In today’s post we’ll chat thru…

① A little BACKSTORY on WHY I hosted a GIRLS WEEKEND
② What I LEARNED from bringing 7 STRANGERS TOGETHER
③ How YOU can join me for my NEXT GIRLS WEEKEND/RETREAT 🌴☀️✌🏼

LET’S DIVE IN. 🖤

Hello hello friends! I’m really pumped for today’s conversation bc it’s more of a peel back into what’s going on in life and lessons I’m learning in real time.

Last month I had the most epic girls weekend for my 40th birthday. One that I needed a hot minute to marinate on before I could share it in this space. It was seriously that good. And. One that solidified the direction I’m going in this space with all of YOU. I’m just so inspired by that weekend (and we’ll get to why in a sec)…but it just reminded me that we need MORE OPPORTUNITIES for women to take an EXHALE and surround themselves in loving, inspiring, , supportive, + safe / judgement free conversation. I know today is going to resonate with you esp if you’ve found yourself in spaces lately that feel draining for your spirit. Who we surround ourselves with matters, friends. And what gets our YES also matters so so much. ….

So let’s dive in. 🖤

A LITTLE BACKSTORY…

I’ve had this narrative for a long time that I’m a bad “girl” friend. You might relate to this, but growing up it felt like girls were either in competition with one another or just really freaking complicated to be friends with. I always gravitated toward male relationships - whether straight or gay - bc men were just EASIER to get along with. It might be bc I had two older brothers and more male energy around me at most times, but IDK…girl friendships always felt “hard” and this is what I told myself any time I found myself at the end of another friend break up.

Girls are just hard to be friends with.

Then pair that with my biggest fear being abandonment (which we talked about in a previous episode) and I wore “independent woman” as a badge of honor for a long time.

But God’s been working on my heart. And this space is one of those things I feel like is a HUGE PIECE of my healing journey. To create something called a “sisterhood” when that’s the complete opposite of what I’ve gravitated towards my whole life is kinda humorous. But it’s something I’ve been missing and it’s something I’ve been craving.

HONEST. RAW. VULNERABLE. HEALING. AND LOVING CONVERSATIONS THAT HELP US REALIZE WE AREN’T ALONE.

So a little more backstory…a few years back for my husband Charlie’s 40th we threw him an amazing party with friends and family from all over coming to celebrate him. I knew when my 40th came I wanted something like that but as it got closer and closer my inner mean girl would remind me that I’m not a good friend and that I don’t really have friends. I started to think that girl friends were hard and I got hyper focused on all the friends I have mourned saying goodbye to over the years…even though they are very much alive.

SIDE NOTE. IDK who needs to hear this but grief is a real + ESSENTIAL thing. Even if you’re grieving the loss over someone who is very much alive and very much posted to their stories this morning. I guess I thought I would reach a point in adulthood that I wouldn’t “lose” friends anymore and I think that was just me, not knowing what I didn’t know. Friendship break ups are real. And it’s okay to spend time mourning the loss over someone who is still alive but no longer a part of your life.

So yeah…somewhere along the way I started to compare my husbands relationships with mine and mine just felt really broken…so it felt like maybe I should just hide my way into my 40’s. Deep down, though, I knew that wasn’t serving me and I’m sure you can find times in your life (maybe even right now) where you’ve hidden bc you don’t want to face the hurt that is very much possible when you open yourself up.

Here’s the thing I need you to know. LOVE ANYWAY. Even if you’ve been hurt…OPEN UP ANYWAY. Because when you close yourself off to being hurt, you also close yourself off to the chance of being loved. You can’t protect yourself here. It’s a BOTH AND situation. To love is to feel hurt. To not feel pain is to simply numb out.

And bc deep down I wanted to love anyway, I decided to create a weekend where I smashed the lie that I’m not a good friend in the face. I decided to plan a girls weekend (literally something I’ve NEVER done) with women from every season of my life who have stuck with me thru it all bc they’re there. Women who have been a woven piece of my story and growth thru every decade. Women who’ve loved every version of me…no matter time. No matter distance. Women who ALSO I need to mention…had never met one another.

Ya’ll. It. Was. Magical. Seriously. I can’t get over it.

Seeing them seamlessly go into deep conversation with one another. Women sharing their unique perspectives and a safe space to lean into understanding and growth without having to agree. It was powerful. My favorite part of the whole weekend was standing back and watching THEM open up and share their stories…stories I’ve heard privately…stories they felt safe to share. And in those stories we held space for our hurts, feelings, and journeys. And it was in those stories that I think one by one, we began to realize that we’re not all that alone…we were able to support + empower each other right where we were at. Zero judgement. Zero shame. Only love, light, and the reminder to keep on going.

