First and foremost I am going to once again ask you all to add my friend Amy to your prayer lists. Her heart levels are once again at a very dangerous level and her liver enzymes are not good either.

If you have no idea who I am talking about, please go HERE to read Amy's story. It remains the most read blog post I have ever written.

NEXT, I am asking you to keep my friend Clare in your thoughts and prayers. Despite numerous medical obstacles and harrowing family tragedies, she laughs when it hurts. She is another friend who is steeped in faith. Clare's mom died this afternoon and I just want her to know how much I respect, admire, care about and love her. She is a force to be reckoned with but even forces need to feel the love and get a hug, even if it is a cyber one, now and again.

My love to all of you. xo

THIS is a VERY late in the day blog entry. I have done exactly what the quotes have told me to do. I have seized the day while getting a bunch of stuff for our huge fundraiser taken care of. I feel quite productive. The next few days equal last minute running around, meetings with co-chairs, teachers about programs for the senior (what?!) next year, a mani-pedi (of course), what to wear? what to wear? what to wear?, the rescheduled fashion show at the high school, training with Jen, yoga with Cara and just before I am about to slip off the proverbial cliff, therapy. ::: whew :::

I also need to design my classes, connect with my co-collaborators, and MAKE IT ALL HAPPEN.

Carpe Diem, indeed.

I couldn't make a decision on which picture to use, so, I am giving you a slide show. Until tomorrow, make it a fantabulous day.

I started my morning with Day 2 of the 21-Day Meditation Deepak Chopra & Oprah are hosting. Each day has a centering thought. Today's is, "Balance is my true nature." Um. Not necessarily. But, it is a word that has been in my face since October.

The rock below was in the hall of the Inn at Stony Creek, where I attended my first retreat. It was one of the first things I saw. Couple that with the reading my mom did for me (the first one in many years) about me and the business, where the main message was, balance. (Try not to act too surprised.)

There are about fifty-four zillion reasons why we all need balance in our lives. I have been striving towards it for months. It isn't easy. Some days it is definitely easier than others. Apparently, today it will be in my face.

Although balance wasn't necessarily the thought I had when I chose today's Rumi quote, upon further reflection, it really is.

JUST so you know... Me? I just want to be in the field. Where love grows. 

Standing at the crossroads, trying to read the signs
To tell me which way I should go to find the answer,
And all the time I know,
Plant your love and let it grow.

https://youtu.be/Hl3G3DbFDlI

What I love about Rumi is that his words are as relevant now as they were 700 years ago.

Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion.
~ Rumi

This whole "trusting the universe" has been around as long as there has been faith. None of it is new. 

And yet, for me, much of it is new. I  am a quintessential Type A personality who has calmed down considerably as I have gotten older. It started in my 40's - when I realized I allowed a lot of drama into my life and it had to stop. By the time I hit 50, I had REALLY cut down on things that I allowed myself to get crazy about. I can say with 100% truthfulness, at 52, I have very little drama.

That is not to say I don't lose my mind once in a while. That is not to say I don't wish for things to just magically happen. That is not to say I don't stray back into the behavior of yore. I am human and so, of course I do. However, NOW I can recognize when I am about to lose my one mind. I can tell when I want something to happen yesterday, or I am fretting about something that I have zero control over.

And when I realize that, I do the following to myself:

I am the universe in ecstatic motion. And that is freaking scary. To let go. To trust. To believe. To have the faith that everything is happening exactly the way it's supposed to. When I do that, my days are easier. My sleep is better. I eat better. I take better care of myself. 

Freaking out isn't necessary. Whatever it is, is whatever it is.

By now you have figured out how the juke box in my head works...go with it and sing along.

Yesterday, I walked in a local St. Patrick's Day Parade in support of and to show off the love that makes up Suz Crew. 

Suz Crew was founded by the amazing Kelly (logo designer) after her mom, Suzanne, died last year from the horrific cancer, LMS.

Our mission is simple. We want to financially assist families who are fighting all types of cancers. Watching someone you love suffer is powerful motivation to help others.

