A new season of setting goals.
What exactly does setting goals look like when you become a stay-at-home-mom? When the type-A, goal-setting mentality doesn’t exactly pivot seamlessly into the new world you’ve created for yourself and your family?
Learning to lead.
A successful leader knows the difference between confidence and cockiness. She knows that firm does not equal mean, and gentleness is not an equivalent to weakness. There is an undeniable strength that comes along with such a leader.
Evolution of growth.
The old adage is true - you can’t pour from an empty cup - but your cup isn’t going to really become full by taking a bubble bath or getting a weekly manicure. You can’t “self-care” your way through most of life’s challenges.
STRONG as a Mother.
I am proud that motherhood is where I found my voice, my courage, and confidence. It is the place I continue to show up, even when shit gets really hard. It is where I have found the strength to ask for help, and the space to create my own path.
Safe and loved.
I pray that both my boys will keep this little mantra in the back of their minds for a lifetime. Store it like a memory, reaching in to retrieve it when things get scary or sad or confusing.
Surrender.
I have had to learn to be ok with my daily success becoming 100% intangible. I measure it in laughs and sand castles and bubbles. It’s defined by smiles and moments. It’s a muscle I’m flexing daily, and I am slowly getting stronger in my pursuit of presence for my kids.
A fit life.
“Once you realize that exercising needs to be a part of your life, for the rest of your life, it gets so much easier to make significant strides towards who you want to be” - @susanfitlife
Make it sacred.
I’ve cancelled the story that “I’m not a morning person”, and have taken back ownership of how I want to live my life. I no longer let the negative energy surrounding how I used to feel about mornings own my days.
Hope through heartache.
One day we’ll tell Jack and Colt about this experience. About how we thought we would have another summer baby to celebrate life with. But for now, I hope that if you are reading this and can relate in any way, you know that you are not alone.
So much more than sports and dirt.
As parents, we are the examples our children will grow to become. I know in my heart the changes Paul and I continue to make within ourselves, and our home, will help this generation of boys be the ones who will change our world for the better… just by being themselves.
Shop small.
As I have become more mindful of leading a clean and purposeful lifestyle, I have seen a dramatic shift in what I opt to consume materialistically. Because of this, I have found a collection of small shops and female-owned businesses I simply adore.
Above all else.
How would your world shift if you were as kind to yourself as you are to others?
The year we never knew we needed.
You see it daily on your news app, social media feed, texts from friends: Go Away 2020. Is it 2021 yet? What else can go wrong? Thanks a lot, 2020. I get it. I’ve said it. But I’m going to challenge you to pause and make the conscious decision to look at this year differently.
The good in goobyes
This past week was a monumental one for me as a mom. It sounds silly, but the first haircut for each of our boys is incredibly emotional and was heightened even more with Colton. I held off for a very long time, partly because I absolutely loved his long hair, and partially because I did not want to let go of my “baby”.
Freedom at 50mph
58 mph to be exact. That was the top speed my son, Jackson, and I hit on our first jet ski ride out on the lake. Pure exhilaration exuded from my 4 year old. When was the last time you felt all-consuming joy? For me, in that moment, I would have been hard pressed to tell you if I’d ever felt more alive.