Is it bad if I pick my bike over my kids?

Nope.

This summer my 12-year-old daughter looked at me and said, "Mom, I feel like you picked your bike over us."

My husband and I had decided that after four years of both of us attending every single one of our daughters' five-hour swim meets nearly every summer Saturday, we could take a divide and conquer approach.

Me, right before the Kow Town gravel race this summer, which left me feeling dead and also completely alive.

I love watching the girls swim... but I also love getting out for a long ride. So on the Saturdays he took swim team duty, I had adventures on my bike.

I told my daughter, "You're right. Today I did pick my bike over you. I love you but I wouldn't be very fun to be around if I picked you every single time. Sometimes I have to pick me."

What I hope she heard: When you grow up and you're pulled in a million different directions, go ahead and shamelessly prioritize yourself because if you don't, no one else will.

To all the women who need to hear it: Pick yourself. You deserve it.

xo,

PS You might notice my newsletter looks a little different. That’s because I moved to a different newsletter platform, Substack. You can keep reading my newsletter as you’ve been doing, in your inbox, OR you can download the Substack app or create a Substack account to read there.

PPS If you don’t want to miss my newsletters, please add me to your contacts OR if you’re a Gmail user, drag this email to “Primary” so emails from me don’t get lost in your “Promotions” or “Updates” folders.

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6 Things Worth Checking Out

If you…

• Have three minutes, this clip offers an look at some of the unexpected side effects of the new class of weight loss drugs (i.e. Wegovy, Ozempic, Mounjaro)

• Would like to read a book that might just blow your mind, All Fours by Miranda July is a novel that touches on perimenopause, female desire, marriage, motherhood, and gender norms. It’s smart, weird, and hilarious.

• Need a binge-worthy Netflix series, America’s Sweethearts could be it. I found myself enraged at the culture that has the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders jumping at the chance (pun intended) to work their asses off, starve themselves, and risk their mental health for pennies and also couldn’t help falling a little bit in love with many of the women.

• Have three minutes, I got to weigh in on my fellow writer and friend Nina Badzin’s reader question in her newsletter, Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship, on how to handle a friend who was trash talking her food choices. (Pun intended, sorry not sorry.)

• Want to laugh on September 19th and you’re in Colorado Springs: I’ll be doing standup comedy at Looney’s with Moms Unhinged

• Are interested in opportunities for midlife women in the creative arts, including writing, storytelling, comedy, and more, take a peek at Word to Your Mother, a newsletter I’m collaborating on with my fellow writer, comic, producer, and friend Stephanie Sprenger.

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Group Coaching is Here!

I’m launching a group intuitive eating coaching program for active women this fall and I would love for you to join us!

If you’re…

• Tired of stressing about food and exercise

• Sick of letting the scale determine your mood

• Wishing you could break out of the binge/restrict cycle

• Ready to experience a peaceful relationship with your body

…SAVOR is for you.

Questions? Reply to this email and ask away!

PS Pricing goes way up on 9/15