I must say before your program I was unclear of what direction my life was going. So I signed up for your Jumpstart Your Mom Life program to help me redefine my life. This was one of my defining moments in my life. This program helped me get laser focused on ways I can improve my life by taking several tiny steps for one major step. Working with Jacqueline Miller has been phenomenal. She knows how to make you dissect your goals and create monumental wins. Thank you again, Jacqueline Miller. I appreciate everything you have done for me.”

The date stamp on this testimonial was 2/29/16. It came from an amazing woman, in the midst of building a new business. Excited about the possibilities for her new life, and as she stated, her focus was becoming laser-sharp.

However, as a Mom, she struggled like most of us to keep it all together. Wanting to do it all. Fear of missing out or being declared “less than” as a woman, Mom, partner, employee. You know, that tricky, frustrating thing called work-life balance. I like to call it finding healthy harmony. No matter the name, no matter the title, it’s something that many women find daunting. In our attempt to be all things to all people, we often find ourselves neglecting self. Guilty of running on empty, while we emphatically focus on everyone else being full. It’s kind of ironic that as I create this post, I have sitting behind me a ceramic plate that I made at a pottery class more than a decade ago. During a time when I was guilty of neglecting self-care, and the consequences left me experiencing some frightening times. I guess God wasn’t finished with me because he has kept me around and is blessing me with the opportunity to follow my dreams. Empowering Moms to create the life of their dreams. Unapologetically.

On this plate I painted a statement that was then and still is my mantra, “ Live each day as if it were your last, for tomorrow is promised to no one.” This statement seems so much like common sense for most of us, as we understand that our life span is indeed finite. Yet many of us get caught up in the “one day” or “some day” planning process, as if it is not. We witness friends and loved ones departing this earth almost on a daily basis, yet we rarely consider our own mortality. As if we’re going to be the exception when God calls our name. Which is why I wonder what if anything this amazing woman might she have done differently, had she known that less than five months after penning the beautiful testimony about me, that her earthly days would come to an abrupt and tragic end. At the youthful age of 42, she left behind three beautiful children and countless friends who miss her dearly.

I wonder what items that seemed important at the time on her to-do list would have been crossed off, in favor of others? Who would have gotten a hug, a phone call or a visit, that she probably figured she could put off until…well, one day? Which of those busy mornings might she have taken an extra hour to lay in bed and sleep, or what evening at the end of a long day would she have opted for a nice hot bath, instead of working a job that was funding her dream business as it was being built? Healthy harmony. Had she neglected to find it in lieu of being the Super Woman that so many of us strive to be? Fear of missing out. I wonder as the last breath left her body if she had any regrets or wishes for do-overs. I can only wonder, while I truly wish that I could ask her these questions myself. But I can’t, and that saddens me beyond words. Her passing is indeed a reminder of my mantra. A reminder of how important it is for us to take time out for ourselves. Failure to do so comes with consequences, and many of them are life-altering, if not life-ending. Which is why I must ask you, when was the last time you took some time just for you?
To get a massage, read a book – just for fun, create a vision board, go to yoga, or have drinks with a friend? To simply be still?
You probably can’t remember, now can you?
Which is why I am inviting you to carve out some ME TIME – starting now.
Join me for 25 days of self-care tips, quotes and affirmations to help you jumpstart your Journey Back To You.
I challenge you to begin living a life of no regret. A life filled with no “one day” or “some day” B.S.
No Mom guilt. No apologies. No cost. It’s FREE! http://bit.ly/SelfLoveForYou