Hi Mamas,

After the kids were off school, which started as a lovely week of time spent and special moments had, and ended with me feeling utterly empty and wondering whether it is just me who does not want to be with their own children after a certain amount of time

It is not selfish to refill your own cup, so that you can pour into others. It’s not just a luxury. It is essential.

To that end, as I had Be[en]MoreMom last week, I told the kids that this week I would be minimally available for their wants! Of course, I am here for their needs - clean clothes, rides to sports and activities, and food. However, for a few days, I am not here to play games with them, to watch shows with them or to spend hours of time with them. This week, I want to dive into some work and hit a goal, and I want to Be (alone!) so I can realign. 

Hustle.

Align.

Destroy the idea that you have to be constantly working or grinding in order to be successful. Embrace the concept that rest, recovery and reflection are essential parts of the progress toward a successful and ultimately happy life.

Ritual - happiness is in the doing, not in the results. The results will naturally flow when we stick with our habits day in and day out. 

Rest - just doing nothing. Reading, lying down with thoughts, chatting on the couch with one of our kids (on our own terms!) 

These both naturally lead to -

Recovery - for our cells, our bodies, our minds and our sanity! and

Reflection - so we can think about the past few days or weeks. The end of the month is a great time to do this and is a ritual which is beneficial to our lives. Decide what worked and what didn’t, what we should repeat and what we should avoid, what made us feel good and what didn’t, where we spent too much time and where we didn't spend enough time, what did we achieve and what do we want to do next?

Have a good week Mamas, and let's allow ourselves to Be.

Natalie x

Weekly Reminder - "I allow myself time to rest and realign and I will feel at peace about it." Say it in your head, whisper it, say it out loud, write it down, shout it to your kids!

Weekly Read/Audible - Ikigai by Hector Garcia - the secrets of the Japanese to living a long and happy life.

Weekly Reset - reflect on your month, ideally by writing things down. 5 minutes is all it takes.