A few years ago, I realized the life I knew was coming to an end. My life as the daughter of my parents was coming to an end with my mother’s illness. My life as the wife of my soon to be ex husband was also coming to an end with our divorce. My extended family is mostly in Ohio, and I wasn’t about to go back to Cleveland after loving 20+ years of Florida weather. I was an only child and then I didn’t have children of my own, so if I didn’t act quickly it was going to be just me. And that scared the sh*t out of me. I had to do something.

I got the dishtowel pictured from a dear friend for a present last year and it struck a chord with me. I can't say I've done one thing every day that scares my family, but I must admit I have a pretty good track record of making a few major life decisions that scared the total sh*t out them. For example, I was the first one in my family to go "away" to college.

With the holidays upon us, I find myself reflecting back on past holidays and not always in the best way. I remembered that Thanksgiving of 2016 was the last Thanksgiving I spent with my mother. I broke her out of the nursing home for a home cooked meal at my house. It was a day of joy for both of us and she ate like it was her last Thanksgiving...because it was. I'm so glad I made it a good one. Christmas Day of 2016, I was going to treat my mother to another home cooked meal. Unfortunately, she became very ill that Christmas Eve and never rebounded. She passed the following year and I never got to have that Christmas with her.

Yesterday, I did a Hypno Hangout session “Using Hypnosis To Feel The Hugs From Our Loved Ones While Quarantined.” To prepare, I did some research on just how important “touch” is to human beings. And you know what? It’s pretty important! One of the articles I read was called “Why Physical Touch Matters for Your Well Being,” written by Jonathan Jones in November 2018.

My first hypnotist was an amazing person. She was smart, talented, capable, and strong willed. She was a newer hypnotist when she started out, only 27 at the time. I was her first client. I met with her on a daily basis for many years, and many of the belief systems she instilled in me have stayed with me even though she’s since “retired.”