Noticing

September 2025

Artwork by Anna Brones

September 2025 Noticing

I know many of you are dealing with getting your kids back on a school routine or becoming empty nesters for the first time. September has always signified a new beginning for me more than January first. New school uniforms, new penny loafers that had to be broken in, a new lunch box in earlier years but even as an adult a great excuse for a new journal and new pens and pencils.  This year I have treated myself to new linen bound journals from Wilde House Paper, in gorgeous celadon green. I have been writing almost every day since my return from Modern Elder Academy in Santa Fe. My new journal is a jumble of notes from books I am reading, turns of phrases I hear or read that I wish to remember, quotes, names of books, movies and shows I want to experience. 

I looked at my calendar for the rest of the year and decided that if something is not a Hell Yes, then it needs to be removed immediately. At 66, I know what brings me joy. I have decided to either schedule my days to include some of that or leave it blank so there is room for the magic to happen. 

When I coach people and I listen to their goals, I ask next to see their calendar. And I know right away if it will happen or not. The hours and days will get frittered away if you don’t make time for what you wish for. I hear how exhausted people are all the time. I now know that they are exhausted chasing their tails and would not recognize magic if it stood right before them. Their days are filled to the rim without any room for joy. I know now that joy needs to be scheduled in first, like the big rocks in a jar. And if you don’t even know what makes you joyful, at least give your life scheduled space for solitary reflection to find out.

I feel so fortunate to have great clarity about what brings me joy and how I have to set my days up for more of it. Luckily for me, those are all the simplest of things. Nothing at all grand or extravagant. Being able to recognize the beauty in the simple things is a gift I am most grateful for. 

This past week, as I wrapped up my birthday month, I had lunch with someone I know from my Momming Years. I appreciate the continuity of our friendship and the shorthand we speak. Then another friend who was up from CA. Finally a dinner with two industry colleagues, with whom our August dinner has become a three year old ritual. Most rewarding was a friend who I had not seen or had a decent convo with for quite some time. Instead of meeting at a coffee shop, I invited her to the cottage for what turned into a two hour balm of a conversation for us both. I was able to see my Other Daughter earlier in August when she was visiting to go wedding dress shopping with my girl. What an honor to be a Bonus Mom for someone as wonderful as Charlotte who is so bright and lovely and now pregnant with their first child. The circle of life continues.

The garden has brought me great joy this summer from its explosion of hydrangeas on steroids to weeds that I feel are most charming and worth showcasing. The plum tree in back is trying to ripen. We want just enough for Mr Fox’s plum cake and our neighbor to strip the tree of fruit and his wife to make the block her famous plum galettes. The vegetable garden was kind of a bust for us this year.

Other things that bring me simple joy is the Bodum Bistro milk heater/frother that I discovered at MEA. The minute I used it, I knew I needed to have it at home. Our spendy Jura has a built in milk frother but it  is so loud we never use it. The Bodum Bistro is whisper quiet. That and the San Agustin Loxicha, Mexican coffee beans from Walla Walla Roaster elevate our coffee game to a most luxurious way to start the day. I just ordered another nine pounds just in case we run out of time to make a stop on our next Walla Walla outing and well, tarrifs…

The rest of the year, I am dedicating pockets of time to my sweet husband who has been patiently asking for and waiting for my time. I mistake the fact that we don’t enjoy doing the same things to not needing or wanting to spend quality time together. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our marriage kind of reminds me of the character played by Christina Baranski on The Good Wife, whose lover is the famous gun loving ballistics expert. You cannot fathom they have anything but great sex in common but they do. I appreciate that we don’t have to do everything together and be with each other all the time. I love when he goes away and comes home with stories. Over the past 40 years I most appreciate what a great human he is. And though we often don’t approach things the same way, the intention is often the same. His heart is always in the right place & he is my rock. 

On the real estate front, we are prepping a home that I am SO  excited to bring to market! We are working with first time buyers and a smart sizing seller, waiting for the perfect one level home to move to. It is always such an honor to see all these wonderful people through the different phases in their lives. Interest rates have come down and now we just need the post Labor Day inventory to hit. This summer was the sweet spot for Buyers to score a deal or at least try to negotiate. I predict a pent up surge of Buyers and some new inventory but not enough of it in our local market. I always remind our clients that real estate is hyper hyper local and there is a real danger  to not listen to the professional you have hired. 

Have a wonderful last sigh of summer through September 22nd!  I won’t be waiting to shop for cashmere and merino wool. (I am already seeing European and Asian vendors refusing USA delivery). I will be planning and scheduling for my big rocks of JOY! I hope you will also. 

Many of my coaching clients like to plan their upcoming year starting in the late fall months.  If this is you, or you wish it were, don’t delay in getting on my books. With fall travel plans, fewer slots will be available this year. Make 2026 a on purpose year vs a year that happened by default.

XOXO,

Coach Diane

Blog Artwork by Anna Brones