Almost time

In less than one week I will be traveling to Bali for the workshop of a lifetime.  Surreal. Yep, surreal.

I am usually an extremely organized trip planner and packer.  The neurotic one that makes a folder with ridiculous amounts of information on the area, lodging, etc.  And now...I'm traveling further than I've ever been and I've done...well...not much of anything.

I don't feel rattled but rather have this desire to travel light and let the trip unfold.  I do acknowledge that at some point this week I am going to have to do something with these empty suitcases that are starring at me, I'm just not sure when ;)

And unfolding this journey is.  The original tickets for the trip were purchased through Travelocity four months ago.  One word of advice, NEVER do that. EVER! In a nut shell, they lost the connection in Korea and cancelled the tickets.  That left me and my travel buddy, Miriam, without tickets two weeks before our trip!  After an initial freakout, 7 hours on the phone with customer service (I use that term loosely) at Travelocity, a call to Chase Bank to dispute the charges so I could get the money back to rebook another flight (they wanted to wait 6 weeks to refund), we are now booked through another company. 

This is where it gets interesting or at least the trip will be.  Because we booked so last minute (thanks again Travelocity!) we are now leaving one day earlier and added 8 hours to an already crazy long trip resulting in a 38 hour journey one way and will now be traveling to locations such as Moscow Russia, Frankfurt Germany and Singapore in our quest to arrive in Bali...of course at a increased rate from our original ticket.  Again, thank you Travelocity.

What's that saying...it's not the destination, it's the journey?

And you know what?  It is the journey.  I've never had this much down time in my life.  I refuse to be frustrated by it and will embrace the gift hidden in this hot little mess and savor it.  Life is what you make it and this is champagne suffering.  I'm going to flippin' Bali! Oh my gosh, I'm actually going!

Subscribe to my blog if you are interested in updates along the way.  I plan to blog my way around the globe, taking  timeouts to be in the moment, spending time with amazing teachers and absorbing the magic that is Bali.

Peace.
Lorie

It's been a while...

Yeah, it's been a while since I blogged.  I think I blog in my head sometimes, does that count?

Anyway, it's been an amazing summer so far.  Full of high points and of course a few of those moments that slap you back to reality.  Reality checks are good, not enjoyable, but purposeful.

Highlights for the summer.  A getaway to Bimini.

My son asked if I was trapped in a Cornona commercial...well, duh!

And yes, it did wash it all away....

Of course, I returned as most of us do, and hit the ground running.

Lots of AMAZING stuff going on  right now!  The business is growing and growing and ugh, the business side of business is not nearly as much fun as attending a birth.  I know, I know.   I am grateful. I am blessed. I am tired.

Speaking of AMAZING....we co-sponsored the "Big Latch On" event for breastfeeding awareness yesterday.  Wow. Just wow, the number of families that came out and participated.  It was like an Amazing Births & Beyond reunion.  My heart was full.

Stacy & I at the ABB table!

BIG crowd for the latching. So awesome!

It has recently come to my attention that the Bali trip begins in 9 weeks! Holy smoke, when the trip was planned back in January, it felt like a lifetime away.  Not anymore.  Excitement for the workshop is building and final plans are being made. Whoo hoo, this is really happening! Total immersion birthing workshop in what I'm envisioning as one of the most beautiful places on earth...yeah, maybe a tad bit giddy ;)

Miriam and I have decided to do a little fundraiser for Bumi Sehat, Robin Lim's birth center in Bali.  Of course it will be ridiculously silly and hopefully do the trick and raise some funds.  Thank you to Tricia at Click.Capture.Create. Photography for capturing the images and to writer David Stebbins for lending his creative genius to the campaign.  ALL will be revealed this week.  Silly, yes. Ridiculous, but of course. Effective, please help us make it so for SUCH a worthwhile cause.

Here's your clue....curious now?  I REALLY HOPE SO ;)

Well, I'm off to go pull myself together to teach a HypnoBirthing Class this morning.  Stacy, the usual instructor is at a birth.  This has been the flavor of the last couple of months, so many births and lots of impromptu filling in.  It's honestly a wonderful feeling to sense so much energy coursing through the little birth house.

