Three things!

Well if any of you read my posts when this quarantine started, you know that we have had some wild adventures in the Terry household. Things calmed down quite a bit over the summer while the kids could get outside and I could go back to my office. The summer was fun and interesting. We have a huge deck on the back of our house and decided to make it the summer fun deck with a 8’x10′ blow up Walmart pool (cost $25), we bought lounge chairs from Wayfair as part of our anniversary gift from our parents and to ourselves ($$$) and we bought a propane glass fireplace ($$) which we have only lit once due to the 90+ weather we have had all summer. We have spent a lot of time on our deck enjoying our little space as a family (Priceless). And being Italian, I decided to buy some tomato plants to grow in pots. At first (not a very green thumb here) I put 4 plants in each huge pot. (I know, insert uncontrollable laughter here) Needless to say I had to transplant the tomatoes into more pots since I unknowingly had too many in one pot. To my defense they were so little when I got them!!! So now I have two in each pot and I have 4 pots and many, many tomatoes. I made homemade pasta fagioli soup with organic turkey sausage over the weekend and I will be making homemade salsa tonite. So I am enjoying my literal fruits of my labor now. Even if it started a little messy. Next year I will know!

I am happy to be back in the office full time and gearing up for this year. My son will be going to college virtually since that is what Loyola University decided to do for the first semester. I am sad for my son, but know that he will be fine doing online school and it will go faster than he thinks! My daughter will be going back 5 days a week starting September 10th and hopefully the school district can continue that way throughout the fall.

I have meant with many clients and talked with a lot of people this summer, some of whom have struggled a lot. So my advice is this: 1. start every day off with a positive thought, what are you going to accomplish, what is good in your life right now, what are you thankful for. Anything that gets your mindset on the right track. 2. What can you control? This is always a loaded question, but it’s so important. I can control my attitude, my lifestyle-such as eating nutritious foods, walking or exercising. I can control what I wear and how I act. I can control if I am kind and respectful. When you focus on the things you CAN control and not on the things you CANNOT, you will be happier and focused! So be flexible!

BE LIKE A TREE

Stay grounded. Connect with your roots. Turn over a new leaf. Bend before you break. Enjoy your unique natural beauty. Keep growing. -Joanne Raptis