As the leaves fall from the trees all around me, this fact is clear: summer is over. It took a while to arrive here in the northeast, but when it did it was awesome. Hot, long days. Blue skies. Outdoor festivals. Bbq’s. Trips. Hammocks. Pools.
And with 2 young kids in tow, lots of laughter, tears, messiness, joy and exhaustion. Ahhh.
You remember those essays your teachers would ask you to write after summer vacation was over? Well, I’m feeling the itch to write one now. To recognize what I learned on my summer vacation … because I learned a ton. Some easy lessons, some tough. All good.
Here we go … ready?
1. Ask for help. My cat Cali got really sick over Labor Day weekend, the first weekend my husband started traveling again on business after being home for the summer. Me home alone with 2 kids, 3 cats … with 1 cat (who I’m really close to) on the brink of death. Oy. My head felt like it was going to spin off my body as I tried to figure out who to take care of first and struggled to get everyone ready and out the door to the kitty ER. Instead of pretending to be supermom, I called in a favor: asking my friend and neighbor to take my toddler with her for the morning so I could focus on getting my cat help. The lesson? ASK FOR HELP! You deserve it. So does your sanity.
2. Why not? Learned this from my kids’ 16-year-old babysitter Sophie. She, along with her BFF, painted a sign with this mantra on it, brought it to school and gave out free doughnuts to students in the hallway. Love it! This message is one of my new themes for the fall. You want to do something new, exciting, gutsy, a bit scary? Why freakin’ not? It’s also the theme of the new kick-a** community of women I’m creating. You can learn more about this sparkly place, on the free call I’m hosting here. Be there or be square.
3. Play with yourself. While hosting the amazing Retreat for Goddesses, I was telling the gals how much I believe in working on yourself. You know, peeling away the layers of armor and scars to expose your deepest truths so you can live life on purpose and be who you are. After I said this, I got a Divine Download (a piece of wisdom that drops in when I’m fully open) that said, “Girl, quit WORKING so hard and start PLAYING.” So that’s my new belief. Play with yourself more. Dance with a hula hoop, paint a giant canvas, practice sweaty yoga, make the phone call that freaks you out, do flips on a giant trampoline, host a live event, sign up for a workshop led by a teacher you love, turn down work that doesn’t excite you, launch an initiative that sets your soul on fire. These are some examples of play (formerly known as work) I did this summer. May they inspire you to get a little crazy and play.
Girls just wanna have fun.
4. Enjoy the ride. I was riding the ferris wheel at the county fair with my son Sean, talking, pointing things out, waffling between nervousness and ease on this giant contraption, when a message hit me loud and clear: Enjoy the ride, my friend. That’s when I closed my eyes, felt the warm breeze and my son’s soft skin and simply allowed myself to ENJOY. Yup, you have permission to have fun and be happy. You’re not here to simply get through things. You are here to have a ball and leave your mark on the world! Are you?
5. That’s not okay with me. This is called creating boundaries, something that women often have a very hard time with. I said these words a few times this summer to let someone know, what they did or said or wanted to do wasn’t going to fly. If you don’t say it, they won’t know. Quit being a doormat and speak up for yourself.
So … two questions for you:
1. What did you learn this summer? Share in the comments below.
AND
2. Will you join me on the fabulously fun, free call later this month? “Why Not? The How-To’s for Getting What You Want, Having WAY More Fun & Giving Birth to a New YOU Who Lights the World On Fire.” Reserve your spot here. Woo hoo!
