All posts by Renée Chalou

Renée Chalou

About Renée Chalou

Renée Chalou lives and raises her family in Presque Isle, where she owns a fitness center, LiveWell United. Her oldest son is in his second year at UMO, her daughter plans to attend UMPI in the spring and her youngest son is an active, happy 11 year old in 6th grade. From her life experiences as a homeschooling parent, blending a family, and transforming herself from an overweight, side-line mother to a competitive athlete mother and fitness leader in her community, she writes about what she knows: living life well even when it's not perfect. She writes about finding and clinging to the good even when it would be easy to focus on the bad, no matter what challenges life brings. Life in Northern Maine is wonderful, full of adventures and sub-zero temperatures. It's not for everybody and nobody claims it's easy. But it's a good life, it's hers and she'd like to share some of it with you.

The season of letting go

And as the pumpkins sit, frostbitten and unnoticed, gradually losing their masterfully carved faces to eventual decomposition even in swiftly dropping temperatures, we empty the candy bowls, gather up the strewn wrappers and pack up the spider webs. We’ve lost our enthusiasm for pumpkin spice and the fall foliage has gone from being captivating on […]

Downsizing my life, upsizing my joy

“Mum. Could you be any cornier?” “What.” “No, I’m serious.  I can’t believe you just said that.” What.  But it’s what I’m trying to say.  I’m actually attempting to downsize all this stuff we’ve accumulated over the years and replace it by…upsizing joy.  You know, replacing stuff with joy.  Like getting rid of the stuff.  […]

“Why would you want to live in Aroostook County?”

They ask me, their faces creased in varied expressions of doubt and disapproval. “There’s nothing to do up there.”  They continue on, as though telling me will make me believe it. “The County’s dead and I’m glad I left.”  They say often with a sense of slight satisfaction and disdain. “It’s too cold up there […]