I was recently introduced to the Ojibway poet Richard Wagamese, and was reading his book of meditations entitled Embers, when I came across this one …

It’s actually not that difficult. Like most things in life, if you just do it, it’s done.

So today, when the hubby took the kids out for a midday bike ride, I sat on the floor of my closet, plugged in the microphone, and pressed record. Voilá.

In case you missed it, I thought I'd give you a peek inside the course. Feel free to forward this post to another mama you might know who needs to hear these (tongue-very-much-in-cheek) affirmations. Because we can't take ourselves too seriously, can we?

You’ll notice the September issue is/was my last. Lest you think my love of this neighborhood ended with this departure, I thought I would let you know in no uncertain terms, it has not. 

This is it, she said to herself at the beginning of the year, when life as we used to know it still existed, this is the year the magic will happen. 

She’d been telling herself this for the last few years, but there were always excuses. The children were too young; they needed her attention; she was never 100% sure of what it was she wanted to do; but whatever it was, she probably needed another degree, a few more initials after her name; why would anyone listen to her anyway; and wasn’t she getting a little too old to start something new, especially if it required her to be some sort of expert? 

But she was growing increasingly tired of those voices. And so, she pulled the trigger. 

So I’ve had something up my sleeve for what seems like forEVER … and this year, I finally decided to GO FOR IT. I haven’t really talked about it much because those niggling voices in my head have just been so damn loud - you know the ones, maybe you have them too? - The ones that tell me I can’t do this, that I’m not qualified enough, that I don’t have enough letters behind my name, or enough experience, or that people will think I’m foolish, or that X, or that Y, or that ad infinitum …