Special Moments at Work

I work part-time in a school for children and teenagers with mild general learning disabilities. Today I had several really Special Moments at work.

This morning I was working with a 17 year old boy – he had a reflexology session and he LOVED it. I put a warm blanket over him and a warm towel on his feet, and he just revelled in being spoiled. It was a really Special Moment. just watching him enjoy the simple pleasures. He enjoyed that so much, I felt I had already benefitted him without even doing the reflexology treatment!

Another little girl who is 10 and who finds new experiences very difficult, quietly said “thank you for having me for reflexology today” as she left. That meant a lot.

Another 14 year old boy came to find me. I had organised for him to be part of the new Seasons for Growth Group in school and they had their first meeting today. I wasn’t actually facilitating the group this titime. He came to find me to tell me how Seasons went for himn today, and to say that he thinks it will be okay, but he wishes I was in the group. I found myself brushing off this compliment, but then I just stopped to let myself have that Special Moment, and it was a good one!

It was a really busy day in work today, and the afternoon was hectic with relaxation classes for the youngest two classes in the school – now that was hilarious! Afterwards I felt like I had been run over by a bus! But during the groups there were those precious moments when we had fun, or when I looked around and among the squirming and messing there were one or two children that were really enjoying the relaxation and going with it.

As I walked back to my car to come home, and I thought about my Special Moments today, it was a good day!

Wishing you countless Special Moments at work!

Laughter Truly IS the Best Medicine!

Laughter Yoga - Yes, you guessed it - HILARIOUS!

Yesterday, I had the good fortune to be invited to train as a Laughter Yoga Facilitator. The training took place, not on a beach like this photo (because this is Ireland!), but at the Hope Cancer Support Centre. A group of therapists and volunteers came together to train to facilitate Laughter Yoga. We knew nothing about it. We were apprehensive and curious, and we were so, so lucky!!! It was fantasic! We laughed and laughed and laughed. I felt silly, I felt relaxed, I felt light-hearted, I felt just bloody great!

I tried to explain what the workshop had been like to Tony and the lads when I got home, but they thought I was mad! I think I am going to have to get them to experience it for themselves. Tonight, I am going to see if I can get a laughter session going at home … I’ll report back!

Wishing you love and lots and lots of laughter!

A Weekend of Continuous Special Moments!

My God, what a weekend! It was just one Special Moment after another!

It started off really well when a lovely client arrived for her session at the Cancer Support Centre with a beautiful gift for me. Well, you could have blown me away! I was absolutely thrilled and touched with her thoughtfulness. It made my day!

On Saturday, the Irish rugby team had an incredible win against Australia in the Rugby World Cup, and the buzz was amazing! That was followed by a visit from my gorgeous sister, Debbie, and we had a faulous walk along the banks of the River Barrow at Graiguenamanagh. That evening we headed to a friend’s house to help celebrate their son’s 18th birthday and we all had a great night.

On Sunday it was party time again – this time at our house. Dublin were playing in the All Ireland Football Final and we decided to have a party in Kilkenny – to make our living room into a Mini Croke Park for the afternoon. We had people from Kilkenny, Donegal, Dublin, Wexford and Cork, but on Sunday afternoon – if they wanted to get fed – they all shouted for Dublin! The craic was great, the buzz was fantastic, and Dublin WON!!!!!

I’m delighted to be blogging about this weekend just gone, because it was a cracker, and now it is preserved for posterity and will be remembered.

Here’s to happy times, celebrations, and fantastic sporting events!

Back to the Blogosphere!

My God, it has been over 2 years since I last updated this blog, but Special Moments is still central in my life. It is still helping me to live well! I’ve decided to revive the blog. It just helps to keep Special Moments fresh for me. So here goes:

I’ve been having a few really Special Moments lately. On Monday night I cooked a special meal for Tony and set up the office like a restaurant. I recruited Niamh as our waitress for the evening, and she did a fantastic job! We had a lovely night and it felt great to do something different on a Monday night of all nights!

Today was a difficult day at work, but I’m going to finish it off nicely with a cup of hot chocolate with Niamh – we have decided Wednesday night is Hot Chocolate Night. Tony and Ciaran go out to rugby and the house seems quiet, so we love to make a cuppa and sit down to watch some telly. Isn’t there something so comforting about hot chocolate?

Special Moment – A Phonecall from an old Friend

I had a lovely surprise last night.  At about 9 o’clock, my son called me for a phonecall.  The voice was one I hadn’t heard for a long time – it was my old friend Margaret, and we hadn’t managed to catch up with each other for absolutely ages – could it even be a couple of years?  We send notes with Christmas cards every year, but with busy lives its very difficult to keep up to date.

Well last night we spoke for ages.  We caught up on all the old mutual friends, what our kids are up to, news about our lives now, and – even better – we made a plan to catch up in person over the summer.

It has woken me up out of my reverie, and I am thinking which other old friends I can surprise with a phonecall.

Pure therapy.

Wishing you countless Special Moments every day.

Love,

Sharon.

Special Moments in a Recession

Have you become aware of a subtle change in how we treat each other in this Recession? 

I am thinking mainly of the experience of shopping.  Gone are the days of the surly shop assistant who acts as if you were an irritation.  This is the day of the smiling, pleasant and helpful shop assistant who will go to great lengths to help you.  I just knew there had to be some up sides to this Recession!

