Is it wierd that I read obituraries in the paper?

I always read the obituraries in the local newspaper.. Why? I ask myself. What am I looking for? What, Don't you?

Maybe it is strange, but I recently discovered that I am not alone. I found someone at a coffee shop in Vancouver reading them as well. Interested, I thought I would ask a few questions... Did you recently lose a loved one? No, was the answer, I just like to look.
Oh, I said, what are you looking for? reply: I like to read the stories of the people who just passed away, there is always an amazing story. Yes, this is true. Everyone has their own story they have lived.

Hopefully, it was a long life.. died peacefully in their sleep at the age of 95.... Not always the case. These are especially sad to read. I think about the family that has been left behind. Then I think about the amazing gift that they have been given, the time they spent together :)
I also like to read about the person's life. I also like to see if there is an organization or society that will benefit from the gifts that people will contribute.

I have also discovered that many people avoid the discussion of death and dying because they fear it themselves. If it is not discussed, it doesn't exist... I'm not saying there is a right or wrong way to deal with our own mortality or the ones we care about, but it is a reality. Unfortunately, I have felt the sadness of losing both of my parents and I am only in my 30's. My parents were both loving, caring and supportive for both myself and my brother. I have so much to thank them for helping me become the person I am today. I plan to live a very long life, be there for my kids, my spouse, making an impact on millions of people's lives.

So I encourage you to discuss the possibility of you dying sooner than you think and what that means to you and your family. You will pleasantly surprised on how much better you will feel that you release the fear and then take action to eliminate the stress. What impact would that have on your family? A client of mine told me recently that a weight had been lifted off their shoulders when they met with me to discuss protecting their family, their home.

I hope that my note has not made you too comfortable only more aware.


Here's to peace of mind my friends,
Karen :)

Illness - A family response

My family and I went to support the walkers at the Vancouver Weekend to end Breast Cancer this past weekend.

It brought back a lot of emotions from last year's walk. My partner Tracy is a breast cancer survivor. In 2007, at the age 34 she was diagnosed. Last year, 3 weeks before the walk marked Tracy's last chemo treatment. She walked the entire 60k but somehow managed to find the energy and strength to pass the finish line.

Something I have struggled with since Tracy was diagnosed is actually dealing with what we had to go through you. It was my coping mechanism of just doing what had to be done. I know now that by not allowing me to show my true concern and by not reaching out to my friends I am forced to deal. It is only recently that I have allowed myself to reflect on the loss of my Mom to ALS, Dad to a heart attack, the disappointment of unpreparedness and the effect that seeing my partner go through surgeries, chemo, etc. At the time, focusing on the positive, keeping routine for our young son and managing everyday life was all I could do.



Seeing the crowd of people all doing a walk in support of breast cancer was a very powerful experience for me. So many people have been touched by illness in their lives, either personally or indirectly. Some of us find it easy to reach out for help, others are not. I would be curious to know how others have learned from their experiences and how it has changed them.

From the experiences I have had, my purpose in my professional life is to help people be better prepared for the what ifs in life. We don't plan to get sick, or a family member to be diagnosed with an illness but what we can do is make sure that our plans include back-ups. Having a Will, having life insurance to protect your surviving family for when you die, protecting your income for illness and injury with critical illness insurance or disability insurance, long term care insurance to plan for health care in retirement. Finding out what is important to you, and your concerns needs to be high on the list of priorities. I have seen so many people who are in denial that anything can happen. I know from my personal experience that denial will only get you so far and you will be dealing with these, having these conversations sooner or later..... I think sooner is a better plan don't you?

Perfect day, almost

I always tell everyone that I love what I do, I love my life, my family and I am very grateful for what I have.
Balance in my personal and business life is key for me. This was my day today..
5:20am up and dressed
6:10am heart pumping on spin bike that I teach at Just Ladies Fitness (She's Fit as of Sept 1st)
7:20am home to give wifie and son big morning kiss and hug
7:30am making oatmeal with blueberries and almonds (I look forward to this every day)
7:30-9 am - juggling shower, getting dressed, watching son do a magic show, reading books, getting son dressed, petting dog, packing snacks.. whew
9am-11:30 out the door to Family Centre. Play, talk, sign cheques (I am the treasurer on the board)
11:45 eating blizzard before lunch.. bad girl. Although completely justified because the proceeds went to the children's miracle
12-1 luch at home with family, get dressed for meetings at the office
1-2:50 at the office - check phone calls, meet with client, clean office (just got new fancy furniture)
3-4 not too much fun - drove to coquitlam to see client.. raining hard! arrived safely.
4-6 amazing meeting with a couple. Heart to heart conversation about family, illness,death and helping them figure it all out. I love it when I make a deep connection with someone I've just met. They are wanting help and I am very glad to!
6-645 drive home - more rain - arrived safely
7pm - home to have dinner with the family. Too bad wifie needed to run out the door though to teach her bootcamp.
7-7:30 story time with boy, quick cuddle
The rest of the night consisted of a coaching call, emails and pure quiet.
Not quite a perfect day because I am heading to bed by myself 'cause wifie is out til late.
good night my friends :)

Women mentoring women

Once a month myself and a group of lovely, inspring,professional women connect to discuss our businesses. The successes of the month, areas that we would like to work on. We are all entrepreneurs working to make a difference in the lives of our clients and potential clients. Sometimes doing this alone can be a challenge so we check in with eachother to keep us on track.
Last night I hosted and although the atmosphere of my boardroom was quite dull the conversation was not.
The topic:
Best business practices. I won't go into too much detail however the basics are obvious. Having goals, sticking to them... etc. What about marketing? This is the big question. All of our businesses seem to do best with referrals and word of mouth. We discussed budgets for personal and business expenses. What is the plan? Where do you want to be in 2,5,10 yrs from now????

Thoroughly enjoy meeting with our mentor group. I feel that we covered alot of areas and will look forward to the next one.

weekend fun

Friday night rolled around and I did not have my weekend planned yet! Oh no, what to do with a 3 yr old who likes to do new things constantly. I didn't receive my "what's happening" email from kindervibe.ca so I was on my own to figure it out. So much to do... So I decided last minute on Sat morning. I saw a twitter update that helped me decide.
The day looked like this: Maritime museum to see Bobs and Lolo. My son loves them so that was easy!
Then we went to see the police and fire games ultimate challenge but that's not all. Next stop was the movies to see Ice Age 3. Wow, that was a busy Sat!
Sunday my partner and I were childless while the little man got to go hang out with Nana and Papa. Very nice now and then to start and finish a sentence without an interruption. Was a great day to reconnect.
As you can see I love to be doing things, never really like to sit down unless I'm working. and even then I like the constant changing of discussions and client meetings.

Now I am looking forward to a week of helping.... how planning now can better protect you and your friends/families from the "what IF's of life"

In good health,
Karen :)

New to blogging

Well, I am going to see how this goes... I have been wanting to start a blog for awhile and now I am finally ready to go.

Let's see how it goes. I look forward to sharing my thoughts, experiences and expert advice.

Getting to know you,

Cheers,
Karen :)