I was going to get out of. I was tired of feeling like I was stuck in cement. I knew I needed to stop the story I was repeating and start living the life that was for my best higher self and this little blessing. I knew I needed to get back to my basics of journaling, seeing my teachers on a regular basis, self love/care, and being fully present with myself. I am proud to say that things are not perfect, however they are perfectly imperfect and I could not be more pleased with where our lives are heading. 

The year was filled with much growth, adventure, and self discovery. Here are a few of our favorite highlights of 2017...

  • The year started with the two of us moving back to our old hood. A place that makes me feel alive! I truly believe where I live plays a major role in how other areas of my life will take flight. I feel more alive an in tune with my higher self living in this hood. It gets me and I get it. We are simply one. Being a soaring solo Mamá, it makes life so much easier for the two us to have everything right at our finger tips. No driving necessary if I so wish. 
  • We marched and we marched and we marched for many causes that are close to my heart. First march was the Women's March in January. WE. ARE. WILD. WOMAN.
  • First time hiking soaring solo with a baby/toddler. Hiking and nature have always been a love of mine. I wanted to make sure I was doing everything I enjoyed pre-child, also post-child. Now I am able to pass this love to Luna. I have tried to make it ritual that we would go hiking once every month. Getting out on open trails is therapeutic. Every time when Luna sees the pack or any of our hiking gear, she says, "hiking Mamá?" They way her face lights up is priceless!
  • Becoming more of a conscious parent and truly realizing what that means. Gaining more awareness on how my energy and attitude affects Luna and all those I interact with. 
  • In July, I attended first international spiritual/meditation retreat in Lake Atitlán, Guatemala. I honestly think this adventure was what sprung me into so much change and growth. I absolutely feel in love with life again! I started to see life differently. I met some of the most beautiful vibrant and vulnerable women that I am able to call my sisters. Let me not forget to tell you how magical the Lake is! You will definitely be seeing me again. My heart is there and I want to share it with my Lunitas here in the future. 
  • Our first soaring solo camping trip in Alsea, Oregon was such an empowering step for me to take. Possibly ending up being one our best adventures to date.
  • Constantly listening  and being in tune to my wild heart and making small steps of change daily. 
  • In October we celebrated a Beary Happy 2nd Birthday for Luna. We were able to celebrate the day with all those whom we love and admire. 
  • First Arizona State University football game for Luna and her meeting her new found love Spraky! She is obsessed with the Sun Devils and Sparky. Deep down I am smiling BIG when I see her love for them. 
  • Adventures, adventures, and more adventures!
  • Finally ending the year spending an amazing eight days with our familía in Nuevo. The older I get the more appreciative of them I get. Many it is the Mamá in me...It was wonderful being able to connect with many of them on a deeper level. The love they always show Luna is like nothing else I have witnessed. It was a joy watching her love on them and really take to them so quickly. We are blessed to have them in our corners. This trip had my cup and heart full. My. Tribe. Rocks! 

I hope this post will help you pause and reflect on your 2017. Look at your blessings and cherish those special moments. Thank you for you love you have shown us this year. Thank you for going along on this journey with us. I hope to me more active on the blog next year. This has be the best year EVER! Until next year...have a powerful day! 

Love and Light~B and Luna

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Those Hands

The past couple of days, I have been traveling and with this travel has come with an overnight. I love my time with Luna, however, I know that when I have to do have overnight travel, I need to make the best of it. My time away from her can be hard. Yet on the other hand it is invaluable and I welcome it with open arms. It allows me to recharge, look introspectively at how can be a better partner to my Monster, gain perspective, catch up on "me time" that I so need at times, and finally, it allows me to come back to her with a new attitude. When I am out on the open roads, my windshield time can be lengthy. During this time, I am listening to audiobooks. It allows for me to grow and helps pass the time by doing something productive. I am currently listening to Dr. Shefali Tsabary's "The Awakened Family". So far I am about six hours into this book and already, I am feeling so enlightened and ready to make some major shifts in my life. It has also confirmed many areas that I am doing positively. As a parent, it is nice to have a gauge or see how we are affecting our child's life in a positive manner. I am putting a lot of my time and energy in being a conscious parent and living life with more of that childlike wander and presentness. 

