May 15, 2017

A Poem for My Mother

angelleconant Parenting, Poetry, Words compassion, family, love, mom, mother, mother's day, motherhood, parenting, poems, poetry 2 Comments

I wrote this poem for my phenomenal mother.

ON MOTHER’S DAY
If my mother was a heart
she’d be curvy and full
and soft ‘round the edges

She would be oozing love
(sometimes a little too much)
and she’d smell of earth & roses

She’d be the deep red of knowing:
passion, love, loss, pain,
the interconnectedness of all things

She’d have cuts and scars and nicks
(perhaps that’s why she oozes so)
And she’d have healed, time & time again

She’d beat in time to the Universe
ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum,
Steady and loud and unafraid.

December 19, 2016

My Complicated Relationship with Christmas

angelleconant Living, Words cheryl richardson, christmas, expectations, holiday season, it's complicated, magic 0 Comments

Christmas and I? We go way back.

I remember being in 1st grade and swearing up and down to my parents that I heard Santa and his reindeer jingle past my room around 2am on Christmas morning.

I also remember waking them up only a couple of hours later at 4am only to be told that I needed to go back to bed until at least 6am.

Clearly, I had caught Christmas fever.

These days, my relationship with Christmas is a little more complicated.

As I got older, and then got married and had a kid, things changed quite a bit. And for some unknown, baffling reason I put an immense amount of pressure on myself during the holiday season. The house had to be spotless. I had to bake – and it had to be delicious. We had to listen to Christmas music while viewing beautiful displays of Christmas lights. We had to drink hot cocoa while we cheerily wrapped presents and decorated our tree. Each giftee had to LOVE their present and I had to buy all of them in one frantic day as I hunched over my computer and searched the internet for hours.
And every single one of these things had to be done joyously and with Christmas cheer.

Well, I say, screw that.

When I was young, Christmas was my absolute favorite holiday, but a few years ago, it started to become my least favorite. It was nothing but a giant ball of stress and pressure followed very closely by New Year’s Eve – another holiday I was stressing over – and then my birthday in early January. I started to dread the entire month of December and a little bit of January.

That’s when I happened upon Cheryl Richardson‘s marvelous post about the holiday season. She said:

“Relax and surrender to the magic of the season. Let good enough be good enough. Put your precious energy into enjoying time by yourself and with the people who matter most to your heart….Plans change. People disappoint. Traditions expire. Release your expectations of the holidays and be open to surprise.”

You can read the full post here.

This little message changed my life and opened my eyes to the mountain of expectations I had poured onto myself to make the season ‘magical.’ It’s taken a few years of keeping these words posted in my room every holiday season, but I’m finally starting to heed it’s message and slow down. I even realized that I didn’t have to do all the Christmas shopping by myself and in one day this year!

And you know what? So far, it really has been a magical season.

Wishing you a happy and expectation-free holiday season! 😉

Bella has NO expectations for the holiday season. NONE. And see how relaxed she is?

August 15, 2016

The Positive Affirmations Coloring Book

angelleconant Art, Words affirmations, art, coloring book, coloring book for adults, compassion, creativity, fun, happiness, joy, living, love, positive affirmations, self-acceptance 0 Comments

Well, it’s finally here – I’ve published my coloring book! 😀

I started the rough draft when I was pregnant with my daughter and SOMEHOW I’ve managed to finish the rough draft, final draft and publish it while caring for a rambunctious one year old.

There are two ways to procure a copy:
1) On Amazon HERE.

OR

2) you can get a FREE PDF version by subscribing to my website HERE.

If you do buy a copy or subscribe, I’d love to see any of your beautiful creations! Send them to me via Twitter: @angelleconant.

I hope you enjoy. <3

[UPDATE 8/17/2016: Here’s one of the pages I colored. Motherhood – the struggle is real.]

One of 2 fill-in-the-blank affirmation pages in the coloring book.

July 28, 2016

THE LOVE SERIES #1: Introduction

angelleconant Art, The LOVE SERIES, Words art, compassion, creativity, love, the love series 4 Comments

Today begins an idea that has been brewing for literally years. When I was in high school, I was given the assignment of creating a mission statement for my life. Being the over-achieving, perfectionist I was, I agonized over the assignment for days. I fell far down the rabbit hole and had a near existential crisis before realizing that there was only one true answer for me: LOVE. Try as I might to create a more ‘traditional’ mission statement, the only thing that rang true and was all-encompassing enough to satisfy me was simply: LOVE. Love is what makes life bearable (to borrow from Carl Sagan). The teacher printed all of our mission statements out and I still have mine to this day.

Exhibit A. She’s a little worse for the wear, but still kicking nonetheless.

LOVE has been my guidepost ever since. Two years ago, when I began my creative journey in earnest, I thought up an idea for a series of LOVE expressions. That idea has fermented for two long years and is now being brought to life.

