That's me and my hubby, Glenn:)
I find that like my clients and the organizational world I serve, me and my marriage are better when we stop for a moment and notice what we’ve just done, what we are about to do, and best case scenario, both. My husband, Glenn, is mostly grateful and at times mildly annoyed being married to me, a Leadership Coach who tries to practice what I teach in my own leadership, life, and marriage:)
I am the planner in our relationship. A role I mostly embrace and sometimes resist. Glenn is the feeler in our relationship. He teaches me about the value of spontaneity, doing things when the feeling strikes as well as when they are planned. Our relationship itself is about growth and enjoyment.
For as long as I can remember the two of us have engaged in a yearly ritual of a planned evening at our kitchen table with a delicious bottle of red wine. We reflected on our goals and objectives for the outgoing year and then took what we learned to inform and communicate our hopes, expectations, goals, and promises as individuals and as a unit for the year ahead. It was effective and efficient and it was also void of spontaneity, enjoyment, and fun.
Two years ago we changed it up and combined our yearly ritual with a staycation. We now check ourselves into a hotel for a weekend and explore, unexplored restaurants, venues, and exhibits in our own city and unexplored conversations in our relationships while playing, planning, and enjoying each other and the process.
This year our destination was RVA’s Quirk Hotel, a magical backdrop of love for our yearly ritual. And our outcome was some great learning, aggressive goals, and three beautiful intentions for 2016: To Lift, To Balance, and to be Beauty Full.
Here is a little photo diary of our amazing weekend.
You can feel the "love & happiness" that went into the creation of Quirk. It set the tone for our weekend.
The rooms were thoughtfully done and beautifully designed.
Saturday morning brunch & bloodies at RVA's Lunch
Omelets with bacon infused brussell sprouts and swiss cheese - yum!
Coffee & Caneles from RVA's WPA Bakery in Church Hill
Ideas were flowing as we slowed down to speed up
So was my backgammon game! I smoked Glenn and took the championship title home:)
Saturday evening we dined at Mike Isabella's Graffiato. We were eating well.
Eating again. Sunday morning brunch at Tarrants
Feeling the love and fueled by the force as the weekend came to a close. Caught the matinee of Starwars - The Force Awakens before we headed home
While mom and dad were away Charlie (left), Jack (middle), and Peach, their girlfriend (right) held down the fort