#yestothismoment

Tonight, for the first time since we moved to the country, I got to experience a thunderstorm rolling in. I instantly remembered some of the pros and cons to country living when it comes to weather. The best parts? I could hear, see, smell and feel the storm and it was beautiful. The worst part? It knocked out the internet as soon as it got close to the house.

But was that really the worst part, or maybe the best part in disguise?

At first, I thought “well, crap! There goes the productive night I was having.” Then, I looked over and my dog was sitting on the window seat in front of the 4 giant windows in the dining room just watching it start to storm. I went over to her, sat down and took a couple pictures with my phone and really started taking it all in. I put my phone away, closed my laptop and shut off what few lights I had on. The storm hit Hudson at just the right time, where the daylight wasn’t quite gone yet, so you could see the storm front making it’s way towards the North. The clouds were rolling, and so many different colors. Then the rain started. What a glorious smell! As I stood in the dining room with no lights on, I started to relax for the first time in days.

You see, life has been a little rough in the Gunderson-Masters household lately. We have both had a lot on our plate, and have each been dealing with our own problems so much that what little time we do get together is mostly spent venting, supporting or trying to work through things together. Don’t you worry your pretty little hearts though, luckily the issues have nothing to do with our relationship. Things are still good as gold on that front!

I’m not really going to go into detail, but the last few weeks have been filled with trust issues in my safe place (roller derby), indecision about my future as a derby girl, and preparation for our upcoming home bout (which is our first real WFTDA sanctioned bout at home). I also transitioned to day shift after over 3 years on night shift, and to be real honest, I’m not sure it is right for me. On top of all that, my car broke down Monday morning and I had to get a whole new(ish) engine. Had I been on night shift, I easily could have made all the arrangements during the day, but I got to experience how the “common folk” have to conduct business during the 4:00-6:00 time frame in the evenings. Yup, not really a fan. Not to mention, I am still trying to get all of my pre-bout business tasks done, train like the athlete I am, eat right, workout and play softball.

Last week, I saw a pin on Pinterest about a 10 day adventure to help you say yes to life’s moments. I have been on this happy, healthy, alive journey for a while now, so I figured why not try it out. Luckily for me, it started on Tuesday, the day I woke up without a car or a rental, with no real plan in place for what my next step was. I woke up with that heavy heart feeling, where the walk to the bathroom took a few extra seconds while I dragged the pity party behind me. After the bathroom, I started coffee and took a look at my phone notifications. In my email was day 1 of “Yes, to this!” It was just what I needed to get a fresh look at things.

So far, I am on day 3 and I have shared it with 3 people that I thought might benefit from it as well. The intention is to invite you to open yourself up to the beauty and the realness and the joy that surrounds you each day. If you want to check it out, go to http://www.lizlamoreux.com/yes-this. If you see me including #yestothismoment on any of my posts, now you know what it's all about. I try to see the beauty in my world, but this is helping me take even more control of the balance in my life. I already notice a difference in my connection with what is going on around me. I don’t have the answers to all of our problems, but I do know that I can choose to have a positive outlook on it and rise above, or I can let it bring me down, fizzle my sparkle and affect my relationships.

On that note, excuse me while I go eat a delicious, healthy dinner with my amazing, supportive partner in this crazy thing we call our little life.