This LOVE SERIES will be a collection of art about love. Love that I see. Love that I experience. Love that I feel needs to spread. Any and all iterations of LOVE that I come across and wish to express in an artistic way.

Along the way, if you have an ideas, questions or comments, please feel free to share them with me via my “Contact Me” page or in the comments section. If you’d like to receive new posts in your inbox, please subscribe here or in the sidebar.

It is my sincere hope and wish that these pieces might brighten the world in some way. So it begins…

#1 in THE LOVE SERIES.

March 21, 2016

A Poem for the Sleepy

angelleconant Parenting, Poetry, Words book, maternity, poems, poetry, pregnancy, sleep 0 Comments

Happy World Poetry Day! Below is a poem I wrote when I was pregnant with my daughter and sleepy ALL THE TIME. I’m thinking about including it in my upcoming book of pregnancy poems – what do you think? Enjoy!

I WANT YOU

I want you.
I want you now.
I need you.
I need you now.
Why can’t we be together now?

All I think about is you.
All I want is you.
All I want to think about is you.
All I can think about is you.
You are a need, a drug.
I cannot live without you.

Why can’t we be together now?
Duty.
Responsibility.
Common Decency.
These are my obstacles.
They cannot be overcome.
Not until I am at home
And I lay down on my silk pillow
Surrounded by a mountain of fluff
And we can be together again.
We will be together again, soon.
I am coming soon, my Sleep.

February 29, 2016

Open Letter to An American Teenager

angelleconant How Different The World Might Be, Living, Parenting, Unschooling, Words affirmations, basics, compassion, education, family, follow your heart, happiness, joy, life, living, love, meditation, nature, parenting, self care, self expression, self-acceptance, sleep, teen, teenager, unschooling 2 Comments

One of my teenage relatives was recently having a rough time of things.

This is what I would say to her (and my high school self).

Dear Teen,

I’m going to tell you something you don’t want to hear and already know: life isn’t fair. And sometimes, I think, a teen’s life can have extra bits of unfair-ness. First, there is school. Don’t even get me started on school. You can read about why school sucks here, here, and here. Then there is the fact that you’re almost sort-of an adult but not really. You are given tastes of freedom and independence but none of the trust or respect to go with it. “Be an adult. Stop acting childish” but also “Listen to me. Do what I say. You live under my roof, you have no rights.” This is in addition to the pressure and expectations of everyone around you: friends, teachers, parents, relatives, your church, your culture, the media, etc. And as the cherry on top are all of the ‘normal’ things in life that suck: trauma, abuse*, hardship, death, etc. What I’m trying to say here is that, generally, a teen’s life can really suck. And when your life has a tendency to suck, you tend to have a few bad days (or weeks or months or…).

This is for those times. The bad days. First, I’m going to give you some advice my mom gave me (yes, parents do actually know something from time to time): you can’t change anyone but yourself. Another gem from the old lady: what other people think about you is none of your business. And lastly: don’t compare your insides to someone else’s outsides (this includes the crap people post on Facebook). These three statements have profoundly changed the way I look at myself and the world.

Secondly, when I’m having a bad day, I know it’s time to get back to the basics:

FOOD : Am I eating often enough? Am I eating good, healthy foods? How can I prevent ‘hangry‘ moments?
WATER : Am I drinking enough water? How can I always have water accessible to me?
SLEEP : Am I getting enough sleep? Is it good quality sleep? How can I improve the quality of my sleep?
MOVEMENT : Am I moving my body almost everyday? Is it enjoyable? If not, how would I enjoy moving and strengthening my body?
OUTDOORS : Am I getting enough time in the sun (and therefore, Vitamin D)? Am I getting enough time in nature? How can I get outside more?
MEDITATION : Am I spending enough time alone? Do I make time to deal with my big emotions? Do I make time to get in touch with myself and figure out who I am and what I want?
SELF-EXPRESSION : Am I making time to express myself in a way that feels true to my soul? Even if I’m not going to share it with another living person, it still needs to be expressed.

What I’ve just listed is essentially radical self care. And contrary to popular belief, caring for yourself is not selfish. It’s like they say on an airplane: you have to put your oxygen mask on first before you can help anyone else put on theirs. And let me tell you – self care isn’t easy. Change takes time and you will fall off the wagon. Be kind and gentle with yourself and just get back on. And don’t be afraid to ask for help or get creative.

And if all else fails, get some perspective: read a book, make a list of what you’re grateful for, help someone else, give back, focus on what you do have. The world is so much bigger and more beautiful than high school and you are stronger, wiser, braver, and more resilient and powerful than you know. Hang in there – I promise you it will get better.

Oh, and one final thing:

YOU ARE VALUED.

YOU ARE NEEDED.

YOU ARE ENOUGH.

YOU ARE LOVED.

All my love,

Angelle

*If you are currently in an abusive situation, I urge you to seek help. Please call one of the hotlines on this page. You will get through this. You will survive.