Springing forward and falling back
A shake-up to shed the old
Hello friends,
For all of you who don’t enjoy winter in the same way that I do (shame on you), happy spring! I realize there is a chance that I will lose friends and/or be struck by lightning by writing this, but I’m ready to say goodbye to winter—this season has been tough. I’m yearning for the balance and renewal the spring equinox ushers into our lives. I hope my 2:11 am middle-of-the-night wake-up sessions get the memo it’s time to recharge and rejuvenate because I’m tired of being tired.
This week I’m deviating from my standard journal entry meets draft book chapter to share a few life updates and things I thought you might enjoy.
This is how we do spring in the Sierra. Sarah and I spent the morning making the most delightful soft spring turns. Funny story (in an annoying “that’s interesting” type of way)—yesterday Sarah was pulled out of the lift line because they thought she was using someone else’s pass. She was skiing like a 20-year-old, they said. A 42-year-old woman would not be able to ski that fast. She pulled up her goggles and they ate crow and while it felt like a minor victory it also was a painful reminder of how the world sees us.
Sir, and the society that has shaped you, it’s time to stop underestimating women in their 40s. You have no idea what we’re capable of.
There are some big things in my life that are about to come to an end. I want to be thoughtful about how I share and what I share. How much do I reveal about who set fire to the dumpster? What are the lessons to be learned from this disaster?
I am trying to think positively about it and use this change of seasons as a pivot point for significant upheaval. Even though I break into tears randomly throughout the day, I do see how these changes will free up my time and allow me to focus on what’s been simmering on the back burner.
It’s an odd feeling to be working through grief and loss while also feeling excitement for the future. But I suppose that’s how I get out of bed every day and keep doing the things I do. That and there’s no one to make me coffee so I don’t have a choice. (Also, accepting applications and please note I don’t take sugar.)
On Sunday I celebrated today’s spring equinox with 108 sun salutations at Temple Yoga. Nature provides these timestamps to connect with something bigger than ourselves, more grand than human life, as spring comes every year whether we bear witness to it or not. The physical practice certainly helped to ring out the winter, but I showed up for the mental practice:
Reflecting on the intentions I set at the winter solstice that I may have neglected over the past three months
Shedding winter as I shed the past as I considered what no longer serves me
Living beyond fear and taking risks that nurture growth
Caring for myself and following my soul’s journey (that one is pretty woo but it’s legit)
Breaking habits that don’t serve me
Considering what behaviors and thoughts I can make space for in my own spring cleaning
Planting seeds in the winter soil that is now warming
I didn’t know we would be prompted in between every 12 sun salutations to reflect on these topics, but WOW OK UNIVERSE I SEE YOU YOU SEEING ME FINE I’LL TAKE NOTES.
The comment section in this Instagram post from Free People won the internet and will go down as one of the greatest contributions to Women’s History Month. I feel validated that their marketing team hasn’t emailed me back after I asked them a million tough questions about why they wanted to sell Coalition skis (do you hear my voice?) and how they would go about doing that (do you see my eyebrows?). I am getting better at realizing when people do not have the capacity to execute, which is progress for me. I’m done being on the losing end of their overpromising and underdelivering shenanigans.
Last week I trimmed my own bangs and I feel like that speaks volumes about where I’m at in life rn.
I spent some time with the latest post from
, re-reading and researching and considering the implications of her words. It is a phenomenal read. In it, she deftly connects the dots between the absolution of responsibility that tech companies received by a US court of law for their complicity in forced child labor in the DRC, the ongoing enslavement of African people via modern-day colonialism, and how the genocide of tens of millions of Africans has been systematically left out of history. For anyone who doesn’t believe that the global outcry about the genocide in Gaza will ever amount to anything, we should consider that history likely will never forget it, and remembering people means something.
Based on your emails and responses to this post, I’ve decided that my next offering for paid subscribers is a one-hour Zoom session where we’ll share our strategies for having really tough conversations with people in our lives and strangers too! If you haven’t noticed, this isn’t something I struggle with all that much, so I’m looking forward to sharing some of my strategies and learning from you as well.
Mark your calendars for Wednesday, April 10th at 5 pm PST.
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Ok friends, that’s it from me this week. Take care of yourselves and I hope you get outside to enjoy this lovely weather. And if you have a moment, I’d love to know what you think about me mixing up the format of this newsletter.