Jodi Brichta-Coyne, Coach/Author/Speaker

As I sit back and reflect over this past weeks events, an overwhelming sense of sadness comes over me. In my last post, I wrote about a terrible incident that happened between my son and my brothers dog, and how helpless I felt during the whole event.  Now, words cannot express how much my heart bleeds for each and every Newtown child (now angels above), and for the brave adults that were trying to protect them.  A day just like any other day, so it seemed, turned into a horrific and mind numbing tragedy.  "How can this happen?"everyone asks.  The sad truth is that this can happen anywhere, at any time, in any town.  No one is safe in reality, however, our own safety and certainty can be taken away at any time if we allow it.   To be honest, I was one of those parents who nervously looked at her kids as they got on the bus Monday morning. I looked as they stepped on and just wanted to pull them back and take them home, where I would know they are safe. Then I think, what

    This past weekend was my birthday and my husband decided to surprise me by taking me out to dinner.  He made arrangements with my mother and it was all set for Saturday eve. We had not been out together by ourselves for so long and I was really looking forward to it. On Friday, my daughter started not feeling well and it carried into Saturday.  I was debating on whether or not to postpone our dinner.  My husband convinced me she would be alright.  I asked her and she seemed fine with it.  I got dressed up and was all excited to go on date night. We drove over to my mothers house and my husband said to wait in the car and he would drop them off.  I said "no, I will come in and say hello". Upon arriving my brothers dog (Australian Shepherd) was outside the door.  We opened the door and he ran in. I asked my mother if it was OK for him to come in and she replied "yes" (my brother lives next to my mom and my nephew is there all the time with his dog).  Anyway, a

Someone recently asked me what I do and I paused  for a brief moment, I replied with: I inspire moms to be an imperfectly perfect role model to their children by creating harmony and calmness in their own lives.  How does one do this in this crazy, fast paced, stressful and demanding world? Let's look at this prime example:   "There are days where I am so tired, I get so overwhelmed and can't pull it all together.  I have in my head exactly what it is all supposed to look like, but I never get there.  I get stressed and start wondering if I will ever catch up, my anxiety builds and then I take my anger out on my children. I feel guilty and horrible afterwards."   I hear this kind of example a lot. We all are rushing to get somewhere and never stop to think about the moment we are in. It is in that space, [the present], where one must seek out that calmness or see it for what it is, so as not to get overwhelmed about the future. I realize this is easier said than

"Pay no attention to the little man behind the curtain." wizard of Oz I recently read an article that referred to that line and it starting me thinking....Who is behind your curtain?who's in control of your time, health and life? It made me stop to reflect and think.  As a mom, with so many balls juggled everyday, most of us are too overwhelmed to see who's in control. We put on our masks and we let overbooked schedules, day-to-day activities and energy drainers dictate when and where we should be ( let alone how we should think, act and respond to life's challenges and circumstance). When is it time to just say "ENOUGH",  I am in control.     It is very much like the line from Pretty woman when she refers to her prostitution, "I Say who, I say when, I say how much!".. It makes you think we, in a (demented) sense, are doing the very same thing.  We are losing ourselves because we are letting everything and everyone dictate to us who we a

      Can you imagine becoming a "guilt-free" mom? seems impossible for most as we tend to live there more often than not these days. Ever wonder why is that? Does this sound like you....your day starts the moment your feet touch the floor. You get out of bed only to climb aboard the perpetual mouse exercise wheel where you spin endlessly (taking care of the kids, home, work, chores etc) until you clock out at night. By the time you climb out, you are tired and dizzy and collapse onto your bed in complete exhaustion.... only to feel GUILT!    I used to live there much too often. I was never good enough, never finished what I started, was constantly running around like a chicken with no head, and always felt that I was not doing right by my children and well...GUILTY!! Today, I am here to tell you ENOUGH,..NO MORE!!! a true mom goddess must learn not to harness such a demeaning emotion. So, to better understand it, let's first look at the word...guilt.    Ac

  As winter storm Athena draws near, I can't help but compare this goddess's qualities with the valuable lessons we have learned from Hurricane Sandy.  Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast hard and furious.  She was a large mass that covered the east coast causing devastation and leaving most of us in the dark struggling with day to day activities that we had oh so taken for granted in the past.  As each day was a struggle for most, we saw emotions flare as anger and bitterness shined its' ugly face.  People started to believe it was their right to have power as it seemed that they turned a blind eye to the ones that had lost everything.  I think as time went on and people learned about the devastation in other area's something shifted.  Hearts started opening up and people starting helping and contributing.  The attitude of most changed from "so what I have no power, these people have nothing." People in my area started donating anything and everything they h