While we were lining up, Kelly got to meet Lauren Brady, co-founder of This Is Me Foundation. I am utterly fortunate to know these fabulous women. Recently I had the chance to "vote" on where some of the money from Lauren and Cait's foundation would be donated. Through the magic of Facebook, I nominated Suz Crew. They made a generous donation, which we in turn used towards helping a family in need. How beautiful is that?!

And so, in a serendipitous moment, both of these amazing women got to meet and hug. (Cait was somewhere in the crowd watching.)

Each of these foundations were started because of circumstances that most certainly were irritating. Painful. Life altering. LOOK HOW THEY POLISHED THEMSELVES!

Today we have lost an hour of sleep. That might make you irritable. If it does, try to take a moment and shake it off. Be a little kinder than necessary.

You might not be moved to start a foundation, but you might be moved to make a donation to a cause that will make your heart happy.

Let me know if you did! A lot of people doing a little adds up to magical amounts. 

I have known Caitlin Brady for about six years. Before she was a teacher at the dance studio where my daughter dances, she was a student there. Smiling. Happy. Lover of hip-hop, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, fierce high heals and red lipstick.

I met Lauren Brady a few years after I met Cait. Vivacious. Witty. Fun.

They can't help but be who they are because their entire family is awesome. Tireless volunteers. Passionate. FUNNY. Vibrant. A LOT OF WOMEN. Sincere. It's in their genes to kick some booty and make a change.

Together, they are the founders of the This is Me Foundation. Their mission statement is simple: they are raising awareness about alopecia while giving hope to anyone facing adversity.

In January 2011 they watched Kayla Martell, Miss Delaware 2010, remove her wig on national TV and announce that for the Miss America Pageant she would be wearing a wig as she had alopecia. THAT was the light-bulb moment.  They created this video three short weeks later.

And with that, a foundation was born.

Their mission is to provide scholarships to local high school students who have either faced their own adversity or who have been a caregiver to someone going through a tough time. Each scholarship is presented in honor of two of their dear friends, Ryan Risco & Cait Polhill, who died at very young ages.

They raise money via donations on their page (go for it), fun events like guest bar tending at a local pub, logo wear, and my personal favorite, the Polar Plunge.

LIKE them and share their page on Facebook by clicking HERE 

Follow them on Twitter by clicking HERE

Music today, Carol King's "Beautiful" - because THEY ARE!
xo

For my friends and family who have always had faith, this concept isn't something too difficult to to grasp.

For someone like me - always questioning, always asking - the thought of the universe was really just more than I could take in. I control my fate. I control destiny. I am the keeper of my hopes and wishes and dreams and desires. Right?

THEN I met the universe and it smacked me upside my head. It only hurt a little. I found out that "the signs" of this vast amazingness have always been here, sort of sitting on my shoulder waiting for me to notice.

Admittedly, it took a long time. Now, I pay attention to the signs. I try to figure things out. Like, why do I keep seeing red cardinals? Why do blue jays sit on the branch of the bush outside my window and scream at me? Why do songs come on when they do? Why do I find oracle cards under the upstairs couch when the cards are all in the Magic Basement? (This has happened more than once... wily angels.) Why do my candles seem to surge when I talk out loud to my angel friend? The practical, skeptical me is like, "What?" The woo-woo me is like, "Bring it."

My father was known for several statements, "Don't sweat the small stuff...and it's all small stuff." As someone who could easily go from zero to three thousand in a nanosecond, it took me a long time to get that. I do still enjoy a good door slam or stomping up the stairs. We will NOT discuss road rage. At least not today.

During this intense year of therapy, my therapist's favorite one word answer to nearly everything has been, "Breathe."

Cara has been focusing our yoga practice on breathing. 

My lessons have been to slow down, breathe, pay attention to the signs I am being given, develop patience (I suspect this will be a lifelong journey), be grateful, and don't sweat the small stuff - because, it's all small stuff.

What do you think?

Just so you know, this is the song that was in my head while I was writing this blog. I love the way my brain works. WMAG  <-- your radio station

I decided on the Rumi quote last night and have been thinking and thinking about it for hours. Two simple sentences that seriously made me stop and regroup.

