Feel Good Friday 97
Well friend, this week has been anything but “feel good” here and I debated skipping this post. After missing last week, I decided to plug forward. It might be short, it might be long, I am just going to type and see what flows from my fingertips. On Tuesday morning, I received the devastating news that my friend and once business partner/co-owner of Sweet Clover had passed away suddenly. Sarah and I were friends for years and she was like family to me, our lives so woven together by work, our seamless friendship and partnership. I am still processing it right now, feeling an immense amount of grief and loss, and sorrow for the family she leaves behind, including her two beautiful kiddos. Sarah was a light in this world, quick to lend a hand and always there to crack a joke. She was an introvert so unless you knew her well, you might not know the skill she had with sarcasm. I have so much more to say about her and perhaps I will in another post, but for now, just know that my heart is hurting and I just hope she knew how much I loved her. I’ve been spending my days this week looking through old photos, revisiting memories and focusing on the gratitude for all that she blessed my life with. The best thing I can do to honor her is share her stories and memories and continue to spread light like she did, so I decided to go ahead and post today.
This photo is from when I talked Sarah into letting me take some headshots for her.
These Are My Only Intentions
On September 20, there was a full moon. Just two days later, the fall equinox arrived. Both of those moments in time are great for setting new intentions. I took a dew days to sit with my thoughts and listen to my gut which guided me into setting my own for the rest of the year. I made two, but they really belong under the umbrella of one: to let go of any career aspirations or motivations right now. Life has been just too much this year and I’ve struggled. I decided it’s time to put aside any hopes I had for myself on my career path and just let whatever will be be. Instead, I have two things I want to focus on. One: Take care of myself better. I see that meaning eating more intentionally, adding yoga and meditation back into my life and being gentler with myself. Two: Making more time for one on one dates with my kids. Time is flying and Sawyer will be gone before I know it. I need more moments with each of them individually.
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Musical Yoga
I am happy to say I’ve been sticking with yoga for the last couple of weeks, finding just 20-30 minutes a day, morning or evening, to get in the flow. Last year, I was regularly practicing with YouTuber, Yoga with Adriene, and it was perfect for how I was feeling. These days, I am craving a little more energy and music in the practice and love all of the options on the Peloton app. I did this one over the weekend and loved it! The playlist included Tori Amos and The Verve – yes, please. You don’t have to have a Peloton bike to use the app. Without the bike, it’s only $14 a month and they have lots of yoga, stretch and strength classes I also use regularly.
Donut Date
Sticking with my one-on-one child time comes easily with Emmy and Wilder. Wilder needs me often, so here I am! And Emmy and I share so many interests that it’s easy to get out with her. Sawyer and I don’t share too many interests and his schedule is pretty hectic with X-country practice. However, donuts are the great unifier.
I happened to see that Mama Crockett’s cider donuts were popping up in Greensboro this week, so we made a plan for a morning date. We were the first ones there and when we got to the counter to order, Sawyer was so excited that we brought home 18 donuts. Yes, you read that right. And then the guy tossed in a few extra, too. We brought them home to share with the family of course, but it was nice to get out with Sawyer, even if it was just to pick up his favorite kind of donuts.
Sofa, So Good
Back in July, Chris and I finally bit the bullet and ordered a new sectional for our family room. It arrived last Friday and we couldn’t be happier with it! The West Elm delivery crew were fabulous, too. We’ve already moved out family movie nights down to this space because it’s so roomy. I do feel like the art needs to change though, but I am not yet sure to what.
Breakfast cookies
Ok, so not really breakfast cookies, but they have oats in them, so . . . A couple of weeks ago, I made these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from a classic source for the kids and this recipe was a winner. Sawyer especially loved them!
Girls Gather Goodies
A girl gang of badass entrepreneurs has started pop-ups here in Greensboro. Girls Gather features female business-owners slinging all sorts of goods from clothing to cookies to jewelry. Emmy and I went to their inaugural event and brought home everything you see above. Now if only the temperatures would finally dip so I can don my new sweater!
Friends IRL
This past weekend, my friend – and also my coach – Chandra flew in to attend a writing retreat in the mountains with me and another local friend. We’ve only been internet/zoom friends for the last couple of years and it was incredible to finally meet in person. We discovered we have so much more in common and we can quote movies and 80s songs with the best of them on a dime. We are kindred spirits for sure! BTW, she’s almost finished writing her first book!
Booneshine Brewing
While in Boone last weekend, we were at a retreat center with meals provided. However, for lunch on our way there Friday as well as lunch after we left on Sunday (because it was so good we wanted to go back!), we hit a local brewery, Booneshine. The food was seasonally delicious and the beer was awesome, too. As the driver, I had a very small beer only on Friday, as you can see. It was their tasty Oktoberfest.
A Poem by 1998 Cassie
My mom texted me the other day to ask if I remembered writing this poem. To be honest, I didn’t. I actually didn’t think I even wrote poetry when I was in college, but I think I’ve blocked out a lot of my college years for various reasons. Anyhow, she sent this poem to me that I emailed her in the middle of the night as 19-or-20-year-old college student. I thought it was sweet, so wanted to share.
Life’s little Moments
My sweet neighbor brought us some fun Halloween cookies last week. I should show you a photo that really shows off her talent. She made leaves that were apple pie spice flavored and SO good. But first, I had to show you this kid with his dirty fingernails and giant candy corn cookie.
And here’s what they all looked like BEFORE we destroyed them.
Wilder loves to play with our hats, sunglasses, really whatever he can get his hands on. I snapped this photo earlier this week and it just makes me smile.
Finally, the couple who 5Ks together stays doesn’t stay together. Chris and I ran in a 5K two weekends ago that supports Duchenne muscular dystrophy because one of the family’s of the X-country team has a son affected. The team wanted to kids to volunteer and parents to run if we were up for it. It had been a long week and I told Chris I was tired and wasn’t planning on running very fast. He said, “me neither,” then proceeded to leave me behind after maybe a quarter mile. Overall though, he finished 53, I finished 69 (and yes, my kids got a kick out of that!), but he was 43 for men and I was 13 for women, so not too shabby! Either way, we finished. 🙂 I was bitter with him for leaving me in his dust so we didn’t take any post-race photos, but here we are at home when I had cooled down physically and emotionally. 😉 Look at how smug he is.
Well friend, that’s all I have for you this week. I had more to share, but it will just have to wait. Hold your loved ones tight this weekend and tell them how you feel about them. Life is fragile and often cut too short. Make sure you’re spending your hours in a way that fills your cup. Sending you all of the light and love that Sarah gave to me.
