I’ve been chatting away here for weeks about what Life After Kids can look like for you.  If I haven’t yet convinced you that this can be an amazingly exciting time in your life, it’s time for you to start believing!   

We’re now well into October.  Let’s do some backtracking.  Your kids are out of the house – as in off to college, moved away from home.   You’re still Mom, but your job description has changed significantly.  You’re having a morning cup of coffee in a very quiet house and you’re back to that question of … now what?   You’ve spent some time paying attention to all those “murmurings” while thinking about your new job description.  Asking the questions.  Who am I?  What do I want to be spending my time doing?  Ideas start popping into your head and you realize this is kind of a magical time.  A clean slate!  Possibilities!

Time goes on with your envisioning process and you’re starting to get some answers to those questions.  There are light bulbs. Little sparks.  Maybe even big sparks!

And then, you get stuck.  Why?  Because after you focus in on an idea, a dream, something you might like to explore, the very next thing that is going to pop into your head is … “that sounds so exciting, but there’s no way I can make that happen.  I can’t do that because ______________.” Fill in the blank.  Because WHY NOT?

This is where you get to start working on those believing muscles and it’s a two-part deal!

Part One:  Start believing in you.  This is the first time in your life that you’ve had wide-open spaces.  Grab them and let’s roll! Don’t even stop to think about whether you deserve this.  The answer is YES, and we’ll be talking about that more in upcoming posts.

Part Two:  You’ve got to believe that you have everything you need to figure out a way to make those dreams of yours come true! You’re a mom.   You’re already clearly an expert at advocating, motivating, inspiring, encouraging, nurturing, protecting, ram-rodding, cheer leading and accountability.  That’s just the tip of the iceberg.  You’ve perfected all these skills and done them for your kids for how many years?  Now do it for you!  Take those same skills and BELIEVE that you’re going to find a way to make your dream(s) happen!

It will take patience, perseverance, positivity and focus (more skills that you have because you’re a mom!)  The path to get from where you are today to where you want that dream to take you will likely not be a straight path.  There will be ups and downs. Your job for this week is to BELIEVE.  Awareness comes first.  Change, (which you’re going to create) comes second.  Get ready. Talk to you next week!

Your biggest fan,

Jean

Image:  Sightseeing in Moscow after a successful climb of Mt. Elbrus (18,510 ft).  One of the Seven Summits and the highest mountain in Europe and Russia.  I believed in my dream!