I believe we think of ourselves as a drop. And so, in turn, we have these false walls that hold us back. Imagine how much more outrageous we can be if we realize we are the whole ocean in a drop. It's fascinating to think about. 

It goes back to the Gary Zukav question posed so many years ago in one of his books, "What would you do if you knew you could not fail?" I used to have that all over the house on post-it notes. 

t was brought home again last Thursday when I attended a Vision Board class. The teacher can always learn.

We were asked to think about the addition four questions (Zukav's was first):

• Who would I BE if I knew I could not fail?
  
• What would I do and who would I be if I really, truly, didn't care what other people thought?
  
• Where do I not express myself in my current life?
  
• What am I afraid of?

Break down the walls and start making your own waves. Create your own waterfall. You are the entire ocean in a drop.

I know. It's heady stuff.

On a Wednesday, 17 short years ago, I gave birth to my first child. At the tender age of 36 one would think I might have been slightly better prepared for what was to follow. Has ANYONE ever been? I think not.

Peter was a fabulous baby, a precocious toddler, an adorable little boy and he's doing an awesome job as a teen. I am seriously not sugar coating this kid. He's all that AND a bag of chips...with dip.

In the blink of an eye he is a young man. He is wrapping his head around college searches. He is in contact with baseball coaches up and down the east coast. He is a black and white kind of kid with gray thrown in on alternating Thursday's twice a month, so, his career path, as of now, seems to be heading towards accounting. His understanding of math is the polar opposite of mine. He likes it. (Never have I uttered those words.)

Some of his best friends are kids he has known since his day care days. Then they branch out to kindergarten. A few more have been thrown in over the years. He is a loyal friend. I love nothing more than having a house full of teen boys challenging me to Bananagrams. For the record, his friends cheat. For the record, they will tell you I played it wrong for five years. It's a wash...

He is a talented athlete. Apparently, that gene skipped a generation; although I am getting it together at the half century mark.

He is utterly self confident. He can runs towards cocky, but only because he is so sure of himself and WHO he is. 

Perhaps a parents greatest accomplishment is a self assured kid who knows at a cellular level just how fantabulous they are.

I am enamored of this kid. This towering giant, with the gentlest of hearts, who can still get practically anything out of me with just the right look and by calling me mommy.

Happy Birthday Peter! Here's to today, tomorrow and a lifetime of love,

Music today: THIS song was probably number one the week of Peter's birth. I sang it to him all the time. I changed the blue eyes to brown.

My heart touched the sky 17 years ago today when Peter was born. xo ♥

Everything we start always requires a first step. Everything. And sometimes the thought of that step is terrifying. I don't know a person who hasn't tripped up at least once in their lives. There are any number of quotes that refer to this.

• Fall seven times, stand up eight.
  
• One step forward, two steps back.
  
• What defines us is how we rise after falling.
  

I have taken many a fall in my life. It is often masked through humor and laughter. Then again, there is always denial, a dear friend of mine.

Beginnings and endings all require a certain amount of stamina to make them happen. In my youth, I was much more likely to fly before I crawled, and that resulted in some pretty poor choices. Now, with a certain amount of gained wisdom, along with the teachings of many brilliant people in my life, I take my time and think before acting impulsively.

We're told, regarding most life situations, "You will know when the time is right." I have learned to trust my instincts and intuition.

I am a Type A person who likes everything to happen yesterday. The universe, well, it isn't a Type A person and as such, I have learned to slow down. To wait. To bide my time. To know that whatever is going to happen WILL happen as long as I put it out there and continue to manifest it.

And sometimes, well, sometimes, I find that crawling before flying is far better for the time being.

Because it's how my brain works, I had to use this song today. I love this line, "Make my way back home when I learn to fly." We're all just learning to fly. But baby, if you need to crawl, go for it.

Calvin had the quintessential imaginary friend, his beloved Hobbes. Calvin must have had quite the soundtrack in his head, because boy, did they dance. A lot!

How often do you just spontaneously erupt into dance? I do it pretty frequently. If I am around the teens there will be much groaning and eye-rolling and repeated requests for me to stop. "Just STOP." I am certain I felt the same way when my mother did this.