Also, though, the practice of the Special Moments Mindset is recession proof.  As I review my lists, I find that most of my Special Moments cost either very little or nothing at all.  Special Moments is not about the big day out, the big financial gesture, the big purchase.  Special Moments is about appreciating the little things, the blue sky today, the smile and genuine contact between you and whoever is in front of you, a chat with a friend, a hot bath.  The list is endless.  This reminds me of a quote by Robert Brault:

Enjoy the little things, for one day you might look back and realise they were the big things.

Wishing you countless Special Moments today and every day.

Love,

Sharon.

 

Wishing you countless Special Moments every day

A little Shot of Inspiration

This is the beginning of a new day.

You have been given this day to use as you will.

You can waste it or use it for good.

What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it.

When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever;

In its place is something that you have left behind …

Let it be something good.

Unknown.

I am working to make my day today a day filled with Special Moments – that is my definition of a day well-lived.

Wishing you countless Special Moments every day.

Love,

Sharon.

Live for Today – A Special Moments Message

A friend sent me this by email, and I thought you might like it:

A friend of mine opened his wife’s underwear drawer and picked up a silk paper wrapped package:

‘This, – he said – isn’t any ordinary package.’

He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box.

‘She got this the first time we went to New York , 8 or 9 years ago. She has never put it on , was saving it for a special occasion.
Well, I guess this is it.
He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other clothing he was taking to the funeral house, his wife had just died.
He turned to me and said:

‘Never save something for a special occasion.
Every day in your life is a special occasion’.

I still think those words changed my life.

Now I read more and clean less.

I sit on the porch without worrying about anything.

I spend more time with my family, and less at work.

I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived through.
I no longer keep anything…
I use crystal glasses every day…
I’ll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if I feel like it.

I don’t save my special perfume for special occasions, I use it whenever I want to.
The words ‘Someday…’ and ‘ One Day…’ are fading away from my dictionary.
If it’s worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it now….
I don’t know what my friend’s wife would have done if she knew she wouldn’t be there the next morning, this nobody can tell.
I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends.
She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels.
I’d like to think she would go out for Chinese, her favourite food.
It’s these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come..

Each day, each hour, each minute, is special.
Live for today, for tomorrow is promised to no-one.

Here’s to living for today, and fitting as many Special Moments as we can into every day.

Love,

Sharon.

The Magic of Taking Time Out

Today is 19th February 2009 and it is the seventeenth year in a row that Tony and I have taken time out on the 19th February to get out of our normal routine and enjoy a special day.

It all started in 1993 when we were just newly going out together.  We both were working in office jobs in financial services, and we both had flexi-time.  We agreed to take a Friday off work to spend together.  We met at the time we would usually be going in to work, we went for breakfast together and took a beautiful drive up the Wicklow Mountains and then headed over to the coast – Brittas Bay – a beautiful white sandy beach with huge sand dunes.  It was a magical day from start to finish.  That day played a huge part in establishing our romance that thankfully continues to this day!

Every year since, we have taken the day out on 19th February.  When the kids came along some years we took them with us and some years my fabulous mammy looked after them to give us some time out on our own.  When the kids started school, again some years we took them out of school on 19th February to join us on what we called our “Mountain Day”.

This year, today, we didn’t take the kids.  Instead, when the kids had gone to school, we headed off to Altamount Gardens in Tullow, Co. Carlow.  The journey there was about an hour, and we chatted about all sorts.  Then we walked and wandered for a few hours around the most beautiful gardens.  It was my first time to explore Altamount, and the gardens have been established as one of my favourites.  I can’t wait to go back there with the kids and a picnic in the summer.

We finished up with lunch in a lovely coffee shop, and it was time to head back to the real world, pick up the kids from school, Tony went back to work, and it was back to normal.  Well – it was, but it wasn’t!  Taking time out of our routine, going somewhere different and spending time walking and talking meant that we got to chat about all sorts of things, and make lots of plans and decisions.  We both feel like today’s time was like a turning point for us in terms of work for us both and in terms of decisions we made about things we want to do this year.

Why not establish your own version of a “Mountain Day”?  Its literally worth its weight in gold!

Wishing you magnificent Special Moments today and every day.

Love,

Sharon.

A Little Bit of Effort – A Whole Lot of Reward!

Yesterday we decided as a family to get a Chinese Takeaway to mark the end of the children’s mid-term break from school.

I was busy getting information together for a course I will be running, and I was delighted not to be cooking dinner so I could have more time to work on it. 

Tony headed off to collect the takeaway (no deliveries in rural Ireland!), and I was aware that I had to PULL myself away so that I could set the table and have everything ready when he got back.  I knew that if I didn’t, the meal would just be ordinary, and it would be extra money spent for nothing.

Well, I reluctantly put the laptop aside and started to set the table – tablecloth, candle, the works.  As I was doing this, the kids came out to the kitchen and they got in on the act.  They got the special cutlery out, the wine glasses.  Tony came home to a gorgeous table, subdued lighting and soft music.  We all sat around and had a fabulous Special Moments meal together.  Everyone’s spirits were lifted, and there were lots of jokes and good times.

After dinner, I didn’t want to just leave it there.  There was half an hour before bedtime, so we got out the book we had been reading, but had forgotten about for the past few days, and we sat around the stove and finished it.  It was great!

I was delighted with the evening, and I was delighted that just a little bit of effort that made a very simple evening very, very special.

Wishing you magical moments in your day.

Love,

Sharon.