Vancouver International Children’s festival and a giveaway

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Last year, Q and I decided to head down to Granville Island to check out the Vancouver International Children’s festival. I remember checking out the festival as a kid with my family, but last year was the first time I had checked it out since becoming a parent.

It was a bit of a trek for us, but when we got there, as soon as Q saw the colours, and the activities, the long drive was forgotten. We wandered into the festival grounds, and Q was in his glory. He wanted to check out all of the activities, and watched the performers in awe. He loved the music, the stories, and all of the stations that he could try. He learned a bit about Chinese calligraphy, had his name written in Chinese, and colored the character for ‘bird’. A year later, we still have that picture. He decorated a wish house and put it in the village, and selected another one to take home. He watched the one man band, danced to the drumming, and listened to the story telling.

He especially loved the music zone, where he got to play the giant wind chimes, make music while pedaling a bike (even though he was a bit too small to do it for long), and, of course, the percussion area. We decided to catch a show while we were there too, which was an extra ticket cost, but was fantastic. We saw a group of young hip hop dancers, which he thought was awesome. I think that he would have been just as happy if we had spent the whole day in the activity zone, but it was fun. He also really loved the play area for the little people, with it’s water table, train tracks and tunnel, to name a few things.

I’m looking forward to checking it out with him again this year, and hope to spend even more time exploring.

A bit about the festival: The Vancouver International Children’s Festival (VICF), presented by Coast Capital Savings, is setting the stage for its 36th annual event, taking place May 27 – June 2 on Granville Island. Professional performing artists from Norway, Africa, Germany and Canada will be performing 12 shows in six Granville Island venues, including four indoor and two outdoor Festival environments. In addition, the Festival hosts over 15 hands-on arts activities such as shadow puppetry, an outdoor weaving sculpture, bicycle spin-art, origami, a sock puppet workshop, circus skills, the Twist & Toddle play area and much, much more.

Highlights of this year’s Festival include the North American premiere of Sparrow – a show from Norway that is created specifically for babies and tots (7 to 24 months old); the Canadian debut of Cirque Zuma Zuma – the African acrobats who were thrust into stardom performing on America’s Got Talent; the multi-media sensation Queen of Colours, which blends shadow puppetry, live music, painting and video projection into a theatrical performance; and four special evening performances including two Pyjama Nights. Tickets for featured performances are $25 per adult, $15 per child including tax and service charges, with exceptions for Sparrow ($25 adult, $5 child) and the Variety Show ($25 adult, $22 child). Show tickets include access to all hands-on arts activities so come for a show but stay for the whole day! For access to hands-on arts activities only: purchase an Activity Wristband for $8 per person (sold onsite only).

I’m excited to be able to give away a family pass of 4 activity wristbands for a lucky One Crazy Kid reader. All you have to do is leave a comment below about what you would most like to check out at the Children’s festival this year. To earn an extra entry, follow One Crazy Kid on Facebook, or Twitter. You can also sign up to receive new posts by email, on the side of the page. For each thing you do, leave a comment to let me know you’ve done it, and you’ll get another entry. Also make sure you leave me n email address that I can contact you at if you are the winner! Good luck!

Be quick, though, as this giveaway will end at 6:59pm on Thursday May 23rd.

Update: And the winner (thanks to Random.org) is…

True Random Number Generator
Min: 1
Max: 14
Result: 4

Lori! Congratulations Lori! Enjoy the festival.

*I received a pack of activity wristbands in exchange for helping out the VICF, but I wouldn’t let you know about it if I didn’t really love it. All opinions are my own.

Feeling lost

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Have you ever gone through a time where you just didn’t feel quite like yourself? Where you wondered just who and what you were at that moment of time? When you felt lost?

