IRL BEATS URL
HOW WE MADE THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE
Hey, mamas. Anna here.
Two years ago, Sarah made me her Luscious Partner. One year ago we gathered in Charlotte with six other women who would become our other co-founders. And though we reside all over this land from Seattle to Charlotte to Portland, Maine, we made a vow to gather on the regular: quarterly for work training, and at our biannual in-person retreats for moms. Connection and togetherness were non-negotiables.
Until March. We all know what happened next. Cut to: months of zooming, webinars, Face Times, and all the on-screen self examination a girl could ask for.
What the eff is happening to my neck? Do I need a ring light? Do I need a facelift? Why is no one else’s face moving? Did they get botox? I wasn't listening; what did she say?
And though we are all trained coaches with years of Zoom leadership skills, far ahead of our time, we just couldn't create an I.R.L. facsimile that filled our need for true human connection. It just wasn't the same. Sarah and I began to bicker. To snipe. We never had enough time to get on top of our growing “to-do” list. We weren’t showing up as our best selves and we sure as heck weren’t bringing vats of inspiration to our team. “This is supposed to be fun,” Sarah said to me, “And it isn’t feeling very fun, is it?” No. It wasn’t.
For months we had been lamenting that we “couldn’t” travel. That we “wouldn’t be able to” make it work. It seemed scary and impossible to coordinate. But we missed each other. We needed to be together to reignite our passions, to step out of our day-to-day cycle of overwhelm, and breathe. Oh, and also work our buns off. We had Luscious stuff in the works and, pandemic be damned, mothers need support now more than ever!
And so? We did it. We cleared our schedules for one week. Secured an AirBnB in Asheville, not far from Sarah’s homestead. I bubble-wrapped myself in PPE and flew nonstop from Portland to Charlotte Douglas Airport where Sarah met me with a car full of groceries. It was five blissful, hilarious days of full-on power work with some hiking, yoga, meditation, evening Netflix binging and a splash or two of wine and bourbon for good measure.
We laughed, we cried, we flipped each other the bird twenty times a day over our laptops, we slayed our “to-do” list, worked on our book, renewed our partner vows and busted each other’s metaphorical balls non-stop. And even now as my husband and I are spending all week sleeping in separate rooms and wearing masks around the house until I can get clear of this self-imposed quarantine (I refuse to be the super-spreader who ruins Maine’s hard one green coronavirus rating) I can still say it was SO VERY worth the effort. It was Luscious AF.
And if we had let our fear or the impossibility of it get in the way, it wouldn’t have happened.
We made the seemingly impossible possible. Was it easy? NO! Was it worth it? YES!!! Even with so many fears, oodles of obstacles, and myriad reasons to push off plans or set our needs aside, so many things are still possible. It takes creativity, energy, determination, and ohbytheway, SO MUCH SUPPORT (in our case fromour husbands and some gold star grandparents) but hear me now, my Luscious sisters:
WORTH
THE
TROUBLE
Mamas, what are you putting off or denying yourself that might be worth the trouble? What do you really really need most? What is the experience you’d most like to be having right now, despite all of the forces of pandemics, politics and small people pervading your proximity? And more importantly: How can we help you get some more Luscious in your life?
Don’t forget: You can do ANYthing. You are a mother.
So much love,
Anna & Sarah
