…. She rises boldly into her true self

Like the sun on the horizon

Lifting its miracle for everyone to see…

… Reluctantly, I lay my beach-worthy clothes on the bed and assess the humble options. There are cover-ups that I’ve been wearing on rotation for almost 20 years, shorts that might require a colonoscopy prep to fit into and, of course, the tried-and-true 15-year-old Lands’ End tankini. It hangs off the edge of the bed, threatening to slide onto the floor like a kid slipping broccoli into the napkin on her lap. The brown tankini looks like it has weathered one too many dips in the Atlantic. It smells like it too. Although it’s dry to the touch, there’s a stench of something that resembles molded seaweed and saltwater. When I dig through the pile and finally retrieve the matching bottoms, stretching them out to assess their shape, the crunch of tired elastic audibly forfeits any chance of this bathing suit making another trip in an overcrowded suitcase. It has seen its last beach vacation.

… Images of my daughter at various stages of her childhood flash in my head, a movie trailer that highlights her toddler years and fast forwards to her growing up into a beautiful woman, belly swollen with pregnancy. Her big, blue eyes are eager to embrace motherhood. The background is a tangerine sunrise over rolling hills in the country, a white farmhouse that is equipped to welcome a baby. The opening scene zooms in to where she stands with me on her front porch, the two of us cradling the expectant portion of her that holds a miracle.

… but on her Sweet 16 my breath is stolen, drawn out of my lungs like the carwash vacuum used to suck all the Cheerios and Goldfish crackers off the floorboard of our old van. I’m pulled into the image like a magnet and I can almost hear the swishing sound of a nylon rope grazing concrete on an early fall afternoon in Georgia

“Okay, I did it,” I say to The Nudge, thinking this will be the end of this little test. The part of me that is prone to daydreaming imagines standing in a spotlight in a theatre in New York City on February 10, in front of a crowd of nearly 400. I launched my brand Stronger Girl on February 9 of 2023. It sure would be fun to celebrate another major brave on stage a year later, I imagine. The Tapping starts again and I shoo the daydream away …

I think about the brave women in my life who offer gifts and words and examples of perseverance with so much light and beauty. Some of those friends are reading this now. You know who you are. And, for the ones I’ve yet to meet … let’s connect in this new year and invite each other into our stories. Let’s open the blinds, ignite the fire, grab a glass of something bubbly and offer tribute to each other … “To the friends who inspire us! And to no more burnt toast in 2024.”

Once upon a time, there was a fire pit. It resided behind a renovated home in a field of wavering bluegrass where deer often grazed and families of rabbits burrowed near clusters of trees. The fire pit was surrounded by a metal ring and sat atop a small hill that overlooked a moss-covered pond. On chilly nights, it prompted friends to scoot closer together near its resident flames in a half-moon curve of colorful Adirondack chairs. From overhead, it marked the 4.5-acre property like the center of a compass where a midnight moon could be enjoyed at its most northern point ..

So randomly (or not so randomly) on my birthday, I found myself wondering, “What if the woman I am becoming now is the woman I was meant to become all along?” I kinda like her. I like that she speaks up for herself more often and is less afraid of things that are uncertain and new.  I like how her relationships have evolved.

And, that’s when I realize what’s so obvious. When we clear the path for ourselves, we clear the path for others to come into our world when they need to. And, also, when we need them to. Life isn’t meant to be a solo journey. Perhaps all the cutting and trimming we do in our lives is so we can have more room to walk alongside others

I step into the cryotherapy booth and convince myself that three minutes standing in a freezer that blasts air at 150 degrees below zero is worth it. It’s worth it to reduce the inflammation in my body and to experience the exhilaration that comes with conquering something hard, both physically and mentally.

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Bring on the dog days of summer … We’re ready! As the holiday weekend approaches, we’re saying goodbye to a few things and hello to others. Shifting and change isn’t always fun. Stronger Girl Coffee ☕️ makes it a little easier to manage … send a bag to someone you know going through a shift and celebrate the idea that the ending of things is also the beginning of something new.

For that brief moment, I see my life as a story and the lighting of the candle is like a director proclaiming, “Action!” on the set. As the aroma of the candle fills the kitchen, it sets the tone for the morning, and I breathe in the scent, letting it usher hope and promise.

On February  9, 2022, Stronger Girl coffee was launched on drip as an option to the house blend we served at my coffee shop. By this time, more guests were staying longer and feeling more comfortable to gather …

The coining of this phrase is one of my favorite memories ever, embedded into my heart like a permanent Etch A Sketch drawing, with no threat of ever being erased …

I awoke before the alarm sounded, surprised that I’d slept most of the night without disruption. Since January, I’d fallen back into waking between 3 and 4 a.m., worry nudging my mind into anxious insomnia. It was a familiar struggle I thought I’d overcome. I was frustrated to think I might be falling back into a cycle that was going to stall the progress I’d made

KEEP LISTENING to the whispers of truth… the ones experienced through the JOY, as well as the PAIN.