I am rarely at a loss for words, but lately, it’s become rare that I feel like I have the right words to say. One of my coaching colleagues explained that her approach now is to pause to consider why we are saying what we are saying. Further, we need to carefully consider who will benefit from what we might share.

Our first house was impeccably maintained for fifty years by Mr. Uhle, a sprite, German octogenarian. The house itself structurally sound but the outside blissfully unkempt. He admitted that his wife, who had passed decades earlier, had tended to the yard. He was "reminded of her when the tall heads of the bearded iris sprang up over the carpet of greens." Little did I know we'd carry a bit of Mrs. Uhle with us for 25 years and counting. Nor did I realize that those iris would remind us that we all have what we need to weather change and disruption, even when it feels hard to bloom.

There are some days I have woken up with an intense need to help someone. To feel of service and to feel as if I have some agency over this spinning universe that is presently so uncertain. There are other days, I want to escape, to hide, to shrink because the universe feels, well, so uncertain and vast. Those days, I am not sure what I am in control of nor what is going to feel satisfying or nourishing or helpful.

I hope you are okay. I hope you are feeling more abundance that scarcity. More contentment than anxiety. But if you’re not, I’m thinking of you. Life is hard right now. But nothing is permanent. Things will change.

As week five comes to a close on our closed-in, stay-at-homeness, we’re all trying to sustain the sustaining. Have you noticed the rhythm continues to ebb and flow? Or that the effort to find steady ground is a bit un-steady? Maybe it’s a good day/rough day thing, but it seems like it’s more hour-to-hour.

Last week I shared a few WTH (ways to keep your head) on both a Zoom call for parents and my Thursday Thoughts. Since then, so much has changed. And so much has stayed the same. We’re all still trying to keep our heads while we do all the things that need to get done from the confines of our homes.

Last night I collaborated with Steff Linden of Infinite Rainbows Children’s Mindfulness Programs. We had an enthusiastic and weary group of parents who came together to be seen and heard as we talked about the challenges of keeping everyone safe at home. Neither Steff nor I have all the answers. We do have decades of classroom experience. We each have many years of work with parents and adults goal setting, understanding child development, and helping clients maintain some semblance of balance and sanity.

COVID 19.

Who’s not talking about it?

Who’s not worrying about it?

Who’s sick of talking and worrying about it already?

One of the primary areas clients come to me to do coaching around is parenting and child development. Honestly, this is one of my very favorite topics to think about and work with others. Then again, I love all the parts of my job, except maybe the bookkeeping!

As I write am sitting in one of my favorite bookshops, after having spent a half-hour walking in silence up and down the aisles. I looked a “What to Read Next,” textbooks way beyond my intellectual capacity, local authors, history, children’s book and one that really made me giggle, Adulthood is a Myth.

As parents and teachers, we know our job is to teach our children how to cope with friendships, exploration, learning, and new adventures. We also model and teach them social-emotional and self-regulation skills like the delicate dance of advocacy and empathy, how to speak up and how to listen, how to explore, and how to (figuratively) color within the lines.

I want to tell a story about a client, and for obvious reasons, I’m conflating her name and parts of her story. What is very, very true is the strength, determination and warmth she possess. The heart of the story is WHY I coach and why I love, love, love this work.