Summer – A Time for Balance!

Posted on July 25, 2012 by Sheryl Checkman

A Perfect Balance

Summer has always been one of my favorite seasons. When I was a child, my family spent the summer at an upstate bungalow colony to escape the city’s heat – my mom and brother and I would move up for the whole sumer and dad would come every weekend after the work week. Then there was sleep away camp – with days filled with general swim, archery, softball games, visits to the county fair, reading True Confession magazines during “bunk activity” and where life-long friends were made and life lessons learned. Those innocent summer days of my childhood may have passed, but my love for summer still holds strong.

Summer is a time to kick back, relax and take things a little slower. It’s a time to reflect upon the months that have passed and to gear up and energize for the balance of the year to come. It’s a time to take time out for yourself – learn something new, read a good book or two (or three or four!), stop and smell the flowers (or plant them!) and just slow down.

There are so many things to do in the summer that help rejuvenate and add balance to our lives. Here are some of the things that I love to do. Please leave a comment below with your favorite summer activities.

Go to the beach and read a good book
Go for a bike ride
Yoga outdoors
Swim in a lake or the ocean
Hang out in my garden
BBQ’s!
Play tennis
Wear a pretty sundress and have an outdoor meal or cocktail
Go scuba diving!
Go sailing
Explore and see or do something new! (below is a description of my something new for July!)

On a recent bike ride along the Hudson River, my friends and I rode up to the little red lighthouse that sits under the George Washington Bridge. In all the years I have lived in NYC and crossed the GW Bridge, I never knew this charming little lighthouse existed! According to the plaque on the site, it was originally known as Jeffrey’s Hook Lighthouse and was built in 1921 and decommissioned in 1932. According to The Historic House Trust, a not-for-profit organization that works in tandem with the NYC Department of Parks, it was actually built in 1880 and moved to the site under the bridge in 1921. It was immortalized in the children’s book, The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Grey Bridge by Hildegard H. Swift. It is the last surviving lighthouse on Manhattan Island.

The Little Red Light House under the George Washington Bridge

Jeffrey’s Hook Lighthouse under the George Washington Bridge, NYC. The last surviving lighthouse on Manhattan Island.

If you like to bike, check this historic landmark out. Want a cool t-shirt or tank top to bike in? Check out the Life is Balance Cycle the Distance biking shirts here.

Watching My Garden Grow

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Sheryl Checkman

Urban Garden on the upper east side of Manhattan

My zen garden!

Some of you might remember how the tree in my backyard came tumbling down last October in the freak snowstorm that hit our area. The heavy snow, falling on the tree still full of its autumn leaves was just too much for my poor wild cherry! The massive tree took out both my deck and the fence to my neighbors yard as well. The good news was that insurance covered the replacement of my deck so I got to start from scratch (almost) in planning my new garden oasis on the Upper East Side of Manhattan!

I thought I’d bring you up to date on my progress so far! The contractor and his workers got the new deck built (based upon my design) in just over a week. I was amazed at just how efficient and ON TIME they were. Oh and did I mention that their craftsmanship was really first rate too?

Once the deck was completed, it needed some color! So I went to my local garden center, Urban Garden Center on 116th Street and Park Avenue (yes there is a garden center in Manhattan). Dmitre was very helpful in suggesting plants and flowers that would do well in my northern facing garden. I bought as much as could fit in my friend’s Mini Cooper and spent Saturday afternoon planting away. I still need a bit more but I think my garden is starting to shape up nicely! In the rear of the garden I placed some black river stones to create a zen rock garden. I plan on adding a Buddha fountain as well (as soon as the one I want is back in stock!). Stay tuned for more updates and photos as my garden continues to take shape!

My Rhododendron is starting to bloom!

Hostas in the deck cut-outs and impatiens and vinca vine in the baskets on the fence.

If you love to garden, or know someone who is, take a look at this gardening t-shirt from Life is Balance! It makes a great gift for any gardener, urban or otherwise.

Finding Balance on Vacation

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Sheryl Checkman

Sheryl Checkman in the Turks & Caicos on vacation

Finally I'm on vacation, wearing one of my Life is Balance tank tops, of course!

In case you were wondering, I did go on my vacation. I spent 8 glorious days in the Turks and Caicos, scuba diving and replenishing my soul. The weather wasn’t perfect, at least in the beginning. I arrived in Providenciales on Sunday afternoon to overcast skies and relatively cool weather. Not at all what I was used to from years past. For the first 3 days the weather was stormy and I began to second guess my decision to throw financial caution to the wind and take this much-needed vacation. But, as we were still able to go diving I decided not to let a bad weather forecast spoil my trip. By Wednesday however, the system that was stalled over the islands blew away and in its’ place came the beautiful sunny skies and warm tropical breezes that I remembered.

When I made my decision to finally go on this vacation, it was as if a weight had suddenly lifted – all the stress that I was feeling about work and finances melted away. The problems and worries would still be there when I returned, but I decided that mental well-being is just as important and that I would return better equipped to deal with them. Sometimes you just have to step back, relax and allow yourself to breathe in order to put things into perspective and allow opportunities to offer themselves up to you.

I was talking with a friend at lunch today who is going through a rough time. She sounded like I have often felt – paralyzed by the weight of life’s curve balls. I came up with an analogy that she insisted I write about. Being a beach baby at heart, I compared what she was going through to being caught in a riptide. Your first instinct is to fight it. But fighting it will only exhaust you. You don’t know which way is up and which way is down. The only way to get out of it is to relax and let the natural movement of the water bring you back to the surface. Instead of allowing what may seem like insurmountable problems drown you, sometimes you just need to relax, breathe and let yourself come back to the surface.

When I got back from my vacation, complete with a nasty cold, I made a presentation to a potential client and ended up landing a big project that I had been hoping to get! In addition to that, I received three other requests for proposals. In the grand scheme, taking off one week to do something for myself – to add some much-needed balance, did not adversely affect my life. On the contrary, I believe it allowed me to come back to the surface swimming!

Here are a few pictures I took on my trip!