The Strength of Trees

I had everything planned.

I knew exactly what I was going to do.

I had everything for my business planned to the ‘nth degree.

I was counting down the days until my son returned to education (he’s starting Sixth Form Drama College this year) and then it was going to be all systems go.

I was really excited, in that ‘Back to School‘, New Year, New Start way many of us feel at this time of year.

But then I was brought down to earth with a bump.

My son tested positive for Covid and missed the first two days of his new adventure.

My plans, so carefully mapped out, would have to wait at least another week.

I went into full on nurturing mum mode and dropped everything to ensure he was OK.

I was worried, we’d nearly lost my mum to Covid earlier this year, this was my boy, my baby.  At 6 feet tall he suddenly seemed tiny and vulnerable, just like that long but delicate little baby I first met over 16-years ago.

Some things I’d planned got done but lots didn’t.

As my son started to improve, so I started to catch up.  Then my partner suggested I took Friday off as I always do.

I was reticent at first, I had so much work to catch up on.  But he insisted, having kept his Friday free to spend with me as he always does.

We compromised; I did some urgent work in the morning then we went out for the day.

We visited The National Arboretum at Westonbirt Arboretum, a day in the fresh air, surrounded by trees and absorbing their energy, their strength.

As we walked hand in hand through the acres of the Arboretum I felt the stress melting away, and we started to talk about our hopes, dreams and desires, reconnecting.

I felt calmness return.

We talked about our relationship, acknowledging that it seemed to have drifted recently because we’d both been so busy and not made each other a priority.

We talked about my son and our elderly parents.

We talked about what we each need to fulfil our own individual needs and dreams.

It was much needed time together to reconnect.

So when I got home and found that the technology hadn’t worked, my social media hadn’t scheduled and my authenticator app had lost all of the accounts stored in it, I didn’t panic, I didn’t cry.

Yes, I got annoyed but also recognised that it can all be fixed and starting putting plans into motion to fix it.

What was most important was that I stepped into selfish and spent time on my relationships;

My relationship with myself

My relationship with my partner

My relationship with my son

I spent time thinking about and planning my relationship;

With my parents

With my clients

Relationships take time. They take effort, they take commitment.  Sometimes the best laid plans fall by the wayside, but if you’ve put the footwork in before and you make the effort to reconnect after, then those crises soon become little blips that can soon be overcome.

What could have been a mountain of a crisis, has been a mole hill that is being easily overcome.

What can you do today, this week to ensure future crises only become little blips?

What can you do today to Bring back the Bliss into all of your relationships?