The other day, I visited a friend at her home and found her putting flower stickers all over her bike. My heart leapt at the sweetness of it, and I immediately wanted to put flower stickers all over my bike, too! My friend, an intuitive soul, insisted that I take her leftover flower stickers home with me and go put them on my bike that I ride almost every day around town.
And that’s what I did. I cannot tell you how much delight I have gotten this week by putting flower stickers all over my blue bike!
Here’s what I know to be true. The moment I saw her bike, there was an instant soul lift, a recognition of a part of myself that I’ve missed. The part that is more vigilant about creating experiences that fill me up. The part of myself that is fiercely protective of my spark and keeping it lit. The part of myself that thrives on consciously creating beauty everywhere.
Little moments like this are happening a lot these days. I can feel myself emerging from a fog, reconnecting with the essence of my spirit in small and big ways.
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As I navigate midlife, one thing becoming clear is that it’s an opportunity to resurrect vibrant parts of ourselves that have been a little dormant. And even better? We get to merge them with the current parts of ourselves that have gained so much wisdom through the years.
It sort of feels like a marriage, like finding a partner we simply cannot live without, the love so strong. Yes, just like that. I am falling in love with the parts of myself that I have dearly missed. She puts flower stickers on her bike, listens to blues music in the mornings, takes her journal everywhere, lights a candle every morning, phones her friends often, tells the truth even when it’s hard, makes her spaces beautiful with vintage finds, paints her fingernails, visit thrift stores on the regular, and makes plans for having FUN.
And now, here we are, the me that I’ve missed and the late 40s something I am today. We’re recoupling, enthusiastically dating, and I’m certain we’ll remarry. It feels really, really special. And, like any great love, I’m excited about who we’ll become in our wisdom years. All I know is there will be beauty, truth, and a lot of flowers.
Another thing I know to be true: One of the gifts of friendship in midlife and beyond is that our friends, whether new or coming back around after many years, have the potential to remind us of who we want to be and what we already love about ourselves. Oh, right! I’m the kind of person that puts stickers on her bike. There I am! Oh right! I’m a woman who wears really funky glasses and red shoes. There I am! They are our mirrors, our great reminders of what is true and amazing about ourselves.
Speaking of friendship, one of my most beloved friends, Andrea Scher, and I have teamed up to offer a course all about friendship! We’re calling it The Friendship Course! We already have the most wonderful cohort of women joining and YOU are officially invited!
How do we find friends in midlife and beyond?
How do we cultivate deeper connections with those we already have in our lives?
How do we repair or let go of friendships that don’t feel quite right?
These are the kind of juicy topics we will explore over the course of 6 weeks together. It’s all LIVE, or if you prefer, you can watch the recordings in our classroom.
Either way, The Friendship Course is devoted to helping you nurture, deepen and spark beautiful friendships.
This course is for you if…
- You want to spark beautiful new friendships that will go the distance.
- You want to let go of the friendships that no longer serve you and tend to the ones that do.
- You want to uplevel your existing friendships and make them even more amazing.
- You’re finding it difficult to make new friends these days.
- You miss your people + you want to reconnect in new + meaningful ways.
- You want to have more fun + friend magic in your life.
You are meant to have thriving friendships!
JUST found your blog. It is wonderful! I am going to binge read and, I’m sure, enjoy every second. I live in the Black Hills of South Dakota in a little home of 960 square feet packed to the core! I just love everything and can’t bear to let go of what I love. Love your home, by the way.