Raven’s Grotto © lynette sheppard
It’s been a hectic couple of months since I posted a blog entry. And if you are as busy as I know you have been, it’s probably been a relief not to read the blog – hey, you can catch up later. I took a break from thinking about, writing about, and generally experiencing the Big M.
While we can’t always “take a break” from the Pause, we can make sure we treat ourselves to some nurturing time, some time just for ourselves. Whether it’s a spa day or a weekend away or just a bubble bath with the door locked, we NEED this time for our very sanity.
Theresa Venus and I have been flat out with work and enjoyment. We went to Iceland with our husbands – wow, what a beautiful, wild, and wonderful landscape. We’ve had grandkid time, gone to concerts, and worked on home improvement.
That said, we were missing some time for re-creation. So we flew off to Flagstaff, Arizona to meet with our writing coach and mentor Mary Sojourner. We had the goal to improve our writing but our overarching desire was to just hang out and BE. We dubbed it the “Write and Sleep” retreat.
We stayed in a beautiful little cottage (more on that in another post soon), filled the fridge with healthy food, and settled in. Mary came to inspire and teach us each day. We didn’t get out of our pajamas the whole first day. Girlfriend time might just be the most rejuvenating time of all.
We credit our Menopause Goddess group with getting us through the pause and helping us to craft a vibrant Second Act. We can’t recommend it enough. And if you want to create your own group, just enter How to Create a Menopause Goddess group in the search box on the blog site and three posts will walk you through it.
However, if schedules and life keep you from getting an entire group together, it’s worth going away for a day, a weekend, or a week with a girlfriend who understands you. After our couple of days focused on creativity and relaxation, we felt like we’d been away for a week. We’ve come back rested and ready to fling ourself into our busy lives with renewed purpose and energy.
So here’s our prescription for the summer busyness: Give yourself a break – from Menopause and stress. Enjoy some girlfriend time. It may not diminish hot flashes or brain fog or the other myriad symptoms of the Big M, but it will pay huge dividends in peace and recharging of your internal batteries. Tell us how you filled this prescription and how it worked for you, here in the comments.
