Little feet running through the waves, heads dipped in sandy puddles and towels wrapped around a chilly mama...pure bliss. We found ourselves quite spontaneously in one of my favorite places in Maine as we accompanied Patrick on a business trip. He went and ate lobster and steak in a fancy beach house overlooking the water and the kids and I sat ourselves down on a huge stretch of sand and had a sandy popcorn, strawberries and sandwich lunch. Both lovely options for a day at the beach!!!
The sky eventually poured down on us and luckily we had a car full of towels. The kids each chose one rock to bring home and Eli has lost his about 8 times in the past week. He looks around for it everywhere, calling out to his perfectly round black stone. Our backyard garden holds so many special gifts from the beaches, rocks and stones and pieces of wood.
I have been working a lot. Running your own business, especially one that helps others live their best lives can be a bit consuming. My passion for what I do makes me want to go at a pace that sometimes brings me to burnout. I remember Oprah saying recently to Geneen Roth that she lost herself somewhere in trying to help everyone else. A few weeks ago I understood that feeling. I was forgetting to have fun and take days to just enjoy. I was forgetting to take my own advice and give in to FUN a little bit.
When I am on this beach I feel relaxed and peaceful and full of balance. I can capture that feeling and find ways to bring it with me, to my work, to my clients, to my home. This is the town where I was married, where I spent countless summers, where I would dream of seeing the little feet of my children running on the sand, someday. Being a mother isn't the dreamy life I pictured before the children came, no one can prepare you for the part of yourself that will feel lost and stuck some days (or the hormones). There is no way to explain that being alone will take on new meaning when you have 5 minutes with no one around after chasing 3 children all day. There is also no way to explain how you grow into your motherhood and own it with a passion and a purpose that was not there before. How you become a mama bear to your cubs, watching them eat blueberries until they might pop and taking such pleasure in simply feeding them. This job, motherhood, takes work. It requires a patience that most days, I struggle to find. It also reminds me that to be the most powerful mother I must be the most powerful woman. I must own my strength and purpose, so that is what I seek to do and guide others to do.
On the way through town we stopped into the cute little candy shop and the kids picked a few pieces (balance) and Patrick and I found these dark chocolate coconut candies that were awesome. Patrick announced the next day that it would be good to know how to make them, and so, I did. My version of these little Chocolate Coconut Drops is my little gift from the beach to you.
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Chocolate Coconut Drops
1 cup coconut
pinch of salt
2 cups of dark chocolate bar, broken up
1 Tb honey
1 Tb maple syrup
2 Tb coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla
In a 350 degree oven, toast the coconut on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for about 4 minutes (use a timer). Watch it closely or it will burn, you want it to just start turning a light brown. Remove, sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt, allow to cool. Melt the chocolate, I use a saucepan, you could use a double broiler. When the chocolate is soft add in other ingredients, stir until combined, add in the toasted coconut. Using a teaspoon, drop chocolate onto parchment paper. Place the chocolates in the freezer for 10 minutes, then transfer to a container and store in the fridge. In the heat, you will want to keep them cold.
