happy weekend

May 14, 2013 Whitney Saxon

It's Tuesday, which means I'm a little late on a weekend update. With that in mind, what's a few more minutes for a quick bit of business?

Just a quick reminder that I would absolutely love it if anyone who is willing would donate to my trip to Africa, or share the link with people they know who might be interested. I'm four months out and hoping to buy a plane ticket soon - eek! I'd absolutely love your help getting to that point.

Now on to less awkward topics...

Last Thursday I headed to Savannah to meet my family for Duke's graduation. He earned his Masters in Psychology and I'm so proud of him! Duke's crazy-modest, and it was so fun seeing the way his peers and professors adored him. He'd never let on to just how much he dominated the program, and I am so glad we got to see him in action!

We spent Friday evening in Savannah, sitting outside for dinner, eating froyo - all the normal things we love to do.

Saturday, we headed back to Atlanta where we walked all over town looking at places for Duke to live, went to dinner at El Taco and had an early Mother's Day celebration.

Sunday, my parents left for Indy, but Duke and Sam stayed a bit longer. We went for a run, kick-started our 30 days of green smoothies, visited Georgia State (where Duke will start his PhD program next year), picked up lunch at Whole Foods, ate it in Piedmont Park, with a side of Frisbee, went for a walk around Midtown and then ended the day with some yoga. It took a touch of convincing for Duke and Sam to try it, but by the time we walked out of the 90-minute class, they were hooked.

I hope your weekend was wonderful, too!

30 Days. Three challenges. (let's go)

May 13, 2013 Whitney Saxon

I went through a phase of life (~25 years), where I was obsessed with self-improving. 25 pushups for 25 days. 10,000 lunges in 100 days. Learn to like kale. You get it. The list is endless.

But then around a year ago, I flipped. I decided to give myself a little more grace. That doing what I am doing was enough. That I didn't need to improve or should. To slow down. To take rest. And it was a very lovely lesson to learn - life changing, in fact. Irreplaceable - one everyone deserves to learn, love and live.

But, as I mentioned last week, life often comes down to a math. A little of more of this, a little less of that. And the greatest lesson I've ever learned in life is that moderation is the key. To find balance in an often unbalanced world brings me every-day sanity.

So after months of just being, I'm up for a little month-long challenge. I'm ready to tackle it with vigor.

On tap: three challenges for 30 days.

One: Thirty days of yoga. Not every day - but most days. Three to four times a week. I'm doing it because I love yoga, but I don't make time for it. I love what it does for my mind and I want to see what will happen if I make it a priority. It's going to require some early mornings, which leads me to...

Two: Eight hours of sleep every night. No excuses. That's an average of two extra hours each night. I expect to feel like the king. Will certainly keep you posted.

Three: Swapping coffee for green smoothies. In with the spinach, out with the caffeine.

So that's the plan. Want to join me for one, two or three of the above? Thirty days isn't too long, but it's nine days longer than they say it takes to make a habit. I kick-started the week with yoga yesterday and a cool eight hours of sleep and so far, so good!

I'll report back with details on June 12!

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sunny days

May 9, 2013 Whitney Saxon

Have you ever been to a funeral when it's sunny? Or sick in the summer? Everything about it feels wrong. Even wronger than those events feel in and of themselves.

It was sunny at my grandma's funeral. And I once had the swine flu for an entire week during the summer. And, selfishly, I couldn't understand why the weather wasn't mourning my loss with rainy tears, or, at the very least, providing a little cloud coverage to shield me from the fact that the rest of the world was still running wild.

Sometimes, I think I'm afflicted with the opposite of seasonal depression. Possibly, seasonal hyperness. The way the balmy spring and amazingly hot summer effects me feels extreme. I ache for those poor year-round school kids. How do they ever sit inside when the sprinklers are running and pools are overflowing?

Last night I was talking with a good friend about a relationship that is ending for her. Spring is supposed to be for beginnings. Rebirth and flowers and new relationships and hand holding. How can hers be ending when everything else is blooming? It feels wrong in every way.

But then, after we hung up, she stumbled upon this quote as she was reading (the best book ever) The Great Gatsby:

And I realized that sometimes the stars align, and new relationships blossom right alongside the tulips in April. But other times, life is unexpected. We fall in love in the dead of winter, warming ourselves up to our frozen cores. And sometimes, life is in full swing in the summer - knee high by the Fourth of July, just like Indiana corn. But other times, our adventures are only just beginning in mid-May. Or possibly coming to an end.

But, as we reminded each other last night, sometimes the only way to make room for something new in our lives is to let something else fade away. Lots of adventures are worth living, but the very best ones deserve all of our hearts, and we have to make space for them. As always, it comes down to math: a little more of this, a little less of that. We allow the right things to take up just enough space in our hearts and soon more and more days feel like sunny days. Even in the dead of winter.