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If I only knew what I know now. I would tell you over and over that you were perfect just as you are. You tried so hard to make people love you. You took them on trips, baked the most amazing cookies, cooked the most beautiful meals, planned special parties and events, and always purchased the most thoughtful gifts.

At the beginning of 2018 I had a very difficult “emotional” time. Struggling with my husband Marty working away, trying to keep up with life schedules, supporting our kids (especially our son who needs extra love) and I was too proud to admit that I needed help.

As I sit down to try and write about the last two months of our life, I feel anxious, as I don’t know how I will put it into words. All I know is that I believe that sharing our stories creates connection and allowing ourselves to be vulnerable gives others permission to be vulnerable as well.

Holding Space in your heart was something that I first heard about on one of my cancer retreats with the Callanish Society. I had never heard this before and really did not truly know what it meant.  My vivid memory of the Callanish retreat was crying more than I have ever cried in my entire life.

When we moved to Vancouver Island from the Lower Mainland one year ago today we were excited for the opportunity to start over and be able to provide an amazing space for our children to learn and grow. With that said, there were still many times I thought, “what the hell are we doing?”

When I reflect back on the last eight months, it is clear to me why I have not written a blog since February. My good friend Alison told me that this year has been described as “the year of change” and this is most definitely true for myself, and MANY other people in my life.

As I sit down to write this post, I am moved to share the story of the last several weeks in our home in hope that it might help others. Marty and I decided to pull our son Nolan out of school, as we could see that the traditional school environment was not a fit for him.

There is growing awareness of the importance of being smart about sun exposure.  The skin is your largest organ and absorbs 60% of what you put on it.   Knowing this, we want to be mindful of the products we are putting on our skin.

I think back to my childhood where I was so blessed to grow up in the small community of Port Kells where we were all known by name.  The people in Port Kells would say “Shannon is part of the Donohoe family.”  It really was a “small” community where neighbors knew one another and would visit one another’s home.