Hello again!

Welcome to Roots and Wings, a newsletter for Mums Abroad.

Living abroad has its moments, does it not? I could conduct a straw poll of you right now and fill a book, no doubt! Mind you, being a Mum has its moments too. Another book! Put the two together, and there's enough material for a few encyclopaedias on the joys and challenges of parenting abroad.

I see our key role as parents being to give our children strong roots, and to encourage and enable them to grow to confidently spread their wings. Easier say than done when we may sometimes feel uprooted ourselves, and when we may feel from time to time that our own wings have been clipped.

Yet, I also see that living abroad gives us the opportunity to create new kinds of roots - in routines, in connetions, in new kinds of traditions, in creating sacred moments for our children, for our family, and for ourselves. This is the theme for this month's newsletter.

Pretty much everyone reading this newsletter has moved abroad, so you'll all have your own unique perspective and memories about this transition. I am constantly fascinated by how each individual experiences this - and I'd love you to fill in my questionnaire, an ongoing research project I'm doing on the subject, which really helps me shape my work for Mums Abroad. Thank you for all the replies you've sent so far - I look forward to sharing the output in a Roots and Wings soon.

It's been a lively 2014 so far at Alive to Change. A well attended Open House was a great highlight. Thank you to all those who were able to make it.

There's plenty happening at Alive to Change in the coming months. Check out my event page on my current website for more information. Yes, I did say my current website. I'm very excited to say that, behind the scenes, I'm having a new one developed. It's looking very funky already - can't wait to show you how it will look  - perhaps even in next Roots and Wings!

Relax now and enjoy taking the next few moments for you.

Have many wonderful moments this February,


Kirstin
www.alivetochange.com
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Roots and Wings - February 2014
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What's coming up?
Coming Up at Alive to Change

Getting to Grips with a new Language
- Tuesday 11th February, Leymen

Building up your Confidence
- Tuesday18th March, Leymen

Coach your kids
- Thursday 27th March, Leymen

Creating a new Support Network
- Tuesday 1st April, Leymen

NEW: BCT Members receive 20% off workshop price - and also 50% off Life Audits!
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Friends of Alive to Change

Sandra Disteli Systemic Constellations
- 18th of the month, starting January

Reenergise in the New Year with Shalini in Danzbollywood
- new classes for adults and teens/tweens

Sale on at Party Queen - quick, grab a bargain before the lease ends!

Creating Sacred Moments

What are the sacred moments in your home? Those moments you wouldn't, for example, answer the phone perhaps. Do you have family traditions which protect your special time together - Sunday lunch? Wednesday tea? A games night once a month ? Breakfast together every day? Tucking into bed routine?

There's only your family that can create those sacred moments - and that probably means you!

Our family traditions have inevitably changed as the girls get older and I've noticed that the family mood changes when something intervenes - eg visitors in the house. We lose the chance to do "our thing" and that's how we keep up our regular connection.

What sacred moments do you want to protect - or create - in your family? And how will you do this?

Do you know what your children consider sacred?  You may be surprised what is important to them at the moment! 
   
Magic Moments
What sticks in your memory?
sunning-beach-woman.jpg   Can you think back to a moment in your life which felt so magic it sent shivers up and down your spine? Or where you felt so confident, you could have taken on the world? Or where you felt there were no worries at all in your world?

When I'm doing group work, I often get people in pairs to get them to tell each other about a magic moment in their lives. I had the morning crowd at the Open House last week do it too. I listened as the pitch and volume increased, I watched as the body language showed more and more connection, and I smiled as I noticed the energy shift from the buzz of these deep conversations.

A magic moment indeed!

What people said they noticed about these conversations was how they could feel in their bodies the way they felt at the time. What a powerful resource!

Try this next time you're feeling low on energy and resources. Relive a magic moment - to a friend, to your neighbour, to the cat, into the mirror - your choice. Revisit it fully, in all its glorious technicolor, with surround sound, original smells, sensations and tastes.

Then see what you feel revved up to do! ENJOY
Being Present
In the moment
 How often are we there but not really there? How many times are our families together but not really together in one place? With allblue-gift.jpg that is going on in our lives and with the ability to be always connected around the world - how much time and energy do we dedicate to getting connected - creating roots - in our own family?

Being fully there, in this moment, is an essential part of connecting with each other. If we leave behind the shopping list, the puzzlement over the neighbour's reaction to our latest misunderstanding,and the email from the boss, what would happen if we were simply there in that moment?

We've all done it before. When our babies were tiny tiny little cute things, we automatically gave our everything to those early interactions. Feeding, cuddling, just gazing.

If we can get out of our busy heads and back into those moments we have with our child/children/partner/family, we can hear so much more about what's going on. We can see so much more. We can learn so much more. And we can create so much more together. A moment. A memory. A new root stretching out even deeper.

A real Present.
 
Ever been curious about how coaching can change your life? Just contact me for your free exploratory session!

If you know anyone who could benefit from coaching right now, please do forward them this newsletter.



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