Life is good.  It really is.

Peace.
Lorie

Mission Accomplished!

It's all a little surreal right now.  Actually a lot.

The Palms Birth House has been recommended for license as a birth center.  (oh gosh, I'm crying again...)

The analogy of birth is and was very much relevant to this whole process. Kind of ironic, huh?!

First of all, it has taken 9 months (yes, we started LAST August!)

Secondly, the inspection process was very much like a LABOR.  A very long, challenging labor.  One where we needed support, lots of support.  The care provider/aka our one dimensional inspector was not a great fit for us.   (If this were an actual OB/Midwife, we would have ran. Ran Fast. Ran to another provider with a similar view point.)  We did the best we could with the hand we were dealt.  Kinda like an OP baby lol.  You know that if you can just work with it, be patient, it will be okay.  That fighting the process will not get you the results you are looking for.  To give you an idea of what we were dealing with..."This is an inspection, NOT a discussion..." yes, this was our inspectors mantra. (remember...this is the same inspector that failed us the first time!)

As the day went on (5 hrs) we were literally breathing and pacing...a few tears were shed...we fought the desire to escape and just forget about it....our confidence was shaken and then bolstered...and then....

We gave birth to the ONLY birth center in Palm Beach County.

And she is beautiful.

And more tears were shed. Lots of them.

Time to celebrate...and fix our makeup ;)

Thank you. Simply thank you to all of you who supported us from conception to birth.  Thank you to my amazing husband who gave up his entire summer last year to create something beautiful at "our little house"...thank you to my parents and ALL of the people who came and painted, planted and gave of their time and money to be part of our vision.  Thank you to all of you (and you know who you are) that doula'd us thru our labor via texting and facebook.  Thank you Rivkah for my favorite quote of the day during our labor..."if you can build it, you can birth it"....thank you Beatriz for the holy water...luckily no one burst into flames, including our inspector ;)

Peeks at the journey....

Painting...and painting...and painting last summer.

Thank you honey...I love your support of my dreams!

Thank you Stephanie for adorning our walls with your talent and spirit!

Zak man-ing up with a beer to go with the pink paint!

 

Thank you Michael for your talent and humor!

Construction Yoga...there's always time for yoga ;)

 We are excited about the future of this little birth house and the option now available to families in Palm Beach County.  The women of Amazing Births & Beyond and the Palms Birth House are grateful for the continued support of us both professionally and personally. Eternally grateful.

Peace and Gratitude.

We love you.  We honestly do.

Facades

I've been spending some time recently thinking about how some people behave in public and how they behave behind their created facade.  How some people have created such a facade that they actually believe it to be their reality.   Sort of like Disney World....it's surreal and even beautiful but it's only a facade...underneath is the ugly reality of the rough, unpolished supporting structure.  (That analogy makes me think of something I read recently...."beautiful people aren't always good, but good people are always beautiful.")

The following quote hit home for me for me too...

"Close the gap between what you believe and how you act in the world! That's your assignment. Truly following the Buddha's teachings is how we behave OFF of our meditation cushions, not while we're on them, just like being a Christian is reflected in people's behavior outside of church, not while they're in it. May we ALL close the gap between what we believe and how we act in the world!"

Gosh, the world would be a much better place if we all followed that simple behavior.  I really do try to live my life authentically and I'm a work in progress for certain.  I stumble, I fall, I've already admitted that I'm clumsy.  But I try.  I really try.

I'm wondering what my lesson is when at times I feel so incredibly frustrated and actually angry at those who do not choose to live this way.  Am I supposed to be cultivating patience?  Should I ignore the behavior of those, even when innocents fall victim to their "perceived" expertise and persona and fall at my doorstep angry and confused?  When discussion of bad behavior is criticized by so many good people, but so many good people remain silent?

What IS the lesson for me?