I have been struggling a lot over the past few months. Since I suffered my hand injury, so many things that were important to my mental and physical well-being have suffered. I feel sometimes like I’m not quite sure who I am right now. My blogging has suffered, because I rely on the kindness and availability of my husband to type for me. I have thoughts, or ideas, but they seem to get lost between the time I come up with them and the time I can actually get them out. I feel like no one is listening anymore, because I simply can’t go by the “rules” of posting every day or at least 3 times a week and that somehow I have become completely inconsequential. I miss writing, and sharing thoughts and stories.

I feel raw, and vulnerable. I hate feeling this way. I have always prided myself on being strong, and in control and in so many ways, I feel like things are the complete opposite. I am thankful and grateful for my family, for my husband who does his best to understand how I’m feeling and my little guy for being in tune with Mummy in a way that I would never have expected from one so young. I worry, though, that he will remember all the times I haven’t been able to play fight, or play ball with him. Does he feel like I’m a bad Mummy?

I miss my creative outlets. I miss the feeling of pride and triumph when I succeed at a new move on the pole, and the drive to climb higher, fly longer, and trick bigger. I miss being able to allow myself to get lost in a piece of music, trusting my movements, without thought, only motion. I miss my girls, the sense of never being alone. I even miss the bruises, the torn skin, the calluses. I miss the ache of my muscles the day after a class. I don’t know how long it is going to be before I am allowed to return to the pole, and I’m scared that I will have back slid away from all the progress I had been making in the months before I got hurt. I had finally worked my way to the place I wanted to be and I’m worried that I won’t be able to make it back there again anytime soon.

All in all, I miss me. I feel like I’m lost and I’m not quite sure how or when I’ll be able to find my way back. I know the thumb will heal, but will I be able to get back to where I was? If so, how? Or have I truly lost my way?

Kids cooking with Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company

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*As usual, I would like to thank my husband for his assistance with typing my post today. Without him, I’d have had very little written over the last 3 months. Vim sure he is eagerly awaiting the day when I can once again the my own blog posts, lol.*

Recently, a group of my blogging friends and I, along with our kiddos, were given the opportunity to participate in a kids cooking at Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company in Vancouver. The kids in attendance ranged from brand new babies to about 4 1/2, which made for an eager and fun group. We had been to RMFC once before, and quite enjoyed it, but Q has never been much of a pizza lover, so I was interested to see how he’d like it if he had the chance to make his own. He has also been quite into helping out with cooking lately, so I figured that it would be a great opportunity for him to get some time in the kitchen. It was a fair trek for us into town, but I figured that the fun that he would have, both in the class and playing with the other kids, would make it worth the drive. Boy, was I right!

When we first arrived, the first thing that Q did was head straight for the play area that RMFC has in the dining area. It has two wooden kitchens, complete with play food and kid-sized aprons. As he did the first time we went there, he immediately put a fruit bowl on his head as a hat, which stayed the entire time we were there. He also carefully picked out an apron, had me help him put it on, then went about playing with the others.

After some play time, Suz, the co-owner, came to start the class. All of the kids found spots on the benches, and listened eagerly as she explained what they would be making. She explained that they would make 4 different things: mango guacamole, lemonade, apple pie popcorn and individual pizzas. I wondered if that was too ambitious of a menu for such little people, but to Suz’s credit, she had judged it pretty much spot on. The four biggest boys all sat together, and listened attentively as she explained what they were going to do.

Then it was time to get down to the actual food making. They started off with the mango guacamole. Suz had them cut up the mangos and the avocados to start. Q loved this, and took his cutting jobs very seriously, as you can see in the next picture. He want to make sure they were both cut just right. We don’t usually let him do the cutting when he helps in the kitchen (yes, I may be a bit paranoid, haha), so he thought this was just great!

After adding the mangos and avocados together In the bowl, they got to smash them up. When you get a group of boys together, this can turn out to be quite boisterous and noisy, but they all did a great job. The littler girls in the group were also very serious about their tasks, and took to them with great amounts of concentration. Next, they added some herbs and seasonings, then mixed it all together. In order to taste their creation, they needed some carrots. Much to Q’s delight, this also meant they got to peel them too. He says never been much of a carrot lover, so I was interested to see how this would go off.