Try it while it folding the white wash. It feels a little less like drudgery and a lot more like, um, fun is so not the word I am looking for... In any event, give it a whirl.

Dance while you're sauteing veggies, or browning meat.

You KNOW you dance when you're driving. Admit it. And seriously, those of us of a certain age, the first few notes to any song of the '80's will have us be-bopping behind the wheel. And who doesn't "turn it up" when "Sweet Home Alabama" comes on - while doing a little two-step wherever you may be.

We are wired to dance. There is something about a toddler with droopy drawers bouncing up and down with bent knees that makes us all say, "Aw." We swing babies in the air and dance with our toddlers and learn the Cotton Eye Joy when they do in 4th grade.

Dance today. Even if you don't hear the music. It's there. It always has been.

YOU ARE THE LIGHT. You. Yes, you. Shine, baby.

(As an aside, from the second I decided on the FB post last night "Shine" from Collective Soul has been in my head. Now, it will be in yours.

Today's Rumi poem is beautiful - of course. 

Each moment revelation flashes from heaven to the soul;
How long will you live like dregs in wine?
Rise up! Your darkness makes you heavy like dregs–
Burn them in love! Rise clapping your hands to the top of the jar,
Don’t constantly stir up mud.
If you want your water clear
Let your dregs become transparent
Let your grief settle.
There is a soul like a flame
Its smoke is greater than its light
When there is too much smoke
there is no more light in the house
Lessen that smoke and flame will leap thru and bless you.
Don’t you know yet
It is your light that lights the worlds?
Stare into filthy water and how can you expect ever to see the moon and heaven?
The moon and heaven hides when the air grows dark;
It’s the north wind that scours the air pure
The morning breeze that sweeps all clouds from dawn;
It is tears of longing that clean the mirror of the heart.
Pray! pray always!
Meditation and adoration are your breath!
And if your breathing stops a moment
Your life will end!
The soul in its exile longs for its kingdom beyond space–
Why does its animal half feed so long in fields of death?
Your essential soul is noble
How long will you look in darkness?
You are the royal eagle!
Listen! The king is whistling for you!

Tonight, my sister, Jane, and her co-chairs, Monica and Donna are being honored for the work they do for the Yorktown Relay for Life. It is tireless. It is a commitment of love. It is a commitment of hope.

Here's a great article about it: HERE

Here's a link to their FB page: HERE

Jane is about making a difference to people that she will never meet so they can celebrate another birthday.

Jane is about making her favorite color purple and sharing "Purple Power" with everyone she knows.

Jane is about motivating hundreds of people from every walk of life to take a step back and ask themselves, "What can I do to make a difference?"

Jane is about Stars of Hope - the Relay team she formed with her friends and family.

Jane is THE go-to girl when something needs to be done, stat.

Washing cars. Selling raffles. Getting people to form teams. Setting up a field. Inspiring more than 30 people to participate in a 100 day challenge to take care of themselves to better their own health. Jane walks the walk and talks the talk.

We Buckley's volunteer well. We do it because it makes our hearts happy. We never do it for recognition. But, boy, if someone deserves it, it *is* totally my sister.

Well done, Janie - yeah, I called you Janie. It's my blog. I win.

I will be cheering wildly for you tonight. Warn our table mates about my whistle.

Share some love with her here or on FB

March is going to be a big, fun month for me.  My sister is being honored, along with her co-chairs, for her work on Relay for Life. I couldn't be more proud to go to that event and cheer her on. My son turns 17. Fun at LIVE, a massive PTA fundraiser I co-chair. St. Patrick's Day - need I say more? My other sister turns the big 5-0.

SPRING! New classes. New ideas. New beginnings.

I was introduced to the Sufi poet Rumi, thanks to Elizabeth Lesser's book, Broken Open. THIS quote brought me down to my knees. I had this plaque custom made after I read the book.

My goal is to do a whole month of Rumi. Feel free to share YOUR favorite quote. In the comments. On the FB wall. Email or text me. Bat signal. Whatever works best. Here's to March. I welcome it.