Sometimes life does not go as planned. Sometimes you're cruising down the road to one destination and you slam right into a DETOUR sign. I was working hard to build up my fitness this summer. Hiking steeper and longer trails in order to prepare for a 14er in September. There is no variety of exercise I love more than hiking. Even though I’ve had three foot surgeries and my foot and ankle surgeon told me to “find another hobby” two years ago. Can you say stubborn? Two weeks ago, I suffered another foot injury. #$!@%#@!!! Injuries happen. Life doesn’t always go the way we want it to go. And - we cannot let that stop us from living our lives. We can wallow in self-pity. Which, in all honesty, I have chosen … [Read more...] about Unexpected Detours
Self Acceptance
Meet Yourself Where You Are
Tom Petty’s Wildflowers has been my favorite song for much of my adult life. You belong among the wildflowersYou belong in a boat out at seaYou belong with your love on your armYou belong somewhere you feel free. Nature is my happy place. I can breathe. Unwind. Create. Feel at peace in mind and body. Route 3 loomed above my childhood home. A major highway in New Jersey that will lead you to the Lincoln Tunnel - and ultimately, New York City. The weed infested hillside next to the Route 3 offramp was my sacred space as a child. A place to collect ladybugs. To pretend I was on safari. To find stillness. When my then boyfriend, now husband, asked me to move to Colorado in 1998, I didn’t hesitate for a second. Three weeks ago, … [Read more...] about Meet Yourself Where You Are
None of Us Are Okay
It’s been one hell of a year. For me. For everyone – as we continue to live our lives as normally as possible amid an evolving pandemic and all the uncertainty that brings. My friend Cindy said it perfectly when I met her for coffee last week. “None of us are okay.” Amen to that. I have some sad news to share my friends. Despite all the flights back and forth to New Jersey to help take care of Mom this year. Despite everyone doing the best they could - my sweet Mama lost her battle with cancer a little over a week ago. I am sad, but I am also so very grateful for the lessons and memories and outpourings of love. There is so much beauty, even during the most difficult of times. If we’re willing to look … [Read more...] about None of Us Are Okay
Welcoming Ourselves Home
Self-love. How many books + blog posts + podcasts have been dedicated to this topic? Writing about self-love is easy. Accepting and loving ourselves all day, every day is HARD. Like really hard. While surfing around on Brain Pickings today, this pop up appeared… I (of course) clickety clicked because who doesn’t want to know what it means to, “(really, finally) love yourself”. “Love After Love” by Derek Walcott is exquisite. Is it a poem about (as the pop up says) what it means to really, finally love yourself? Maybe. I mean, the beauty of poetry is that it’s open to interpretation, right? Some say this poem is about healing after someone has broken our heart. But I like to think it’s about healing after we break … [Read more...] about Welcoming Ourselves Home