Once again, he surprised me, and proudly peeled a carrot all by himself. Then it was time to taste. He has been a picky eater since he was about 2 1/2, so I really wondered just what it was going to take to get him to try the guacamole. My answer came soon. The fact that he helped make it, and he peeled the carrot himself, meant that he was more than willing to try it.

After trying a few bites, though, he informed me that the “mockapole wasn’t his favorite”.

Next up came the lemonade. It was made with lemon juice, maple syrup to sweeten, and water. I was also delicious, and Q had three classes, I think. Then came the apple pie popcorn. All the kids
We’re excited to watch the popcorn popper in action. They also got to rip up the dried apple rings to add to the mix, along with butter, maple syrup, and cinnamon (I think that was all -I was too taken by the yummy smells to take the exact ingredients down). Everything got mixed together, and then came the fun part. They all got bowls to eat. I will admit that I also had a bowl and it was fantastic!

Finally, it was time to make the pizzas. Each group of two kids got to share one crust, and make half a pizza. They start by rolling out their own dough, which was a huge hit.

Next came the sauce. Q doesn’t like sauce, so he asked for no sauce on his half. Suz brushed it with olive oil instead, which he wasn’t too sure about at first, but she kindly assured him that it was just so the cheese would stick to the dough. Next up came the cheese, and each kid got a handful to spread on their dough. I saw more than one person snacking on the cheese once it was down, but I don’t blame them, it was pretty tempting. Finally, the kids got to choose their toppings. Q selected chicken for his, which took me by surprise, but there was no way I was going to let him know that. Then it was time for the pizzas to go into the oven, which gave the kids a bit more time to play, and the mamas a bit more time to visit.

Finally, they were all done, and were pulled out of the wood fired oven. It was time to eat! The timing couldn’t have been better, as we would soon have to leave town to get Q back for preschool. He dug right in once it was cool enough to eat, and washed it down with more lemonade. Much to my surprise, he loved it! He also decided to share a piece with me, and it certainly was yummy.

All in all, it was a great way to spend a morning, and Q had an absolute blast! Huge thanks go out to Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company for having us, and for allowing the little dude to get his hands dirty and try some new stuff while he was at it.

If you are interested in trying out a class for your kids, or just getting to make our own pizzas, RMFC has a couple of special things that they do. Every Sunday night, kids can join in the fun by making their own pizza for dinner. On Mondays, the adults can also join in the fun. You can find more information, including times and prices here. As well, they also do kids pizza parties, which I think would be so much fun. Good food, getting messy, what more could you ask for?

Rocky Mountain Flatbread will be choosing someone randomly from their Facebook Fan page to win 2 tickets to their family pizza nights (Sunday & Monday 5-7). For our your chance at winning, Like their fan page here

I was given the opportunity to attend the class at Rocky Mountain Flatbread for free, however, my opinions are strictly my own. We completed enjoyed the class and truly like their food.

My little reader

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*once again, I have to give a public shout out to my ever awesome husband, who graciously agreed to type up my words even though he was tired.

Over the last couple of weeks, Q’s ability to read has become more and more obvious. He’s been reading bits and pieces of things for a while, but lately its just gone nuts. Once, a few months ago, he read a Tweet, which coincidentally, was about him, over my shoulder as I wrote it. it was about him farting or something which was equally hilarious, but it made me realize that I couldn’t really ave things like Twitter open when he could read over my shoulder any more.

Then, a couple weeks ago, he wanted to read me a story at bedtime. It was Pete the Cat Rockin in my School Shoes. We had bought the book recently, but had only read it a few times at that point. I told him I’d love to hear it, and I lay on the bed to listen to my story. What I hear shocked me. He read the story almost perfectly. He guessed on a few words that he didn’t know, but other than that? I lay there, trying to keep my mouth from gaping open, while he proudly read to me. When he finished, his smile lit up the whole room. He was so proud of himself, and rightfully so. When I told him how awesome he did, and how very proud I was, he beamed even brighter.

