Coaching to Connection

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Poulsbo, Washington - Coaching Over the past several months, Susan Cook has supported my family in creating a major shift in our lives. My elderly Mother is on oxygen most of the time and only has about 33% lung capacity. When we moved her into a small apartment in my house five years ago, she was unable emotionally and physically to discard any of the stuff that represented her life. We moved boxes with 55 years worth of receipts, bank statements, letters, pictures, clothes, etc. It was overwhelming to all of us, so we gave up after the first year. Mom made some attempts to review and discard paper that she didn't need. She burned out three shredders and gave up. She had boxes in the garage, her living room and her bedroom. All of the paper and cardboard was stifling her air. Along came Susan. Susan provided coaching for me, my Mother, my sister and my daughter. She helped us see that we could support and honor Mom AND create a beautiful living space for her. She showed us how it actually was possible to help Mom make that shift. We had several clean up sessions. I discarded some things that Mom wanted to keep. Susan helped all of us work through the priority of belongings vs. our relationships with each other. Mom's emotions were up and down and we occasionally were on the receiving end of Mom's frustration. When my Mom was resistant, Susan kept her focused on the end goal - living her final days in elegance, in a clean lovely environment. Susan kept reminding Mom that we were sorting and cleaning as a demostration of our love for her. I won't say that what we did was easy. I will say that we could not have done it without Susan's coaching support. All of the inter-relationships in our family benefited from a major re-alignment. Susan worked with us one on one, as well as in groups of two or three. We always felt cared about and listened to and all of our fears and frustrations were addressed. We knew it was a longer commitment than one weekend and we are over the hump. We have some drawers to review and a few more boxes. Mom is loving it. She loving having a clean, lovely environment. She is sleeping better and seems more alert. I truly believe that we have given Mom the gift of an improved quality of life and we were able to give that of ourselves out of love for her. Sometimes it has been difficult being a care giver to my Mother. I feel that Susan's coaching helped me find my highest self in my relationship with my Mother. I feel very blessed. --Lana Daugherty