While I’m not much of an astrologer, I do enjoy catching little bits here and there to help make sense of my life.

The last full moon, the big blue super moon, held a defining moment for me. One where I listened to myself and really solidified my inner voice.

That moon just so happened to have come one week after Mercury went retrograde. When Mercury is retrograde, it is a good time to reflect upon and reevaluate one’s life, one’s priorities and take a moment to look ahead but not to take any actual action. It is nice to have a reason not to jump on an impulse buy or to make any sort of regrettable decision and to actually take a moment to be mindful in the next step.

The new moon is happening on the 14th and Mercury is getting out of retrograde (i.e., going back to normal). The new moon is a great time to set intentions and start making moves so that by the next full moon, we are seeing the fruits of our intentions. The fact that Mercury is coming out of retrograde makes it even more significant.

I love how the moon and planets seem to be co-creating with me. I feel like that’s how it can be for all of us and how it has been for those of us who’ve come before.

I used the term “cut your losses” in conversation with my husband, and it was so funny- he had the opposite interpretation of “cut your losses” than the one I had intended.

Losses are really subject to the opinion of the individual.

When making a decision, we can cut our losses and choose two (or more) complete different choices because the way we see loss is really based on what we value and from what perspective we see loss.

While at my town dump over the weekend, I stopped at “The Swap,” a place where the townspeople drop off their usable but no longer needed things. It’s a treasure trove of houseware, electronics, toys, bikes and so much more!

I perused the book section and found what sounded like a light and fun fictional read called The Arrangement. Since devouring Lessons in Chemistry at the end of August, I haven’t touched any adult fiction.

Today, I took some quiet time in the afternoon and dove into the new book. I took a break now and will finish before I close my eyes for bed.

I have a few indulgences in life – my top two are probably chocolate and food competition shows. After reading these two books, I think I have really been depriving myself by not reading fiction.

As a kid, I would borrow stacks of books from the library, walk home with a full backpack and proceed to read endlessly until the stacks were done. That seems to be the energy we could all use more of in this life. Funny enough, the book is about a couple who plan to have an open marriage for 6 months and one of the characters realize how they are able to reclaim the “juicy” parts of life through their arrangement.

I’m feeling like these books are bringing back some juiciness to my life.

Fiction feels like an escape and the indulgence part comes in when it feels a little bit like maybe I shouldn’t.

But we all deserve a bit of escape and the voices in our heads telling us we don’t need to or don’t deserve to are not serving us.

If you have such voices running in your mind, DM me to set up a consult call. You are allowed to have a good life. A fun one. One where you are engaged and lit up. One where you can indulge.

It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks of you.

It doesn’t matter if someone thinks you are the smartest and most clever person they know.

It doesn’t matter if someone praises all the choices you have made from the car you drive to the paint color of your house.

It doesn’t matter if someone sees you as a perfect role model showing how to lead a rich life.

It does not matter what other people think because if you are that easily influenced by what others think, you are not solid within yourself.

To keep it short and simple – it means shit if others think you are great, smart, capable, etc. and you don’t already believe it for yourself.

As I wrap up this first week of school, I have nothing but pride and gratitude in my heart.

Parenting is the wild wild west – uncharted territory that tests us to the bounds of our abilities to be patient, navigate uncertainty and separate ourselves from the “outcome.”

Because there is no “achievement” in parenting. While I am proud this week, I am not proud because my kids made me feel good about me. I’m proud because they have handled so much themselves. Yes, I supported them and that should never be absent but the pride is not how I influenced them. It is that they stayed true to who they are throughout a huge time of transition.

Just as parenthood tests us, our children are in the tests of their lifetimes thus far. Childhood tests their abilities to be patient, navigate uncertainty and separate themselves from the “outcome.”