Later that night, I thought about it. I wondered if he had simply memorized the book, which I wouldn’t put past him. Then I thought some more, and remembered how he said “doos” for “does” and had to guess on some of the words. If he had memorized it, then I was ok with that, but I didn’t think he had. Plus, I realized, memorizing was what reading was. Learning what words looked like and remembering them. Not every kid is going to learn the phonetic way, and his teacher as told me before that it’s just not his way. It was an awesome moment when I really understood just how far his reading had come. Since then, he has read that book to me almost every night. It is one of my favorite parts of the day.

Tonight, he wanted to read me a new story. He has a book from school that they use to learn the letters as a part of their phonics program. Each week at preschool, they earn a new letter, as well as its phonetic sound. Each letter also as a story to go along with it. He loves the book, but we’ve never read any of the stories together. Tonight, he picked 4 letters whose stories he wanted me to read. A, W, X and K. I read each one and we made the letter sounds together. Then he decided it was my turn to get a story, so he looked through the book carefully and selected the letter M. He then proceeded to read me the story. Again, he guessed on a few words, but for the most part? He had them spot on. When I asked him if the teacher had read the story often, he said she only read it once. I had to help him find the start of the next line, but it was all him. I was amazed, and the pride on his face early made my heart burst.

There have been other unexpected reading incidents too, like being in a store and having him read the aisle signs to me, or reading a coupon at dinner with my parents.

I have to say that watching him learning to read is one of the coolest things I have ever seen. It has always been important to me to surround him with books and encourage a love of reading. I cannot express how happy I am that he is learning that so early on in life. He is really becoming my little reader.

What are your best tips for helping him continue to read? Any favorite books that you or your kids have had?

Pride

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Once again, thanks go to my husband for typing for me. This one handed business has gotten very old and I’m sure he can’t wait till I can type for myself again, I’m also sure he’s glad that this one doesn’t involve too much.

On Wednesday, Q got the much coveted Listening Award at preschool. It is a special award that is given to the two students who listen and try the best that day at school. The teachers have been doing the award for a few weeks now, and every class he tells us a bit sadly that he didn’t get the Listening Award that day. We’ve encouraged him to keep trying his best, and told him that one day his effort would pay off. Well, yesterday it did, and, as you can see, he couldn’t have been more proud. We were very proud too, and even stopped by the candy store to let him pick a little bag of candies as a treat. He picked out his favourite gummies and was happier than could be.

Way to go buddy! We knew you could do it!

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Love is love

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Once again, I want to thank my awesome husband for patiently typing out my thoughts for me to get this post out. It’s been weighing heavily on my mind, and I knew that it had to be done.

Recently, I was introduced to the song “Same Love” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. A friend posted the video to her Facebook page, dedicating it to some special people in her life who were celebrating a milestone. I clicked on the video, and was immediately struck by the images. Combined with the words, within a couple of minutes, tears were streaming down my face. As I watched, and listened, I thought about people I have known who have fought their own fights to be accepted for who they are. I thought about all of the people we saw, and spoke to at the Seattle Pride Parade we attended as a family last year. I thought about the future. I thought about my son.

If you haven’t seen the video, here it is. Watch it, I’ll wait.

I have asked myself, over and over, during the last couple of weeks, why it matters? What impact does it have on anyone’s life if a same sex couple choose to marry? How does that impact you in any way, shape or form? I honestly believe that we don’t choose who we fall in love with. Love is love. Why would anyone choose to live a life where they are surrounded by people who do nothing more than spew vitriol and hate about something that doesn’t even affect them? Why would you choose to be discriminated against, for any reason? Many people fought, and continue to fight for equal rights for everyone, regardless of the colour of their skin, their country of origin, or their gender. Why, in the minds of troubling numbers of people, then, does it make it ok to hate on someone because of who they love?

