Well… life is busy. Great, happy, wonderful, and busy. I could go into great detail explaining my blogging absence, but, why waste the space. So much has happened in the last few weeks, and things don’t look to be slowing down, so I really just need to arrange my schedule and life a little differently.

However… this blog, although a week late, is to make you all jealous of my wonderful yoga retreat I go to every year. One of my besties Jen met this yoga instructor at work, they offered yoga classes there and Jen attended classes regularly. Somehow, 3 years ago she found out about this yoga retreat that the instructor holds every year. We discussed and decided to go. That moment, was one of the best decisions of my life.  Jen and I are by far the two youngest at this retreat, but, we don’t care. It’s not held at some big center, it’s not advertised and is small and intimate. To me, it is perfect and every year, happens at the time in life where you truly need to refocus your energies and care for yourself. 

A wonderful lady that the instructor knows owns a house near Dewey Beach, DE. Two weekends a year she allows the yoga instructor to invite others in (for a fee, we don’t get this awesomeness for free) and have a yoga retreat. There are 8 of us total. We go to dinner the first night, then, spend the weekend being pampered and loved. Massages, naps, reading, amazing food, beach, pool, yoga, and entertainment compose the schedule. Really, what else do you need? Although all of those trappings are nice and the house is beyond beautiful… the true beauty, the one thing I look forward to all year is the amazing women that I see every year. Sure a face or two change maybe, but in general, it’s the same group. We catch up on each others’ lives, we celebrate ourselves, we remember that we too are important and need to be cared for. Jen and I often say it is a weekend filled with mom love for us, and we love every moment of it. EVERY MOMENT. As proof, when I gave the Matron of Honor speech at Jen’s rehearsal dinner, I closed the speech with the words of the song we end our retreat with every year. Those moments, I truly treasure every single one.

This retreat every year helps to bring me back to myself. I am a person who thrives on being constantly busy. The more you want to throw on my plate, fine… it will get done. I am constantly on the go, I work, I take classes, I care for my dogs, train for half marathons, volunteer. Idle time seems weird to me. That’s where this weekend comes in to play. I sit still. I do not feel weird being idle. I enjoy quality time with wonderful people just being in the moment. No schedules, I don’t even keep my phone on me (normally the phone is an extension of my body). I sit on the beach, or by the pool or lay on the couch… I just relax, refocus and regroup. I remember that without self care, I am useless. Interestingly, I always leave there and feel overly emotional for a few days after. More in tune with everything I guess. But, I feel better, more myself.

My husband realizes the importance of this weekend for me. Seriously. I moved out here one month before the first retreat. We have continuously budgeted for me to not only attend, but fly cross-country to do so (I love him even more for this). I have been home from this retreat for 8 days and I miss it and the ladies already. I am already counting the days until next year.

So, my goal this year is to remember ALL year, not just part of the year… that I am important. That I need to care for myself, love myself, and be kind to myself. Ignoring this will only cause a risk of burnout, stress, fatigue and exhaustion. My request for all of you, is that you do the same. Take care of you!