In the race to get back to normal, I feel like everyone is feeling the pull in every direction. The times we spent cherishing our families, and being worried and cautious about the unknown had us relying on the people who were present. Our inner most circle. The ones we wanted to survive with, and for.

Now that the world seems to be as back to normal as it can be, I can’t help but notice, things are not, in fact, the way they once were.

There was no guidance, no lectures, no classes on how to get back to normal. Sure, wash your hands, when you’re here it’s 6 feet but when sitting it’s 3. 14 days 10 days, no wait 5. Wear your mask but only here and not when you’re standing. It was pretty much all they cared to talk about. And blah. Blah. Blah.

But what about our heads? What about our hearts? What about our functioning skills? What about the people who loved others hard through it? What about the people who lost their jobs? Were forced to stop working, lost businesses? What about the people who said goodbye to loved ones over FaceTime and nobody even cares about that or any of the shit that came from it anymore?

Why are we all, always so damn rushed. To move on? Speaking for myself here, but honestly I’ve never felt more overwhelmed in my life. Everything feels a bit harder. More challenging. Now if you know me, you know by now I am fully aware that the world and the country and most states are still an absolute shit show, but I’m talking about the day to day inside our own homes and circles.

Waking up in a world that is so broken every day and trying to have the skills to raise happy, healthy kids with a sense of wonder and happiness, seems impossible. Every day it’s something else that we have to add in to do. Shit, even as a woman I’m supposed to have a perfect body, a perfect home, my kids in matching pajamas for every holiday, make a ton of money, and throw Pinterest worthy parties on my day off. On top of that I’m supposed to drink half my body weight in water, 3 glasses of milk from my local farmer, and only wash my body and my laundry with organic products because literally everything is killing us.

I’m tired. There I said it. And I know you are too. In the world of social media and comparing and all that, I am blissfully and respectfully bowing out. I always thought I wanted the Chip and Jojo worthy kitchen – and turns out I identify more with the people who have chickens in their kitchen instead. I get it, we are all doing the best we can but the best doesn’t need to be perfect. The thought of being perfect is an end game goal, and I’m nowhere close to the end. So I’ll just keep doing life, with the fun, the adventures and the messes along the way to this “perfect” I see online. One day I will be able to look back on this time and say I mainly controlled the chaos, but when the chaos controlled me – It didn’t break me. It redirected me.

There are people out there going through some heavy, heavy shit. Divorce. New diagnoses. Heartbreak. Lives of solitude. Grieving. The loss of a loved one, a job, a marriage. And worse. Then there is war and inflation, food and formula shortages and farmers facing hardship. There are so many horrible things that go on in this world every second and I didn’t even touch on the worst ones. And yet, people are still too guarded to lend a word or a hand in help. Let these people know that new things can be scary, but also be beautiful. That if they have to battle something, they’ll never have to go it alone. Be a lamp, a lifeboat or a ladder, because that’s what we all need. To strip it back down to the fundamentals of what humans are here for!

So as usual, my message is simple. Our language IS love. We all need to share it a little more than we do. What are we all so scared of? Love is the closest thing we have to magic, so why don’t we just let it out? Be kind to yourself. Love yourself. Be kind to and love your neighbor. Love your siblings. Go for a walk with your mom after work if you’re lucky enough to do that. Hug your babies. Hug yourself. Be with the people who make you feel nice inside. Seriously, waaaaay more of that. I met a new friend last year who said to me “I’ll hang out every day if you want to, I just adore you” and I loved that so much because why do we need to starve ourselves of feeling those connections? Those instant clicks? Those forever friends you never knew until now!! I could go on, but really we just need to be nice; and think twice and maybe even three times before we judge or act or speak. People are spent. Let’s collectively sigh and deposit some light back in. 👑

This week, in my mother’s honor I made the time to write this. For myself and for her and for the promise I made to myself to be a better person and live out loud, for her. The week leading up to this holiday always hurts. And I miss her no less than the first Mother’s Day I spent without her. This week, and every other week of every year, someone is facing a battle you might not understand or even notice. And this is why it’s important to always be kind. But what’s also important, is to learn and understand that it is OKAY to protect yourself in this cold world. If a vibe is off, if you find yourself questioning sincerity or have a gut feeling about something; trust that. You have to actually, especially when you have a heart of gold ☀️ Happy happy Mother’s Day to all the mamas out there doing the hard and holy work. I love being a mom so much, it’s the most amazing job in the whole world.