Summer is a blessing and a curse. Do you agree?
…at least from my point of view as a working mom.
I have a 9 yr old son and, for me, summer means juggling my schedule around his camps and time with him when he isn’t at camp. No week is the same. It’s hard to stay on top of things – that’s the curse.
The blessing is that no week is the same and there seems to be a new adventure each week. The bigger blessing is that I’ve been able to fit in some ‘me’ time despite all the craziness.
Last week, he was doing swimming and a STEAM camp. I got to do laps at the pool while he had his lesson. This week, he has Cub Scout Camp AND that means we’ve been mountain biking there. How amazing and lucky is that? We live up near Camp Tamarancho and the camp is about a mile away by trail.
Last year he did the same camp and we walked. On my way to pick him up one day, I saw a Mountain Lion! It was an amazing experience to look back on . . . but in the moment and for a good year after, I was scared! I felt so vulnerable!!
I was walking to pick D up by myself on the trail and I saw the mountain lion ahead of me. He turned around and saw me and kept walking around a bend. I froze in place, not really sure what I just saw. I called my husband to make sure I wasn’t crazy and get some advice on what to do — be loud, be big and keep going, he said. I waited about 5 minutes, trying to get the nerve to walk forward past the spot he was standing, hoping he was not waiting for me up the path. I really had no choice but to keep going. I had to get D at camp. Luckily, there were 2 other kids from my street in the camp and one of the moms happened to come up the trail (what a relief!) and we walked to camp, very loudly, together. After that I made sure I walked with another mom to and from camp.
It completely freaked me out for a long time and I haven’t been able to walk or run the trail by myself since.
This year my son signed up for the camp again and so I knew I had to face my fear. It really makes no sense to drive him or have him take the bus because it would take about the same time or longer to drive. Plus, he is on a personal mission to reduce car emissions as much as possible. 🙂 It also makes no sense to live where we live and not take advantage of the trail.
My husband suggested we ride our mountain bikes to the camp and it has been such a wonderful solution. Biking is faster (& loud) and my focus would be on biking not on a mountain lion. We did a test run on the weekend to make sure we could ride it safely. Half the trail is single track and a little technical. The other half is a fire road. D and I are off and on our bikes a bit on single track but it has been SO MUCH FUN!! And we are getting better at it every day.
On my ride home from dropping him off yesterday, I was overwhelmed with gratitude. Gratitude for where I live, for being on my bike at that moment, for having the flexibility in my work schedule to take my son to camp, for the years I spent mountain biking pre-baby so I could ride the trail today, for my husband for suggesting we ride, for my son’s ability to ride the trail, and so much more. But, most importantly, truly grateful that I was brave enough to go it alone on the trail.
The bike rides have also been another huge win for me because I’ve only been mountain biking once since D was born. So I’m also celebrating getting back on my bike after so so long. I’ve been saying that I will but have made countless excuses that I don’t have time, I’m out of shape and no one will want to ride with me, I probably can’t do it anymore….you know the self-chatter. I’m so excited that I tried it this week! And it really was like riding a bike. You don’t forget.
So what does this have to do with you? Well, I’m just wondering what are you not doing because of a fear or an excuse you have?
I invite you open your mind to try something new. And maybe even try something that scares you.
I have 20 brave women detoxing with me this week. Many who are facing fear of failure, not doing it right, cheating, or feeling bad without her morning coffee but doing it anyway. And just like riding a bike, if you fall off or get to a point where it’s too hard, you get off and get back on and keep going. It’s all a learning experience.
There is another week of the Peri-Menopause Detox coming up August 5 – 9 and I would love for you to join us.
I’ll be at Dollface Beauty Salon (341 San Anselmo Ave, San Anselmo, CA) on Wednesday, July 31 from 2-6pm to talk about the Peri-Menopause Detox and answer your personal questions. If you attend and register, you get a free brow service. If you can’t attend and register online, you get a coupon for 10% off any service. Bonus!! I also have a discounts for therapeutic massage availabe for you from my friend Bee at Beelight! A week of total self-care. Imagine the gratitude you will feel for yourself when you finish.
I hope you’ll come out to Dollface if you live close by. I’d love to meet you. If not, please join me on my Facebook Page or Instagram where I’ll be having a few LIVE events and sharing tips, tricks and recipes with you. Like one or both to stay in the loop.
I’d love to know what you not doing because of a fear or an excuse?