family

Little nudges

by Katie Welker

July was rough for me.

My sweet, 92-year old grandma passed away. My husband had a severe allergic reaction to poison ivy that lasted almost a full month. Others in my family had some big health scares. Close friends of mine went through a number of hardships.

It was a lot. I would tell myself, “Okay, I’m ready for something good now.” And then a new piece of bad news would hit.

Of course, there were good things that happened, too. There were sweet moments and weddings and birthdays and smiles and laughter. They were just fewer and farther between, and they were layered with mental, emotional and physical exhaustion.

Yet today is August 1st.

A new month.

A clean slate.

Some may think it’s cheesy to consider a flip of the calendar a chance to start fresh, but not me. I constantly look for little nudges that get me out of my mental slumps.

So yesterday, the last day of July, I decided to let August 1st be a chance to start fresh. I used it as an opportunity to get motivated and clean the house. I redid our monthly calendar with excitement. I booked my first Pilates class for later this week. And this morning I chose to start my work week at a coffee shop vs. my home office. A change of scenery can really do wonders for the mind.

If you’re in a slump of your own, or maybe have just had a streak of exhaustion that’s been heavier than usual, I encourage you to let small things nudge you into a new direction.

Maybe it will be the first of a new month.

Maybe it will be a kind gesture from someone you love.

Maybe it will be the sunshine hitting your face.

Or maybe it will be something you choose to create for yourself.

Whatever it ends up being, let it shake off your exhaustion and bring you peace. Even just for a moment.

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Logic vs. Intuition

by Katie Welker

Logic and intuition are funny elements of our daily lives.

Sometimes they go hand in hand and complement one another. Like when you feel something in your gut and your brain says, “yes! this makes sense, follow along.”

Other times, they battle. Your head says one thing and your heart says another. They may both make fair points and have their own rationale, but they just disagree on the matter.

That’s the place I’ve been in lately. My head and my heart have been battling.

My head was saying, “You’re a great cheerleading coach. You add value to the program. You’re talented. You’ve been doing this forever. You’re making a positive difference in your community and with your athletes.”

My heart was saying, “Slow down. Your family needs you more. You’re too spread thin. You deserve to give yourself just as much love as you constantly pour out to others.”

Neither is wrong. They can both be right. There can be space to hold all of it inside of you.

But what do you do? How do you decide?

For me, I have to get really quiet. I have to close my eyes, take a deep breath, and filter away the noise. I have to remove myself from the tug of war.

And then I have to trust my heart.

It’s always guided me in the right direction. It’s never led me astray, even if it didn’t make sense in the moment.

So in this case, my heart won.

I chose to slow down.

It didn’t make the decision any easier. It didn’t stop the tears from flowing. And it doesn’t remove some of the doubt that still creeps in.

But it does give me inner peace.

And these days, that’s worth it.