Morning, from Florida.
If you're new here, this is what we do for Sunday brunches.
A little reflective banter,
and a collective Next Best Decision.
I used to have a phrase here at the beginning...do you remember?
(those who have been here for a while?)
Oh, yes:
"...let's raise our mimosas or mugs and clink a cheers to a bit of connection between work, notices and ads in your inbox."
Yesss. I like it still. Remind me to keep that going.
This week, I was searching for toilet paper in the giant complex that is my local Walmart,
and nearly collided with a Barbie pop-up in the aisle.
The News: Chelsea is back, with no Kelly to be seen.
That's the yin and the yang of the situation.
There is a rule: Smaller is Cuter.
Kellys are adorable.
I'm hoping for today's girls to reconnect with their 7 yo selves.
Why do we have to jump to teenage years so quickly?
Oh, yeah. Phones.
In general, Barbie brings up positive and negative memories for me.
In all things, of course,
I did the best I could do at the time.
So there is no judgement here
when I say to you,
that I sucked at play.
There is, legit, something about trauma
that can prevent free, open, and fun play.
Alas, all hope is not lost,
right?
I can remind myself to play,
I can encourage play even in mundane things, correct?
I'm over here adulting, being such an adult--and
my inner 7 yo misses play.
She's always missed it.
This week, what if there had been a Kelly there,
in her fresh, colorful box--
Oooo!
and what if she was dressed like a 70's girl?
Like me at that age? Oh, I totally would have bought that Kelly.
Maybe.
Maybe as a reminder to PLAY?
TODAY'S DEEP BREATH: here's a practical juju nugget, a Collective Next Best Decision.
My people
(friends, family and clients)
have heavy decisions they are making
or avoiding making.
We all do.
I am an emotional adult, handling all the things. AND
I am also an emotional kid, who either had
or didn't have
her kid needs met at the typical developmental stages.
Cool, so what is a solution I can give myself AND share with ya'll?
I am committing to using my adult brain
to encourage more play.
I am setting reminders all over my house
to encourage me to play.
I am actually planning to play.
Time has passed and I did not do it. AND! I can turn this around and say:
This is what I want in my future! No matter how I showed up in the past.
Let's flip the mirror to you.
Maybe you have nailed the play. Maybe you need to play less, or maybe it's something entirely different.
What is it you want to enjoy??
I've created an podcast on my site--we'll continue the conversation over there.
With warm connection,
Tami Lowe