Goodbye :: Hello

2014 has been quite a year.

I said goodbye to my beloved dad.
My north star.
Witnessed his death on June 21st.
Honored his life on December 21st.
Solstice stirring.
I said hello to grief.

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I said goodbye to my
Well-Nourished Woman Inner Circle
and the women I had gathered together
in a LoveWhatYouEat celebration.
I said hello to the Luscious Legacy Project.
I’m convinced my dad channeled this one:
story keeper
legacy maker.

LLP-Badge-255image source: victoriaporterphotography.com

I said goodbye to working so hard
and so long that at times
I had to remind myself
of the season.
I said hello to 365 days of noticing
I’m still a work in progress.

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I said goodbye to noise and masses and
mayhem.
I said hello to gathering
in smaller, more intimate spaces
where I might tend fully and deeply.
Myself
and others.

I said goodbye to ‘should’.
Should put up a tree,
decorate,
wrap gifts, travel,
participate in a holiday frenzy that
saps my energy
and takes me further away
from the meaning of the season.
I said hello to permission.

I said goodbye to clutter.
In my work space.
On my desktop.
In my home.
I said hello to spaciousness.

I said goodbye to busy.
And the myriad ways I keep myself
from the whispers of agitation that surface
when I have time to be with my feelings.
I said hello to embracing discomfort.

I said goodbye to expectations
the ones I have of others
and the ones I make up in my head,
that they have of me.
I said hello to ‘enough’.

31 thoughts on “Goodbye :: Hello”

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    In 2014

    I said goodbye to family vacations
    With faraway relatives
    Always fraught with tension and fear.

    I said hello to easier vacations
    Surrounded with kindness and
    People who treat each other with respect

    I said goodbye to children
    Sticky fingers
    Loves notes
    Ready hugs
    Being the sun in their sky

    I said hello to teenagers
    tall opinionated creatures
    who now inhabit my house

    I am no longer the sun in their sky
    But like the sun,
    I will continue to watch over them
    each day from a distance

    I said goodbye to working, working, working
    Oh wait…. No I didn’t
    But that’s ok
    It’s what I love to do.

    I said hello to fostering friendships
    Keeping my life full
    Balanced
    And happy
    Surrounded by people I love

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      Yes, Alex, yes. Here’s to vacations surrounded by comfort and ease. Now that your kids are grown we’ll have to plan one of those … you and me. We still have to make up for the one we took (conference but that counts!) where I got the flu and couldn’t move. LOL And as for the working, working, working, yes to that, too. Two peas in a pod. xxxooo

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    Hi Sue Anne,
    I’m really looking forward to working with you this coming Jan!
    I am saying goodbye to my precious Mother on July 2nd
    and hello to the next chapter of my life. . . and to my passion for my granddaughter Abigail Grace, my children’s book, “Angelfeather” which I feel my Mother cheering me on to write.
    Blessings,
    Teri

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    Dear Sue Anne,
    I want to send a love hug to you as you begin to embrace grief. . . this is such an important milestone and one that needs to be honored in the greatest sense, with ALL that love you! Your father is with you now more deeply and powerfully than ever before! May you hear him, feel him and touch him in incredible proportion for your powerful journey that lies ahead!
    BE BLESSED!
    Teri

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      Teri, first, I want to say that I am so excited you are going to be joining me in the Luscious Legacy Project come January. I can’t wait to meet you! And thank you for sharing with me your experience of loss and with it a great big dose of permission to honor and embrace the grief that arises when we say goodbye to a loved one, no matter how old. My greatest challenge has been permission. I look forward to meeting your mother through you and all that you share as we embark on our journey together.

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    Sue Ann,
    Thanks for your beautiful poetry. So many meetings and partings.

    I’m saying good-bye to my mother in law, Ruby, our dear friend George and our sweet yellow lab Ozzie. I’m saying hello to mindfulness.

    I’m saying good bye to my husband working and hello to a time to reinvent our marriage.