The only thing that I have been able to come up with about why people oppose and hate is fear. Fear that allowing same-sex couples to marry will cause what? Fear that they will be forced into a same-sex partnership in the future? Fear that by allowing people to embrace and celebrate themselves, it will lead to happiness? Fear of being judged by others for support? I don’t know. If you can give me a good, solid reason, please do, because I have not been able to come up with a single one.

I want to scream and shout that this is no different than the days of segregation. Of the days when a white woman was not allowed to marry an Asian, or black or non-white man? I want people to be angry that in 2013, people are still being told who they can and cannot be with for no other reason than hate and intolerance. If we really believe in equal rights, that means for everyone, not just select groups of people.

All I know is that I dream that one day our son will live in a world where love is love. I want him to live in a world where it doesn’t matter if two men or two women marry anymore than it does if a man and woman want to marry. I want him to understand that as long as the partner he (or anyone, for that matter) chooses makes him happy, safe, secure and loved more than anything in the world, that is all that matters.

I also want to thank Macklemore, Ryan Lewis, and all of their team for having the courage to take a public stand for something that is important to so many. We all need to stand up and have our voices heard. We are no different, except that no one told me that I couldn’t marry the person I loved. Join in the fight and stand up for equal rights for everyone. Let your voice be heard. I am. For if we don’t take a stand now, and make a change, then who will?

Please don’t wait

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I don’t know about you guys, but I am thinking that I might have to start paying my assistant soon if I make him keep up this pace of posting for me. What do you think I could pay him with though? Think my gratitude will be enough? Haha.

In the last few months, there have been a few reminders for me about living life to the fullest. First, the young daughter of someone I know passed away suddenly in her sleep. This hit me way too close to home, as the little girl wasn’t much older than Q. A community of women came together to support the family in ways that we all knew how, from all corners of the country. Through their tears, people wore beautiful, sparkly things and danced to honour the bright spirit of this little girl. Last week, someone with whom I had worked years ago, and shared mutual friends with, was killed suddenly and tragically in a car accident. Just like that, she was gone.

My point in sharing these stories with you is this. Please don’t wait until tomorrow to do things. Don’t wait until you have lost 5 more pounds to get family pictures done or buy yourself something that makes you feel good. Don’t wait until you are retired to travel with your family, or your friends, or to take that long-desired vacation by yourself. Don’t wish away your child’s youth so that you can “someday” do things together. if you have a dream, make it happen. So often I hear people saying that they will do things “someday”. What is stopping you from doing it now? Is it money, or fear? Or something else?

We are not guaranteed to have tomorrow, as so many of us know too well.

After my Grama got sick and died almost 3 years ago, I decided that as much as I could, I would live fully each and every day. This doesn’t mean that I go and blow all my money on stupid stuff, but I do try to have as many experiences as I can, both for myself and for my family. We try to make the time to go away, even if it’s just overnight or even a day trip, as often as we can. I want Q to have many great memories of the times he spent with us, things that will hold him through for the days when we’re not here. I decided to challenge and push myself, and do more things that scare me. This includes being true to myself.

Please don’t wait to tell the people that you care about that you love them. Hug them, kiss them, tell them how special they are. Somewhere, along the line of growing up, many of us stopped showing affection to people we weren’t romantically involved with. I remember being in high school, and one of my favorite things to do was to bring a flower, often a single carnation, to put in the locker of a friend, for no other reason than to say “thanks for being my friend”. As kids, we are a lot more free with our emotions and affection. As an adult, I don’t think it’s any less important to do that, but for some reason, we just don’t. I’ve lost friends unexpectedly, and I don’t want them to ever not know how I feel. It’s ok to tell your friends that you love them. So why don’t we? I often ask myself that question. I have made a conscious effort to start doing just that, and you know what? It feels good, and makes people feel special and important. Those are things we could all use a bit more of, I think.

