SIX MONTHS LATER…

Six months.

It has been six months since my last blog post. Six months since I’ve sat in a cafe to gather my thoughts. Six months since I was able to finish a piece of writing.

A lot has happened in these six months.

So…where do I begin?

‘Well for starters, my youngest daughter graduated from high school. That means my husband and I are officially empty nesters. I honestly don’t  know how we got here, but here we are.

These past few months, I chose to be fully present for her senior year. I wanted to soak in all the “lasts”….last track season, the last lacrosse season, the last prom, the last everything…while also celebrating all the fun that comes with being a senior.

And I am so glad I did.

Trying to manage the full time Daily Hustle (aka the day job), senior events, track meets, lacrosse games, and everything in between was more than I could juggle so writing took a back seat.

Speaking of the Daily Hustle, work has been a grind.

Honestly, I don’t even know how I got through these past few months. I was challenged beyond words…and not in a good way. More in a kind of way that makes you stop and ask yourself, Is this how I want to continue my career?

Is a job worth it if it leaves you drained, stressed and overwhelmed each day??

I think we both know the answer to that one.

But more on that another time.

On a brighter note, I spent a week in Paris this spring!

My older daughter was studying abroad this past semester and it was such a gift to spend that time with her.

Seeing Paris in this chapter of life versus in my early thirties gave me an entirely new appreciation for life and culture. Instead of seeing every landmark, I loved wandering through the different arrondissements.

Walking the city, I noticed everything. Smells drifting from the bakeries,the beautiful architecture, and of course…the cafés!

Sitting in cafés and people watching quickly became my favorite thing to do!

It gave me a chance to slow down and simply enjoy the moment.

I loved watching how Parisians move about their day. There is such intention in the way they live. They don’t seem to rush. They linger over coffee, spend hours talking with friends, savor their meals, and truly connect with one another.

It felt like a gentle reminder that life isn’t meant to be raced through.

It is meant to be savored.

As I reflect on these past five months, I think one phrase sums it up:

Choose You.

Right before this five month pause, I celebrated both my birthday and my book, Choose You-Words to Journey Through Fear, Courage, Joy and Gratitude.

It was such a beautiful celebration with women who want to be intentional in how they show up in the world, follow their dreams, and live life on their terms.

The gathering was incredibly special. Almost sacred. The women were fully present and engaged. The interview and Q&A were filled with vulnerability, honesty, and heart. The entire afternoon was wrapped in joy.

I am so grateful for friends who hosted me and showed up for me in more ways than I could count.

This is what it means when women support women.

Knowing that women are reading my book and finding encouragement in its pages is something I don’t take lightly.

It humbles me every single time someone tells me my words helped them choose courage, choose joy, or simply choose themselves.

I will continue showing up for them because they continue to show up for me.

So I guess in many ways these past five months were really about choosing me.

It’s one thing to write a book called Choose You.

It’s another thing to actually live it.

Sometimes choosing you looks like  taking a six month pause.

Sometimes choosing you looks like cheering from the sidelines of one more track meet.

Sometimes it looks like sitting in a Paris café with nowhere else to be.

Sometimes it looks like asking yourself the hard questions about the life you’re living and having the courage to imagine something different.

Those small “Choose You” moments…the ones where you show up, stay present,and give yourself permission to rethink what comes next, often become the moments that change everything.

So wherever you are today, here’s your gentle reminder:

Keep choosing you.

Love,

Mo