Hi friends. I hope it’s been a good week for you. If I am honest about where I’m at right now…treading water. I have a lot on my plate this summer professionally between the yoga teacher training that I am taking, planning for the yoga teacher training that I am leading this fall and preparing for the app launch on top of my regular online work, yoga teacher and personal training.
While I’m definitely in treading water territory, I’m doing so with a smile on my face and an abundance of gratitude and happiness in my heart. It’s a busy and full career season – but it feels good to be here after spending most of 2022 focused on family/personal hard stuff. Life always has hard stuff to hand us and I’ve come to realize the power in how you choose to see it. This is all figure-outable and and good problems to have.
Here’s a look at what the week has looked like over here!
LAST WEEKEND
Friday night family walk with Finn and the pups. We did three sunset miles and it was just perfect.
Saturday morning at the Matthews Community Farmers Market. My mom tagged along for our outing.
Followed by a donut date at OMG Donuts. Finn went to be with his dad around lunch and then I took my mom to the airport to head home to Florida.
Sunday morning trail run with a friend. It was 91 degrees for this run and the shade of the trails and company of a friend definitely made it more doable. I actually felt great during and after the run. I just made sure to double up on hydration and electrolytes for the rest of the afternoon…which involved more sun sitting by the pool and then a video shoot for the app.
THE WORK WEEK
This week I taught five yoga classes and did 14 personal training sessions. I love the in-person work that I do and it totally fills me up and inspires me for the online work that I do but 20 hours of in-person stuff is a lot when you factor in the prep and drive time on top of the classes/sessions.
After taking 5+ years of hiatus from personal training after having Finn and the pandemic, it has been so great to be back at it. And it is ABUNDANT! I have a full book of incredible clients and I’m fielding daily DMs and emails from prospective clients. I have the hardest time saying no because it is just so rewarding to do this one-on-one deep work of helping people feel strong and confident in their bodies.
I am also #BLESSED to work for the best gym in Charlotte at Metro Fitness Club. Our facility is top-notch, our training staff is bananas talented and our ownership/leadership is phenomenal. For example, I sat down with the owner of our gym a couple of weeks ago for a touch-base and his first question was about what was going on with me, my goals and how Metro could support that. And I’m an independent contractor!
One thing I appreciate so damn much about being self-employed is that I can work my schedule so that I have 13-hour days when Finn’s not with me but can be done at 1p when he is. I picked him up from a camp program that he’s attending at 1p today and we spent the afternoon running errands…which includes a cookie date!
We also popped into the pet store for dog food and got some bones and treats for the pups. We ended our day with an evening swim at the pool.
While I love my work and cannot imagine feeling more lit up or creative by anything else, this is the most important thing in my world. It’s challenging sometimes to wrap my head around shared parenting and missing big swaths of his life. But it’s not lost on me that I not only have the choice but also the flexibility to be really present for him when he’s with me.
That feels like a completion point for this post. I am sending lots of love and appreciation out to all of you. Thanks for being here and following along.
QUESTIONS
I would love to hear what your career focus is right now.
I would also love to hear what is lighting you up and bringing you joy right now.
What are your dog’s favorite kind of toys?
You have a great perspective on handling hard/stressful things. I am in the medical field and just started post graduate residency last month. It’s really long hours and can be stressful but my therapist said something similar to what you said about life will always have hard/stressful stuff and reframing my thoughts around these things has been so helpful.
Right now the summer weather is bringing me joy! I’m in the south also and even though it’s so hot and humid right now I much prefer this to winter weather (especially for early dark morning runs!)
Have a great weekend, Jen!
Hi, Jen-
I’ve read your blog for years, and even suggested it to my 23-year-old daughter as an example of an independent and honest woman sharing real life. At age 48 I returned to grad school for a master’s in Clinical Mental Health; it has been the very best decision for me. I’ve learned so much and cannot wait to share what I’ve learned with clients. Thank you so much for your writing!!!!!