My challenge to you is this. Please don’t wait. Don’t wait to share your feelings. Don’t wait to go after your dreams. Don’t wait to dance like a little kid because the music moves you. Don’t wait to sing at the top of your lungs to a song you used to love. Don’t wait to take or plan that trip you’ve always dreamed of. All we are guaranteed is right now. Please don’t wait.

Shopping sense – a tour, some tips and a big giveaway!!!

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As always, I will note that this post has been typed up for me by my husband. With the way he’s going, the poor guy should start his own blog.

Did you know that March is National Nutrition month. To be honest with you, I didn’t until quite recently. Although we try out best to eat fresh, healthy food as much as we can, sometimes as a two-working-parent family, it can be a lot more challenging. One of my goals for this year to try to eat out, or on the run less. As tasty as it can be (sometimes), and as handy as it can be when my husband doesn’t get home from work some nights until 7:30 and I have a workout class that night, it’s expensive, and, quite frankly, gets boring after a while. To that end, we’ve been visiting the store and local farm market a lot more often to stock up on fresh ingredients.

To help families do this, Healthy Families BC has developed Shopping Sense, which is a tool designed to help families shop smarter and healthier. It includes a virtual tour of a grocery store with registered dietician Melodie Yong. She takes you through sections of the store via video clips, so it is almost like shopping alongside her. Along the way, she provides tips and advice for smarter, healthier grocery shopping.

I was recently invited, along with some other cool bloggers, to do a tour of a grocery store with Melodie. It was educational, and she passed along some interesting tips. One thing that I hadn’t thought of was to check the amount of sodium in the kind of bread you choose. Some contain more than others, and in a few cases, you could be receiving almost half of your recommended daily sodium allowance in just 4 slices. She also stressed the importance of trying to get more colour into your meals. A plate filled with plain white food never looks particularly appealing, and some colorful veggies can be just the thing needed to liven it up. One thing she said that really stuck with me was that no matter what, your meals have to work for you and your family.

Another cool tool of the Shopping Sense site is that it has printable grocery list sheets and a meal planner. Meal planning is one of those things I think sounds great, but just never get around to actually doing. Maybe it’s high time I started trying it out. You can find the Meal Planner here.

I am so excited to be offering a giveaway to a lucky reader for a $100 gift certificate to IGA so that you can stock up your pantry and pick up some yummy, healthy food for your family. This giveaway will be open to BC residents only (sorry). All you have to do is leave a comment below ( or by clicking on the bubble up above) and tell me what your favorite part of the Shopping Sense site is, and/or your favorite tip for grocery shopping or meal planning. Then click on the Rafflecopter from below to confirm that you’ve left a comment. It’s as easy as that. Once you’ve done that, there will be some additional ways to get extra entries. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Benefits of Having a Support Network – guest post

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I have to say, I could get used to having an assistant around. Though I’m glad that I don’t need to get him to do much today, as I have an awesome guest post on tap to share with you all. I’m sure he appreciates it too.

Recently, I was given the opportunity to review a new book by Renée Peterson Trudeau called Nurturing the Soul of your family . I’m not always hugely into the self-help, touchy-freely kind of books, but this book seemed to find its way to me at pretty much just the right time. It talks about ways to slow down, learn to ask for help, and to take care of yourself, among many other things. There is an emphasis on building real relationships with people, and supporting yourself with people and things that make you feel nourished and renewed. She also reminds us that it is ok to say no, and to know our limits. There are so many good points about the book, things that I enjoyed, and reminders that I needed to hear. I had originally planned to do up my own review of the book, but since typing remains a problem for me, I decided to share a section that spoke to me, about the importance of building a support network. I hope that you enjoy this, and are able to take something away from it.

