Well!!  You never know what might be in store for you next…

I was eagerly looking forward to my trip to South Korea for my son’s wedding.  I had been anticipating a week of hanging out with Kevin & his bride, Jinju, sightseeing in Seoul, helping them with wedding preparations and moving to a new home.

But then Kevin’s dad, Dale, arrived from the U.S. in significant pain from a recent back injury, which proceeded to get worse.

So a lot of our time together with Kevin & Jinju ended up being spent in doctors’ offices, a hotel room and wheelchair explorations of the neighborhood.  A memorable time for sure!

But there was so much grace that accompanied us – the Korean medical system was so accessible and easy, and very affordable compared to the U.S.  Jinju went way above and beyond in support with arranging transportation, translating, getting medications.  By the time of the wedding, Dale’s pain was more manageable.

So many people pulled together in the preparations to make the wedding celebration a time of fun and connection – Kevin & Jinju’s friends, Jinju’s family.  I was so grateful to be supported by the wonderful friends I stayed with.

I learned a lot about myself in that week.  Even though Kevin has lived in Korea for 4 years, and our whole family hadn’t been together for 3 years, when we ended up spending a lot of time together, I came face to face with old patterns of trying to make things go the way “I” thought would be best, and would catch myself as soon as the words, “You should, could, oughta…” left my mouth.  Yikes!  Yuck!  I needed duct tape!!

Thanks to the awareness and I’ve gained and the tools to come back to center that I share with my private clients, I was able to maintain a foundation of support for myself.  Daily centering, boundary-setting and self-awareness were key. I could take the words back right then, with an apology, and let the situation unfold, trusting that everything would be okay…  And it always was.

But boy, was that a wake-up call to show how much room I have to grow still.  Never stops, does it?  There’s always another season in the life-cycle of a garden – tending seedlings, new weeds, new growth, and watching them flourish and blossom, and then starting over.

A couple of images from the wedding day stick out in my memory…  Meeting Jinju’s extended family and feeling their warmth even without being able to understand each other very well, experiencing different wedding traditions – not knowing exactly what to expect and needing to be told and helped with what to do, seeing Kevin & Jinju’s love and connection and enjoyment of each other…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then after the reception, standing on the sidewalk trying to figure out public transportation for seven of us plus a wheelchair to get to the after-party!  The party was on a roof-top – with a beautiful view of the city and sunset – a heart-warming ending to a wonderful day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am so grateful for my family, with Jinju now officially as the newest member.   I just love this amazing life journey we are on!

Here’s to growth and change and new beginnings, again and again and again…

Geonbae! 건배! Cheers!

 

PS If you’d like to have a conversation to see if working with Soul Gardening™ would make sense for you with what you have going on right now in family or work relationships, click here: [email protected] to send me an email, and we’ll set up a complimentary exploration call.