This blog post is being written by Candice and her husband Chris.
Candice: As I have shared in previous posts, Chris and I are in a life transition. This indeed has brought up an array of emotions, from feeling sad and grieving the loss of my mother (again) while cleaning out our closets to feeling excited and hopeful for the new, fresh experiences that are to come. We are currently living in a very small basement apartment while our new (and smaller) home is being built somewhere along the western edge of the rocky mountains. And for some reason (it's hard to explain), we both love it!
Chris: I am really excited for this new adventure! Living in our cottage house, as we have decided to call it, has actually been a lot of fun. Sure, we step over each other, the dogs are next to our side 24 hours a day, and we can hear the neighbor's son up at all hours of the night playing his VR video game. But Candice is right, there is something about having the simplicity of this small space and this time in our lives that feels like a reprieve.
Candice: I really like coming home to our cottage. The inviting farmhouse decor, the warmth of an old, clanky furnace that actually works, and snuggling up to our dogs and Chris each night in our tiny bedroom brings me so much peace and an incredible sense of gratitude for my life. It's also given us both a lot of clarity in terms of taking time to "tidy up" some areas of our lives that we had neglected both literally and figuratively. We have had time to sit in this sweet space without a lot of distractions and decide what we want to keep, what we want to release, and what we want to create in this next chapter of our lives.
Chris: I agree. It has definitely brought us a sense of reprieve in our very hectic lives. It's given us both a chance to catch our breath before our next adventure. At breakfast the other morning, we both agreed that if we were in the process of moving into a new place right now with everything we have going on, we would probably go crazy and stay really distracted.
Candice:Exactly! It is so easy to get distracted by the little things in life and forget what is really important. In some ways I feel like we are dating again which has been fun. Having these 10-weeks (with only 6 weeks left) has allowed us to get to know each other in a new and deeper way, even after being together almost a decade!
Chris: It's been fun and a bit romantic I will admit. We have also recently taken a strong liking to Chip and Joanna Gaines. Sure we had watched their series Fixer Upper before, but it has taken on a whole new meaning right now. I am currently reading Chip's book Capital Gainesand Candice is reading their book The Magnolia Story. Big take aways.
Candice:I highly recommend you read these books. That's another thing. I am so used to reading the latest research related to the important work we do, or reading clinical books as I develop curriculum or prepare a power point presentation that it's really new for me to open a book for fun and actually read it from start to finish! That has been really refreshing.
Chris:I am also learning that we really like being around each other! I used to travel weekly for work which limited our time together and made connecting challenging. We realized that with me being home now more, we feel more connected, miss each other more and find reprieve witheach other. The quality time factor in relationships is so important!
Candice:Finding reprieve in our daily lives by lighting a candle in the morning, sipping on tea or coffee together in the early hours of before the craziness of the day begins, or taking 5 minutes to journal or read has been a life saver during all of this change.
Chris:Being able to step back and reflect on our lives has been a huge part of this process too. It really has been an important time to catch our breath, which everyone needs.
Candice:I hope that if you are reading this, dear ones, you can find moments where you stop and catch your breath throughout your day. Find time to step back and take note of all the wonders in your life. Find moments of reprieve where you can smile at even the smallest things--there is always a reason to smile, we promise.
Chris:And there is always an adventure, a funny (may not be funny right now) story that will come from whatever life challenge you face. Look for the silver linings. They are everywhere.
Chris and Candice
Chris and Candice are both Gottman Leaders who have facilitated Art of Ecstasy Webinars, classes, and will be hosting a Gottman workshop for couples wanting to enhance their intimate connections April 26-27, 2019 at The Grand America. Click here to register!
Namasté Center for Healing
Sexual and Relationship Recovery, 2019 at NCH!
photo credit: pixabay.com