@emyliander......, Hi Sarah, you have risen to the top of my list again. Thanks so much for responding so that I can imagine just chatting with you and discovering ways to support each other when we run into those memory walls. Since Friday is May 1, I am wondering about your house sale. I think you said you would be reappraising the issues.

I liked the topic you put at the top of your list...."develop an equalized list of home responsibilities" and how you can support each
other.

Does your family have group chats? We are doing that more now.....especially to be able to see how much our little ones have grown and developed words and other ways to express their feelings besides screaming. In Texas it is warm, and so the 3-year-old is running around completely naked and laughing at his Mom because she can't catch him. My adorable Milly (Amelia) will be one next week and she just might be walking.

So, I get quite excited about being included in these once a week family chats. Do you think we will be allowed to fly to Texas soon?

And you are so right....this time of isolation can be quiet and contemplative. You know what Sarah.......sometimes the fatigue just takes over. I think it takes a lot of energy to keep our memories in ready mode. I have tried texting myself, recording a message for myself, and writing notes to pin on my planning desk. Then the anxiety starts when I can't remember which process I used if any.

Day by day, my dear, planning before acting, double-checking our lists before giving up.

My biggest thrill this week......walking outside along the river in beautiful 60's temperatures. Saying hello to the geese and the ducks and doing a little bit of self-love......just enough to give me some "get up and go" energy.

May you have happiness and the causes of happiness.

Chris

Oh my gosh, my golly, I found you. Happy everything. Most important....how are you feeling? What is new in your household? Are you in a new house? For real? Daughter? Husband? How did you handle the Holidays? What do you hear from Australia? O.K. I will take a break and pour another cup of tea......so I can think about our lives, our loves.....like puppies? And then, of course, there is our
issue.

I'll share my crazy and embarrassing memory issue. You talk about misplacing credit cards. I am on my 3rd American Express card because I lose them. Not really lost just misplaced. I finally found one between two insurance cards. I tend to use American Express as much as possible because we will need miles to go to visit grandchildren as soon as it is safe to do so.

We stayed here in Minnesota bemoaning the loneliness of trying to have a joyous family event. And then we discovered Zoom. There are 12 of us in this blended family and now we all know each other. My daughter and granddaughters zoom every other Sunday. We call it a Bed Party. We have a subject to think about and then we just laugh and catch up. When they used to come up on the mountain, we always had bed parties.

Have you been comfortable with the burden of your daughter and husband falling pretty much in your lap? Actually, Jay and I think we have become much closer. The beginning was a little treacherous but now we sort of enjoy our time together. Sometimes we don't even see each other all day. I am usually downstairs and he stays upstairs.

We have been a little concerned about the Austin, Texas family with an 18-month-old and a 3-year-old. They actually cooked over the fireplace. By yesterday they had "steady" power but no water. Our son-in-law filled 90 buckets with snow from the roof. Then they have to boil the water. It was quite disheartening to see the folks trying to cope with that situation.

This year on Connect, we invited folks to think about their "Quality of Life" and select something that would improve that detail and demonstrate self-compassion. I gave myself an extra MFR session and a commitment to work on my hip and thumb. Here is a copy if you didn't catch it before the Holidays.

Grab a moment when you can and let me know what is happening.
May you have happiness and the causes of happiness.
Chris