A Secret to Success as a Working Mom: Turn Burn Out Into Bliss and Embrace Joy

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Last weekend my youngest was committed to going to the "Water Steps" a man-made water fall in Pittsburgh by the rivers. (Fun Fact: Three rivers converge in Pittsburgh--The Ohio River, The Monongahela River, and the Allegheny River.)  He kept asking. I knew he was serious when he said, "If you won't take me, I'll ask  daddy!" Given that it was highly unlikely that would happen on an unscheduled day, I relented. So, we went. It wasn’t planned in the way most things in my life are. No calendar block. No checklist. No “productive” purpose attached. And, so in some respects it was uncomfortable. And yet, it seemed necessary. It was the idea of my 8-year-old—offered with the kind of urgency only children possess when something is profoundly important to them.
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The Lessons of Strangers...

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I did not leave my heart in San Francisco, but I did learn some heart lessons on my vacation...

My friend always counsels me against talking to strangers. I’d listen to her if I didn’t learn so damned much from the strangers that I meet. Indeed, a stranger motivated me to start this blog while I was returning from my Cabo vacation last year. Interestingly enough, in San Francisco some strangers really taught me something.

On this vacation, I learned to follow my heart instead of holding back. I observed a couple who was into one another and oblivious to the world. I met a woman who was on her fourth marriage and still hadn’t given up on love. I also met someone else whose matter of fact approach to life inspired me in a way that familiarity could not. For someone struggling to find her own path these strangers taught me an important lesson.

I could bore you with the details of that lesson, but certain things a lady never tells--not because they are salacious, but because they are secrets. Anyway, the details aren't important. What's important is that I have learned, I have grown, and I have been liberated.

They say that we only regret the things that we haven't done. Until now, I have said "no" more often than I have said "yes". That practice has caused me to have many regrets. I am now committed to doing more and regretting less. Let’s hope that my courage continues, beyond vacation.

So here I am, post San Francisco, full of hope and satisfaction. Thanks to all of the strangers for the lesson…


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