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