Wow. It’s been a while. Where have I been?

Disconnecting.

Reconnecting.

Relaxing.

Playing.

Discovering.

Exploring.

It had been a while since I have done any of that.

Closing up Shop

For those of you who don’t know me and my recent history, I owned a children’s playspace in my town for almost 4 years. I was required to be there almost every single day of the year. When I was sick, when the kids were sick. On my kids’ birthdays. When we really just wanted to get out and go on vacation. I was there for 12 hours a day many days.

I loved it. It was constant momentum, and there was a continuous influx of other moms. We had amazing conversations, and I created so many connections, which is largely what kept me going.

When I closed the business last January, I told myself I was going to take a break.

But I didn’t. Instead of taking a break, I dove headfirst into getting Make Your Perfect up and running. I took on several life coaching mom clients, I wrote blog posts and newsletters, I created some online courses, I studied up on marketing.

A Little Piece of Heaven

And then, my family and I went on our bi-yearly trip to Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival, one of my favorite places to be. If you’re unfamiliar, this is what it’s like:

You drive for 2.5 hours with the kids begging for video games and whining, “When are we gonna get there?” Then, you turn into a dirt road with a sign that beckons you in. Everyone is smiling and wishing you “Happy Shakori.” You drive further, into the trees, and come out into a clearing where you pitch a tent. You send your kids off to explore. The next 3-5 days involve pure pleasure and bliss. It’s a feast of music and play. For adults and children. It’s my little slice of heaven.

Before we left, my then-6-year-old said to me, “Ha. Mom, you’re not going to be able to work the whole time we’re there.” (There is no electricity or Wi-Fi at our campsite).

His reaction made me smile, but it was very telling. I was always on the computer. I was always trying to connect. With my clients, with potential clients, with the members of the MYP Powerhouse Facebook group. When I wasn’t trying to connect, I was writing.

So I left the computer at home and headed out into the wilderness for a weekend of pure abandon. We flitted from the campsite to the music stages. I danced, I sang. I lounged in the sun, I napped in the rain. I was filled with energy and feeling. And although I was disconnected from the people with whom I was used to being connected—my clients and my friends and those people who follow me on Facebook—I felt more connected than ever. With my family, with myself, with nature.

With the universe.

The Power of Play

When I returned home, I had trouble getting back on the computer. I wanted that feeling of sheer pleasure to stay with me, so instead of getting back on Facebook, I played.

I began dancing and hula hooping in my backyard every day, taking advantage of the beautiful spring mornings. I drew and colored almost every day. I lost myself in purely entertaining TV. I began curling up with a good book again. I went to the beach. I started writing an erotica novel for moms. I started having sex with my husband again.

People who would run into me in town would comment on it (not the sex, but perhaps the result of it):

“You look great!”

“You seem so free.”

“You’re so tan!”

This was the first time I’d been outdoors every day in 4 years. For the past 4 years, I’ve been inside my business, working hard, but not really honoring everything I really need.

So I’ve been honoring what I really need, and it has been mind-blowing.

And I finally got that break that I told myself I would take. I stopped taking on life coaching clients, I didn’t launch the online course for moms that I was going to launch in June. I even ignored Facebook for a few months. I have grown exponentially in this time, and in a way that I had not grown for a long time.

I was completely and fully immersed in doing what I needed to feel fulfilled and gratified. It was the epitome of self-care. It was a much-needed respite.

At the beginning, I worried that I wasn’t doing enough in my “regular” life. Was I working enough? Was I being productive enough?

And then I stopped caring.

You know what?

I still made the same amount of money even though I was playing and loving life for the majority of the day.

My relationship with my kids became more connected even though I spent more time by myself during the day instead of making myself play with them.

My connection with my husband improved. Not because I was spending more time with him or having deeper conversations with him, but because I was spending more time doing what I alone wanted.

I’m spending my summer playing. The way everyone should spend their summers.

The Formula for Motherhood Bliss

I can’t wait to share with you the formula to find this within your life. Because no matter how much your kids need you, how much laundry you have to do, how long your hours are at work or how much you think a little more freedom, a little more play and a lot more pleasure is impossible for you, it’s not. Everyone can find it, and within a few months, you’ll be able to get all the secrets for filling your life with that giddy, ecstatic, blissful freedom and pleasure that every adult should have.

In the meantime, think about how you can get your much-needed break.

• What do you have to let go of?
• What are you dying to shed from your life?
• What are you dying to bring into your life?

It always seems hard to change. And it doesn’t have to be permanent. I challenge you to drop the laundry for a week. Eat grilled cheese for dinner for a couple of days so you don’t have to cook. Take a sick day and don’t do anything you’re “supposed” to do. Just do it once. I know you like a clean house. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t clean it at all. I know you try to eat healthy. I’m not saying that you’re going to eat grilled cheese for dinner for the rest of your life. I know you need to make money. I’m not saying to quit your job.

Just once. Take a break. From something. I can assure you that nothing bad will happen. The only thing you’re going to notice is that your life is going to become a lot more favorable, and you’re going to feel very content.

Hell, you might even feel pleasure. Bliss. Imagine feeling those butterflies in your stomach that come in when you feel excited to live every single day. Imagine feeling utter love for your life instead of a sheer dread every morning and massive boredom every evening. Imagine inviting intense joy into your soul every day.

I know—you’re a mom, and your kids are screaming, and you’re tired of changing diapers, and you have to put food on the table somehow.

I was there. I was overwhelmed. I was done. I was lost. I was disconnected. I was unhealthy. I was emotionally unfulfilled.

It is possible to turn that around. Even if you have kids. Even if you’re a stay at home mom. Even if you’re a working mom. Even if you feel like you have no time.

I was working 12 hour days with two kids who often came to work with me, and I was able to find it even before I took this break. But the break solidified the possibilities.

The world is your fucking oyster, ladies.

When is the last time you really felt that? Well, get ready. Life is about to begin.