As I got home this afternoon from my overnight trip away from my Monster, I came home with an uplifted attitude and feeling extremely grounded and light. I felt like I could take on the world or anything that was thrown in my direction. I was so excited to see my little Lunitas! Every time when I arrive home, the same scenario plays out. I open the door and as I am walking down the hallway, I hear feet and her saying, "Mamá, this" Or whatever she might have in her hand that she wants me to see. As she is is running and around the corner she flies and we greet one another usually with many besitos and abrazitos. This will NEVER get old for as long as I live! I hope every day she has this much excitement when she sees me. As the early evening progressed, I was doing so well in present moment enjoying my interactions with Luna. Then out of nowhere, like a Mack truck, I am hit with a flood of emotions. I could not pin point where they were coming from. Was it because I was so excited to be home and I was relishing in my time with her? After all, this is the time of year when one wants to be snuggled up on the couch because the weather is turning cold and rainy. It is the season of soups and warm drinks. NO clue where the emotion came from. I know from my past experiences, when this has happened, I am usually picking up someone else's energy. I knew this must be the case in this situation. Why? You might ask...Because I was totally in present moment with Luna not thinking about anything but what we were engaged in at that moment. Which was eating edamame and shuffling through a magazine looking at the photos. 

We walked to the Whole Foods to go get a few items that we needed. As we were walking home, I was in awe by her wander. We have walked this path thousands of times together. But it was as if she was walking it for the first time. She was in amazement watching all the traffic, the bicyclists, the walkers passing, and making many comments along the way. What are we missing out on seeing when we are so preoccupied with our thoughts that are floating in out heads? While we were on the elevator waiting to get off on our floor, Luna was eyeing every person. Checking them out to see if they are safe, all while saying hola to them. She then grabbed my hand for security. It is her go to when she wants to feel safe and secure. Sometimes there are times when she will pier around my leg to see everyone. As if she can only see them and not them seeing her. That feeling of her grabbing my hand makes me want to never let her go or her hand. I hope that she will know that my hand will always be there for the security she needs or the guidance she is looking for. I want our hands to lead each other, as partners in this journey of life. I want her to always know that she can come to me for a safe place. (As I am typing these words, tears are flowing down my face.) 

Fast forward to a couple of hours later as I was washing my face and doing our evening routine, I looked over at her and with proudness only a parent can give, I tell her how proud I am of her! I asked her if she knew how proud I am of her? With that million dollar smile, she replied with the most eager, "Sí!" You have to know that this girl says sí to almost anything you ask her. I still do not know where all this emotion came from today. However, I am just grateful to have had these interactions with her and to be living a present and mindful life with her. 

My wish is that we are able to build a mutual respectful and loving relationship where she knows she is valued, she is seen, she is worthy, she is loved, she knows how to love, that she is lovable, that she has a voice, where her voice and opinion matter, and no matter what happens...she  belongs at home. FINALLY, that she matters! Man, this is a lot I am hoping to instill in her...ginormous task I want to accomplish! Being a parent is a lot of work and takes a lot of awareness. One this that I can say for certain is...I do not know if I will ever be able to give her as much as she has given me in this short time that we have been together. 

Love and Light to La Luna~B                                                                                                                                              

 

PS...I know this is a bit all over. I really felt compelled to write my feelings this evening and share them with you. Please feel free to share your experience, strength, and hope or any comments you may want to share. Remember to click on the title to add your comments. 

