Rainbow Diaries: Surviving the Storms!
Sunday 15 December 2024: Week 12
I’m seeing so much overwhelm on people’s social media feeds at the moment, but here at Team Gray we’ve been prioritising doing what we need to get through this tricky time leading up to Christmas and parking the rest!
1. This Week's Internal Weather Report!
Here goes for the weather forecast for the week…
Storm clouds: Storm Darragh made itself known in our part of the world… a wall fell down in the stables, thankfully not hurting anything but we think it gave the filly a scare. The Christmas lights on the house (which are a total nightmare to put up and only got sorted the day before the storm) are now a dim twinkle… there were a few branches down in the field, a couple of broken fence posts and no power at the yard for a few days. All first world problems but a scary reminder of the destructive power of nature.
Rainbow: A surprising upside to the storm was staying in my PJs at home until the afternoon - something I never do because of heading out to do the horses first thing each day… I’m so eternally grateful to the lovely yard owner for feeding and replenishing hay that morning so we had the comfort of knowing the horses were ok.
Sunshine: Doing my November metrics and realising what a great month it was financially, it never ceases to bring me joy to see existing clients re-booking and new people finding Rainbow Hunting - thank you to all those who put their trust and confidence in me.
2. Business Reflections
Grief and Life Coaching updates: It is part of the magic of coaching to see clients benefiting from realising that prioritising their own wellbeing gives them the opportunity in this busy world to hit pause, reflect and rebalance - such an important thing for all of us.
Course creation update: Having done Wills last week, this week’s recording was all about Powers of Attorney and I’ve been busy listening to the BBC Sounds Shadow World “Willpower Detectives” which has highlighted the importance of using specialist solicitors and being careful about who you appoint as attorneys.
Light-bulb moment: Two great moments from the Sadmin course participants this week… the first was the benefit of having a “Done List”… so you can truly see your progress! Plus, how beneficial it can be to let go of perfectionism and realise that Good Enough is good enough for now!
3. Parenting Teens in Grief
Family highlights: Huge highlight this week was having a house full of teens getting ready for the sixth form Christmas dinner and then sleeping over at ours afterwards… I always wanted to have a house buzzing with happy folk and finally it’s so lovely to be living it!
Challenge of the week: The end of term can be really tough for neurodivergent children… tons of germs floating about and so many changes to the timetable… the big challenge this week is finding space in my own busy world to accommodate what is needed to be a calm and present parent when the children have their own struggles (which have a significant knock on effect to my world too!).
Lesson learned: Creating space to spend more time talking to the kids, really listening and accommodating what they needed… tweaking menus, encouraging gym time, picking up from school at various different times due to school trips and illness… we all need compassion when we are struggling, and as a parent it’s my joy to have a business and life that enables me to be truly there for my girls.
4. Adventures with ADD
Classic ADD moment: The fact that I totally forgot to cancel my elder daughter’s gym membership came in handy this week when she decided she wanted to go again almost every evening after school!! Definitely a silver lining to my forgetfulness!
Coping strategy spotlight: Sleep… honestly, I don’t cope well myself with change, and it’s even worse on no sleep… so this week I’ve been in bed super early a few times and I’m able to be there for the kids so much better when I’m rested.
5. Widow's Corner
Memory Lane: The most amazing thing happened this week… it turns out one of my elder daughter’s new school friends knows really a good Royal Marine family that we love… so I had the best natters over coffee re-telling so many stories… I so wish that my late husband was here to recreate more fun antics!
Grief self care: I’m doing a half-baked Christmas this year and for once it’s not bothering me too much… because I know it’s all I can manage right now! Sometimes doing things differently and saying no is exactly what we need in order to be able to face the festive season without breaking.
6. Horse Tales
Update from the stables: Storm Darragh and it’s red weather warning meant the horses were in during the worst of the weather but for once I didn’t try to do it all… instead of mucking out in the dark when the power went, we put them back out in the field after the wind calmed down and they stayed out until the weekend, when I found the energy to muck out again! Tho I’m still hobbling around the horses as a result of that time I was trodden on a few months ago… I think my little toe is broken (not helped by accidentally banging it on the supermarket shopping trolley a few days ago!).
Horse Rainbows: My elder daughter went for her first ride in a few weeks on a very sparky horse because he hadn’t been ridden due to the dark evenings and stormy weekends, nevertheless I think they had a good time and the horse certainly worked up a sweat!
7. Sadmin Check-in
Weekly paperwork win: I’m finally doing bits of my own Sadmin! I’ve written down my business contacts so my elder daughter knows who to contact in case I got ill and couldn’t work. I’ve also shared my Trello board with all my day-to-day home life admin with my sister and paid a few big bills (vet, horse lorry MOT & road tax etc).
Current Sadmin challenge: I want to get my own home filing and Trello board totally up to date with reminders and to-dos, but instead of looking at it as a whole, I’m doing what I tell my clients to do… small bits at a time. And, surprise surprise… it’s getting done!
Tip of the week: Instead of focusing on a huge project… break it down into manageable small steps and focus on the one next bit you need to do, rather than getting overwhelmed by the whole!
8. Looking Ahead
Next week's goal: My kids break up for the Christmas holidays on Wednesday, so I’ll be back to the holiday work / kids juggle… which means time-blocking for the re-recording of the Health Legal module and ring-fencing the coaching time so I’m not disturbed (by children or by the doorbell with endless parcel deliveries)! Fingers crossed I’ll get round to scheduling some social media content for the holidays too.
Self-care plan: Back to basics… focusing on sleep, good food and lots of water… as well as focusing on those priorities!
As ever, thank you for taking time to read my ramblings… if anything has resonated please send me an email or message me on social media and let me know.
Finally, please remember… however you are feeling… you are not alone… there are amazing charities out there who can support and if you want to make an investment in yourself I’m here for coaching. Please listen to your gut and reach for the support you feel you need.
Until next week, keep hunting for those rainbows!
Take care of your gorgeous selves!
Emma x
PS Black Friday might be over, but if you need any grief or life admin support over the Christmas holidays, there’s a tiny bit of space left in my diary, full details of the 1:1 sessions can be found here.