Let me give you some examples of how our lives layered upon one anothers’ and how yours might fit in here somehow:

Women who are not yet mamas - one who desperately wants to be and feels like maybe she’s broken or missed her chance and another who is trying to figure out what her life is supposed to look like, even if that’s different from what society tells us to do.
Women who recently adopted and navigating the reality that now you have a baby and you didn’t have 9 months to prep.
Women who have littles and are trying to soak up the goodness of the season but are also so so tired.
Women who have sassy young ladies who wonder if they are making the right decisions bc their friends moms parent differently.
Women who have all boys and haven’t taken a freaking breath or paused in probably 14 years.
Women who’s kids are all grown up and it’s really freaking weird bc they were literally bringing them home from the hospital yesterday…and also praying they truly did raise them well.

I asked each woman what her favorite part of her unique season was and what the most challenging aspect is. The answers were so beautiful - But the atmosphere was even more so. No fixing. Just heads nodding. Ears listening. Mouths saying “hold on it won’t always be like this.” And arms offering a warm embrace.

Did I say it was magical? Bc it was.

WHAT I LEARNED BY PUTTING 7 WOMEN WHO WERE STRANGERS IN A ROOM…

So what did I learn by putting 7 women who began as strangers into an AirBnB for the weekend?

Well. I learned that we NEED this. We need the space to take an exhale. We need the environment to cultivate peace and authenticity. We need movement. We need good food and good conversation. We need to pause and catch a sunset just because. We need no agenda. Open days and allowing it to lead us. We need rest and no alarm clocks. We need sunshine on our face. We need bravery. And we need a tribe of people that will remind us of the TRUTH in how they see us…bc we are our own worst enemies. We see the worst in ourselves when others see what’s so so good in us. Get people around you that can remind you of YOUR GOOD.

And bc I know we NEED this more than ever…I’ve been inspired to host an INTIMATE RETREAT open to the woman who is ready to SAY YES TO HERSELF. Is that you?

The initial planning stages are taking place as we speak…it’s gonna be epic, ya’ll. Check it out: 🌴☀️✌🏼

Tampa FL.
This September
4 days of GROWTH, MOVEMENT, HEALING, DREAMING BIG, AND SAYING YES TO YOU.
It will be ALL INCLUSIVE (minus the travel to get to and from the AirBnB)
And there will ONLY BE 10 spots available.

So. If this is something you feel like you NEED in your life…getting in a space around other women who are RISING UP TO THEIR GREATEST POTENTIAL and empowering one another in the process + with your example…then you’re gonna want to get on my INTEREST LIST. Remember. I’m only taking the first 10 people who commit to register so you’ll want on the interest list bc YOU will be the first I reach out to to claim a spot when registration officially opens. You can do that HERE.

JOIN US FOR THE FIRST SISTERHOOD RETREAT

I know I say it all the time in this space that you have to CREATE WHAT YOU CRAVE and this girls weekend was me taking a bit of my own advice. If I want a girls weekend…I’m fully capable of creating a girls weekend. If I want to believe a new truth about myself…I am fully responsible for creating that truth and owning it. The same is true for you, friends. You have to CREATE WHAT YOU CRAVE but also…you gotta smash the lies in their face. If you keep looping things about yourself that aren’t actually true, it’s time to prove yourself wrong. And you don’t even have to host a girls weekend…it might just be a text you send. Or changing the station on your inner playlist to something more empowering.

And honestly…the girls weekend was the PERFECT REMINDER for me that this is what I know I’m called to do. Bringing women together. In community. In conversation. Just like HERE. And…it was the beautiful reminder I needed that I am, in fact, a good freaking friend.

Alright friends…that’s my little inspo quickie for you this week. A little motivation that you don’t have to believe those lies if they’re no longer for you. Be sure to tap on the subscribe button, share this episode with your friends + followers, and let me know on social what you needed to hear MOST. I LOVE seeing the ah-ha’s you’re having each week and I love growing our toolbox of resources TOGETHER. Until next week…I wanna encourage you to lean into your bravery. Smash that lie you’ve been holding onto. Take a moment to rest + breathe + exhale. Get in some yummy movement and nourishing food. Support yourself and support others. You never know what it will do for your spirit. 🖤🤟🏼

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