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Where It All Began...The Back Story

 I thought starting this page, would be much easier than what has actually transpired. Go figure! I am realizing that going back almost two years is hard. So many of my emotions have evolved or simmered down regarding certain topics. Or maybe my memory is a bit fuzzy. I am kicking myself a bit, wishing I would have started much sooner. I guess, the moral of this story is when the Universe is nudging you...LISTEN and take ACTION! However, on the contrary, I know that everything happens in its divine time. I need to for warn you...this post is long! Please bare with me...

When finding out I was pregnant, I was not entirely sure how my life would change. I knew that MAJOR changes were going to happen. I was ready to embrace those. I had decided right off the bat that I was not going to find out the gender of baby. I wanted to live in and be in total present moment. Enjoying each and every experience of my pregnancy. Boy, was that an experience in and out of itself. I loved being pregnant! I loved the attention and helpfulness I received! I was a crazy lady regarding my diet and staying fit. I worked out almost until the day I had baby. I wanted only the best for me and this little egg I was growing. Being the hippie that I am, I went to a naturopathic OB/GYN. I wanted to have a water birth at a birthing center. My pregnancy did come with a few complications towards the end. I had started to develop pre-eclampsia in mid September.

Luna's biological was around for the most part. Attending some appointments and birthing classes together. He still was having a hard time wrapping his mind around the news. I was just trying to let him have his journey and come to things on his own. My wish was for us to be a family unit. I was unsure how that would play out. 

Now, fast forward to the birth of my perfectly beautiful daughter Luna Sloane on October, 27, 2015 9:44pm. I had to have a emergency cesarean at 37 weeks due to my pre-eclpamsia getting out of hand. Baby was also breach. I had tried nearly everything to get baby to turn and to slow down the side effects of the pre-eclampsia. I had three failed attempts at inversions, was doing acupuncture twice a week with moxibustion, and even added hanging upside down one hour a day during meditation, in hopes baby would turn. Going into my appointment that Tuesday afternoon with biological, at a traditional OB (per the recommendation of my naturopath OB/GYN). My kidneys and liver were starting to shut down and my lungs were starting to fill up with water. Baby was fine thank goodness! However, Mamá not so much. I found this all out the day after I had Luna. This would explain my shortness of breath just walking super short distances and while talking on the phone. I had over 35lbs of water weight. Long story long...they basically emitted us to have baby that night. I failed miserably at negotiating to have baby one week later. I had some personal appointments I wanted to see through (hair and nails). LOL You know all the important stuff! I also wanted my familía there. They were not arriving until Friday. 

Early on, biological was some what involved in helping with this precious little being that now was ours. However, not to the degree that I thought a "Daddy" should be involved. I was still trying to give him his space to process. I thought almost ten months of pregnancy would have been enough time to process all this. We both had read and also were told by friends that Daddies can take more time to get into a groove of feel that attachment to baby. I was not always the most level headed when it came to him and his involvement...was he in or was he out. As you can imagine, my hormones were still raging and the fourth trimester was REAL! He would probably tell you, I was all over the place. He still had no financial responsibility thus far for Luna with the exception of $75 here or there. I am not telling you this to hate on him. I am just giving the facts. Things never really got better with him and nor his closeness to Luna. There were many times I would get glimpses of hope. At around her six months of life, things started to get even more distant on his part. He would not have any set times to see Luna. Everything was on the fly or last minute on his part or me taking the initiative for him. I would feel guilty if he was not able to see her due to other plans we might have. So, many times, I found myself changing plans so we could accommodate him. Just after her first birth-day, I started to slowly wake up and face the reality of the situation. I still had hopes that he was going to be an active part of Luna's life and we might be one familía. That vision was becoming more and more dim. I decided that I was not going to initiate setting time for him to see Luna. He was going to have to take ownership of that.  I was done managing his relationship with his daughter.