THE BENEFITS OF HAVING A SUPPORT NETWORK
An Excerpt from Nurturing the Soul of Your Family

Over the years as a career and executive coach, I have observed that people who are comfortable asking for and receiving help — whether that’s from a coach, a therapist, a mentor, a friend, a professional organization, or a business partner or colleague — experience greater success and feel more connected and confident at home and at work. One day at an executive team lunch, I asked the company’s CEO if he had ever been scared to initiate risky big business deals — mergers, buy-outs, going public. He said, “Hell yes, I was scared — often terrified! But I had an army of support surrounding me or I wouldn’t have been able to pull it off.”
Having a support system can have a huge impact on how you experience day-to-day life. Research shows that individuals who have robust support systems

•​are more effective in all aspects of their lives;
•​keep resolutions, particularly those involving their health and physical well-being;
•​weather personal and professional challenges more easily;
•​are less likely to feel overwhelmed and find it easier to maintain perspective;
•​stay healthier on all levels — mentally, physically, and emotionally;
•​are less likely to feel isolated (which can lead to feelings of despair and failure);
•​experience less stress and burnout; and
•​have children who are comfortable asking for and receiving help from others.

In my own life and work, I’ve seen the truth of this over and over: feeling supported while moving through a transition or facing a challenging issue can make all the difference in how you experience the journey — and how your family does as well. Sarah, a mother of two, confided, “When Bryan goes out of town for work for a week or longer, I know solo parenting will be challenging. I have finally learned these are the times I need to heap on the extra support. I usually ask my younger sister to babysit one night during the week so I can enjoy a quiet dinner out with a girlfriend, and I have our high school neighbor come over three nights during the week to help with dinner, baths, and bedtime. I also make sure I have frozen dinners or easy-to-prepare food in the house. I used to dread these business trips. I would want to dump the kids on my husband the minute he returned from his trip and run out the door to get some time for myself. It took a while, but I finally learned that I just have to build in extra support when he’s away on a trip. Now, not only are the weeks he’s traveling more peaceful and enjoyable, but my husband returns to a family that’s happy to see him, rather than resentful that he’s been away.” However, our support networks help us even when we don’t have a specific need. More than ever before, we’re all craving community, and there are many benefits to gathering in small, intentional groups to share and explore what matters most. Humans have a strong desire to come together — not as a leisure-time luxury, but as a necessity. We need each other. And we need “belly time” — not just texts or Facebook updates.

We receive many gifts when we gather intentionally to feed our hearts and souls:

•​When we allow ourselves to become vulnerable and open up to help, we embrace our interdependence and tap into one another’s wisdom on the deepest level. We realize we’re one another’s teachers.
•​When going through a challenging time, reaching out to and gathering with like-minded friends for authentic conversation helps us feel validated and supported.
•​Being with good friends who care deeply about us reminds us who we really are. They help us remember our stuff isn’t the “biggest thing that’s happening to us,” it’s just the “biggest thing in this moment!”
•​When we ask for help or gather in groups, we experience our interconnectedness directly, so that we don’t feel alone.
•​When we gather intentionally around a common theme, we realize how much our experience is shared by others. Having our friends or community articulate what we’ve been feeling in our own hearts can elicit an immediate shift in perspective or an aha moment!
•​The practice of being real, vulnerable, and deeply authentic in front of others — as my mentor says, “showing up warts and all” — can be amazingly cathartic and freeing!
•​When women gather in groups, our physiology changes: our im-mune systems and serotonin levels get a boost and we release oxytocin (the cuddle hormone) — which results in us feeling calmer and happier overall.

Finally, the act of giving and receiving support can be a spiritual practice. This is particularly true during times of extreme need — just ask anyone who has faced a major illness or has cared for a child with special needs. Occasionally, life forces us to surrender to divine grace and call in the troops!

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Life balance coach/speaker Renée Peterson Trudeau is the author of the new book Nurturing the Soul of Your Family. Thousands of women in ten countries are participating in Personal Renewal Groups based on her first book, the award-winning The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal. Visit her online at www.ReneeTrudeau.com

Excerpted from the new book Nurturing the Soul of Your Family ©2013 Renée Peterson Trudeau. Published with permission of New World Library http://www.newworldlibrary.com