On Taking Space
Almost every weekday morning for the last 3 months, I have walked Charlie to school in the forest. Those mornings have meant so much to me not only because I have the capacity to drop him off, but also because it has forced me to start my day surrounded by nature, the only sounds around me chirping birds and Charlie’s gibberish (lol). I am someone who wakes up with a ton of energy, and often I find the best time for me to get work done and power through my to do list is first thing. If I didn’t have kids, I’d be one of those weirdos who would plan to start their workday at 6am. It’s just how I’m built. I drop off a steep energy cliff at 2PM though. Don’t even ask me to go to an 8PM dinner!
I’ve shared this before, but I have found so much inspiration on these walks. My mind seems to generate dozens of ideas, I can hardly keep up. At first, I thought this meant that I should be using this time to be productive, but what I’ve come to realize is that the ideas are flowing through me at this time because I am taking time away…time away from everything that I have to “do” in favor of Charlie’s wish for me to “be” there with him. Every single morning, without fail, Charlie points out different decorations along our route. If I don’t respond immediately (likely because I’m writing something in my phone) he yells mommy mommy mommy until I see it, right there alongside him. Right before we get to forest school, he begs me to stop at one particular spot so he can take a look at the wildlife that we pass by everyday. And every single day, no matter how late we are (a new phenomenon for me as a mom, always being 5 minutes late) I stop with him. But rather than stare at what he’s staring at, I stare at him. The sheer and utter joy and contentment of a child as they witness the world around them is enough inspiration to keep you going all day.
All this to say, today this got me thinking. It has been a BIG year. I left my corporate job to run One Wednesday and my personal brand full time, we had a really exciting pop up in Montréal, I started my podcast and moved my newsletter to Substack, had incredible trips with my girls, as a family and as a couple with our best friends, we spent a ton of time in Whistler, and most importantly, we found an immense amount of joy in the day to day in between moments.
While I always schedule time in my calendar to review the year and plan for the one ahead, I’m feeling the pull to really take some time to go inwards this holiday season. To read all of the books I’ve added to my cart, to finish wrapping, to see my friends who are flying in from across the world, to be present with my kids at drop off.
Today’s Journal post is going to be my last one before the holidays. We are headed up to Whistler this week and then next week will be the final dotting of the i’s and crossing of the t’s before Christmas. I’m excited to hit the ground running when the kids are back in school the second week of January, and I already have some amazing content planned like a podcast episode on goal setting and setting yourself up for success, as well as some changes to my website and really fun self-care themed giveaways for One Wednesday.
I wanted to share that I am so so so grateful to you all. Thank you for coming back each week and being part of this community where I really do believe we are trying to feel our best in every way. I wouldn’t be here without each and every one of you. To that end, Happy Holidays. I hope you allow yourselves some well deserved time to take space over the next few weeks.
See you in 2024! x
PS - my last newsletter of the year will come out this Friday. I’ll be back in action in full force on the Journal, Podcast and Newsletter the 2nd week of Jan 💫