In early December 2016, actually December 4th, 2016 to be exact, that was the last time he saw Luna. I had no clue that would be the last interaction she would have with him. In his defense, he was leaving on an international trip few days later and was not returning until mid January the following year. During his time away, he did not try to reach out or FaceTime his daughter nor respond to my texts. He did send a Felíz Navidad text. Mid January finally rolled around. He arrived back to Portland and still nothing from him. Not a single peep. I was NOT going to reach out to him. If he wanted to see his daughter, he was going to have to do the communicating. Let me be clear, I have never said he cannot see Luna. As the distance and time grew, it became more clear who he truly is and his intentions. My teacher always told you me, "listen to ones actions not their words." He was more interested in living his "Peter Pan life". I have always said, one truly does not know someone until they have a child with them.

At different times throughout this adventure things have been super challenging. I had many days which I call "pavement days." Days which I needed to be scooped up off the pavement. During all of this my emotions were like a roller coaster, all over the place from anger to hate, to love, to everything in-between. I was definitely grieving for both Luna and I. I felt her loss very deeply. I could not fathom how someone could possibly abandon their own flesh and blood. Live their life as if she does not exist. My heart ached for her! I began to get so wrapped up in my thoughts and the story my ego was telling me. All she was going to be missing out on...not having Daddy's first love, Daddy/Daughter dances, being Daddy's little girl, riding on Daddy's shoulders, being thrown high in the sky by Daddy, possibly having Daddy issues later in life, the list went on and on and on. I not only ached for her, I was also mourning the loss of someone I cared deeply for. Someone I had thought I knew and in reality that person was either dead or did not exist. During the many stages of grieving, I felt so much shame and honestly I was being the victim in my own story. I was ashamed of being a single Mamá and having to be honest with people about it. I was afraid of being judged by others once they found out. I did not want to be another statistic. I had major shame because I got involved with someone who's character seemed in question. I began to get stuck on what I had lost...the life I once lived, doing everything 100% on my own, and not having enough time for this and that. I could no longer go out with my girlfriends, workout daily, go to happy hours, etc. I was believing all those stories and then some. The noise in my head would NOT quiet down. 

As time started pass, I was one miserable being. Navigating a new child plus all the emotions of losing someone I had cared so deeply for was taking its toll on me. And quite possible this new little being I was nurturing. I was worried about how this was going affect Luna. She was feeling everything I was feeling without me speaking a word. Energetically, we are all connected. I had done enough work on myself in the past, I knew there was a better path. I realized very quickly that I did not like how I was living and this was not my authentic self. I did what I knew had helped in the past, I needed to get present, start journaling daily again, attending my CoDA meetings, and focus on building the life for her and I that I had envisioned. One that was built of love, kindness, consciousness, compassion, and adventure. I knew I needed to take the focus off what we did not have and focus on what we did have. We have the most fabulous life! I also started seeing my teacher again. Being able to talk to someone and have tools/exercises to do has always been very useful for me and my growth. Once I started doing this, I had so much more awareness. I can now see the forest for the trees. I am living more and more in the light and present moment. Will there be some crappy days? Oh, hell yes! I just know that those days are much more few and far between. They no longer paralyze me. I allow myself to sit with my feelings and feel. I do not shame myself for having the feelings I am having or for taking steps back. I do not tell myself that I should be further along in the grief cycle or my personal growth. Life is truly a dance...one step forward, two steps back. Embrace it and just be...just live! 

I still do not know how things were going to turn out regarding the relationship between Luna and her biological. My focus is no longer on him and what he is doing or not doing. It has taken me a while to get to this place of peace and serenity. I am a powerful being and I can create the change and life that I desire! Thanks you for sharing in this journey with me! I promise my future posts will not be so long.

Love and Light! B

PS...Your comments or questions are welcomed. If you want to comment or like this post, please do so by clicking on the title of the post.

Newborn photo of Luna Sloane at about 11 days old...be still my heart! (November 2015)

Newborn photo of Luna Sloane at about 11 days old...be still my heart! (November 2015)