    I’m saying good bye to our son’s childhood and hello to the evolving family dynamics with all these adults in the house.

    I look so forward to working with you and the rest of the tribe next month.

    Happy New Year!
    Love,
    Terry

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      Thrilled to see you on the roster, Terry. And yes, so many goodbyes. Holding you tenderly here. I look forward to witnessing your reinvention. My husband retired in June and we are entering this new season of our lives in anticipation of the freedom inherent in not having to work around his work schedule which was pretty crazy in that he went to bed at 8PM and was up at 3:30 to beat the rush hour traffic. There have been (and will continue to be) a lot of firsts for us this year. First September vacation, first time staying up for the Academy Awards, first opportunity for spontaneous travel. Fun!

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    Simply. Beautiful. Leaves me in a space of contemplation, of soul ease, of resting in my Self after reading your words and hearing your soul speak. Deep bow into the reverence of the journey . . . xoxo

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    Lovely-Have come back to this several times and am in the process of creating my own Goodbyes and Hellos as one year closes and another begins.Plan to encourage others I am inconversation with to do the same.

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    Sue Ann I am so grateful to have found you and to be part of your circles. Your words always bring comfort to my soul and your reflections on the year that went by are simple the most beautiful I have read. Many look back on the 2014 and plan for 2015 but you do it as shear poetry.

    Love,
    Carina

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    I always admire the ease in which your words flow and how you express yourself so beautifully! In addition, your lens of #365daysofnoticing is a visual bonus!! Thank you for all that you share. XO

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    so many goodbyes and hellos in 2014.
    but the most important i carry with me into the new year . . .

    i said goodbye to excuses of age.
    i said hello to energy and effervescence.

    i said goodbye to feeling trapped, physically and emotionally.
    i said hello to innovative solutions and imagination.

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      April, I’m so glad you are saying goodbye to excuses of age. That sounds like an adventure in and of itself. And, as someone who has more than a few years on you, I can tell you with confidence it only gets better. May your imagination guide you. xxoo

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    I so enjoyed this Sue Ann, yes I said goodbye to so much like the shoulds and must do’s Remembering all that I have said hello to as well. Great pause. Thank you.

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    rebecca@altaredspaces

    This is my favorite, “I said goodbye to busy.
    And the myriad ways I keep myself
    from the whispers of agitation that surface
    when I have time to be with my feelings.
    I said hello to embracing discomfort.”

    My tree went without decorations this year as well and I noticed that it was good.
    My son was simply pleased we got a tree so tall that it bent over at the top. So there is my Christmas bow (instead of a star) tied next to the ceiling, saying I’ve grown too big for this space. That must be why we didn’t have time to put on the ornaments. 🙂

    It is so true that when I welcome agitation I embrace discomfort …and I notice I am brave. It’s interesting how many people (mostly young people) I’ve been chatting with about this one of late. When we are between things (saying goodbye before we know exactly what the hello is) there is so much agitation. I want to hang on. I want to cling.

    But it never works.

    And it is worse.

    So I’m learning (again and again) to embrace discomfort and sing, or walk, or breathe. As the tears roll.

    Love to you as you notice.

    I’m noticing you.

    And extending my hand on this journey.

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      Rebecca, your light shines so brightly in all your infinite wisdom. Thank you for showing up for me so fully in life and on my blog. You have no idea how much your words mean to me.
      P.S. I can’t wait for our adventure!

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    So beautiful … Thank you for your vulnerability.
    Enough has been my theme this year. So much
    so I had the word tattooed on the inside of my arm. 🙂

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    I just found your site, and am thankful. I’m sorry for the loss of your father, and know some of what the coming years adjusting to a world without him will bring. I recommend reading The Art of Losing: Poems of Grief and Healing by Kevin Young, when you are ready. I still revisit it 7 years after losing my North Star. Thank you for this inspirational post and the the healthy recipes, I’ve just begun to read your archives. I will be a frequent reader of your blog now that I have found it. Wishing you a peaceful 2015 and grace in your grief.

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