   It has been 6 days since Hurricane Sandy has come and gone.  She wreaked havoc here in the tri-state area (where I am from), and we still have a long recovery and healing process to go through.  However, It's hard not to succumb to all the doom and gloom when it's constantly in your face, news,  and at the gas stations etc.  Hurricane Sandy made it real--- it is now that NY has turned into a really screwed up dysfunctional family, (not that we weren't before).  Sandy came into our homes unannounced, caused havoc and decided to stay.  We all thought we were prepared---we weren't.  How can we blame mother nature? we can't punch her in the face but, we can turn on our neighbors and slap them.  The whole thing is so messed up.  At least when it was 9/11, we all banned together and we had an enemy to blame.  Again, can't hate mother nature.  This to me, is everyone's wake up call. Sandy is saying "NY WAKE THE F@^* UP, IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT YOU!".  

In a recent conversation with several women, I couldn't help but notice a pattern that has developed in all their stories and how much we feed off of each others frustrations.  Why is it that we have become so hard, so rough and masculine in order to feel we can cope in today's world? Why can't we not only vision our cupcake, but design it and eat it too all the while  savoring the aroma,  enjoying each bite, right down to the "mmnnn" sound? why can't we?  Have we forgot what's important?  and in this competitive world, where we strive to have more, and be more, are we ignoring the process that got us here in the first place?  Too many of us are not aligning our core values with our true "authentic"self .  As we succumb to stress it is taking its toll and it's effecting our health --we are we ignoring these warning signs?    This was me 2 years ago.  I wake up on a cold January morning just like any other day.  But this time it is diffe

Today was a sad day.  I found out that a local boy who had been battling pediatric cancer for the last 2 years had passed.  His brave mother had been blogging their journey and has shown unbelievable strength and courage.  She posted this blog early in the AM.  http://www.superty.org/2012/10/our-baby-is-finally-free-rest-in-peace.html   Her words have struck a chord in every mom and woman out there who's heard of her struggle.  After hearing the news this A.M. I ran into my daughters room with eyes filled with tears and couldn't stop kissing her and telling her I loved her.  I did the same with my son.  All day long as I saw and read stories of this amazing little warrior it put things into perspective.  This boy just turned 5 years old, and for the last 2 he was fighting for his life all the while "smiling". If it weren't for this little boys strength, courage and huge grin the mother writes, she doesn't know how she would of made it through.  Her final thoug

I just came across an article that had me in tears laughing and had to share.  A man wrote to the makers of bodyform (a female hygiene company), stating that after all these years, well...THEY LIED.  There is no such thing as a happy period! period!   Well, the company's CEO came back and thanked him for exposing the myth and apologized.  Here is the link:  http://littlewhitelion.com/feminine-hygiene-company-responds-to-facebook-comment-that-accuses-them-of-lying-about-happy-periods-13390/   Make sure you watch the youtube video from the CEO, priceless.   In any event, this video holds a lot of truth as to what us women go through on a monthly basis.  Quite frankly, how does a working mom or any woman maintain peace and balance when her hormones are raging out of control?  I honestly think we should be shipped off for the week to some quiet place-- perhaps the beach or mountains, where we wait until our hormone levels have calm down and upon our return we will have HAD a happy pe

  I can't believe it has been so long since I wrote and I promised myself that I wouldn't be that person that starts something and doesn't follow through.  Although, these past few months have been such a learning curve for me, I feel that now I am ready and confident to live up to my convictions.  I recently, completed my website: www.momgoddesscoach.com and am passionately excited about it.  I thought long and hard about my transitional year and all the lessons I learned along the way.   One of the biggest lessons that I learned is that in order to do everything for everyone else, I had to take care of "me" first.  It is the same as when you board a plan and the airline attendant gets up in front and starts giving you instructions and says in "in the event the cabin pressure is low, an oxygen mask will drop in front of you, please put the MASK ON YOURSELF FIRST, then put it on small children and elders."  If you think about it, it is so true.  For so

Did you know that female energy is 10,000x stronger than a man's certainty! Let's think about that for a moment.  Oh Wait, ..how can we think about female energy when we have been brought up to be strong and independent.  We have been brought up to think and act like a man and still we only get paid $77 per $100 compared to men.  Why is that? what are we doing to ourselves?   A typical scenario in the working world of a mom bringing up her children goes like this.  Mom wakes up exhausted, stumbles to get coffee and once the kids are up ...the race is on.  While some dads may contribute to helping, the fact of the matter is, most don't. Mom usually gets the kids ready for school/daycare, prepares lunches, goes through bags/homework/any notes, gets herself ready, tries to tidy up a bit and either drops the kids off or puts them on the bus.  Already mentally exhausted, she finds herself settling down and takes the long commute to work.  After working a full day she may come h