I'm sure the universe will sort it all out for me and perhaps I'll just follow the sage advice below...

 Peace.

Monday

It's a beautiful morning.

Finally, blue skies again!

Incredible birth yesterday. (oh, and I learned an awesome new dance from big brother Paxton called the jelly fish jam!)

World meet Deklan...born on 4/22 @4:22pm! Happy Earth Day!

Finishing up a placenta encapsulation for a mama this morning.

TCM prepared and ground.  Ready for encapsulation.

Seeing what the rest of the day brings...

Peace.

Boundaries

My rant on Facebook was well, a rant.  I admit it. No grace or patience exhibited. Just a bitchin' rant about the fact that I am a human being and need to establish boundaries with pretty much everyone.  I'm not sorry mind you, but it was uncharacteristic of me and something I have chastised friends for doing in the past.  Ooops, and well, not oops.  Sometimes you just need to let it all out ;)

Anyway, it's been quite a week.  Full of amazingness stuff (I realize that's not a word) with new opportunities on the horizon.  I'm feeling pretty blessed at the moment. 

As you can see from the picture below, this is how my holiday weekend will be spent...wrapping soap and perhaps attending an incredible birth that is waiting to reveal itself during this full moon :)

I really need to get some sort of reward for my husband for putting up with me at times like this. Between placentas (yes, multiple again this week) and now soaps taking over our home, I'm kinda worried that I will end up in divorce court at some point and the reason listed,  "excessive soaps and placentas" and unfortunately, I will have to agree.  I keep reassuring myself that this "mess" will all be gone after next weekend and that the chaos is all Delray Affair related.  I want my tidy little house back!!

Have a beautiful Passover, Easter or just an incredible weekend!

Peace.

What an insane week with lots of lessons and universal reminders.

1.  I had three incredible births in 48 hours and miraculously made it to all of them.  My lesson:  You are where you need to be, always.  Even when you aren't where you want to be or even logistically should be. Period. (reminder to self, stop questioning, stressing or over-thinking this!)

2.  It was a stressful week with staffing issues.  Those situations always cause me to reflect on why I'm doing what I'm doing.  Would I be happier moving on to the next phase of my life.  (Those goats and my farm are really calling me!) Is the current chaos a sign?  My lesson:  Look at ALL the signs! Not just the signs that are demanding the most attention at the moment.  Amidst the chaos of this week were a slew of births, classes, etc. AND an opportunity on the horizon for additional growth.   (reminder to self, see lesson #1)

3.  A date night and beach day with my incredible husband can change everything!  My lesson:  Keep calm and carry on! Life awaits....grant me the grace and patience to get there, cause I'm feeling pretty darn clumsy at the moment ;)

Peace.

Outside my bubble

I know preaching to the choir doesn't create change.  But after spending the day at the Baby Expo with masses of pregnant women and experiencing what it appears that the majority of women think, I had only one desire....to climb back into my familiar bubble.  I believe that there were 4 woman all day that stopped at our table to express their desire for a natural birth.  The rest were interested in services and classes but quickly made a point of being "epidural girls."  That is familiar to me but what came next, was not.

The image above elicited not one, but two incidents at my booth, where women proclaimed this image "Gross," "Yuk," "Disgusting."  I had no words. Really. I was speechless.  This is a very modest image, depicting a pure and in my obviously twisted eyes, sacred moment.  How in the hell can this be GROSS?

I quickly scanned my brain again....gross? I recognize that waterbirth and natural birth are not for everyone...but that wasn't what was expressed.  She didn't say, "Oh, that's not for me.  I'm getting an epidural." That, I would be okay with.  Each woman has a right to birth the way she chooses. But no, it was absolute disgust. Horror.

Sad. Really, so sad.  I look now at this image again and see nothing other than raw beauty, power, amazing tenderness in the fathers hand as he touches his daughter, the sacredness of how I imagine every baby would wish to enter the world.

Perhaps I do need to get outside my bubble more and in touch with the masses.  I'm just not sure I'm up for the task.

Peace.