My family and I went on vacation and I made sure that I had caught up with all the work for the Let Go and Be Free podcast and my other author-related work. I wanted to unplug, unwind, and spend time with my spouse and kids.

It had been a challenging year and with a lot of change coming (kids going back to school), I wanted to be in the moment. Unfortunately, on day 2 of the trip, I fractured my hand. (For the full story, listen to the podcast.)

I recently finished Adriene MIshler’s Move - 30 Day Yoga Journey and here are my thoughts about the experience. First off, a big thank you to Adriene for all she does for her community. Thank you!

A few years ago, I hurt my back pretty badly while trying to run really fast on my treadmill. I mentioned this to a coworker, and she told me to look up Yoga with Adriene on YouTube. I found a lower back practice and loved it. Over the years, when I would feel a twinge in my back, I’d work in the back stretches that I learned from Adriene and all would be right with the world.

I think I first heard about Dr. Judson Brewer’s Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind back in March. I bought a copy of the book, placed it on my shelf, and it sat there for months. It’s not that I didn’t want to get to reading it, but it’s not an easy book to read through.

This is an honest review, so I’m going to be straight with you: When I did start the book, it took me months to get through. It’s a dense book, and I found difficult to read. Part of that is due to the topic: who wants to shine a light on your own bad habits and start to face them? Facing your problems can be daunting in normal times, but especially during the pandemic.

I finished watching the Netflix series Maid (based off of Stephanie Land’s Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive). Yes, the situations that the young woman goes through were triggering and difficult to watch, but I found the series to contain so much truth and hope.

There’s a scene in which the little 3-year-old is waiting to be picked up by her father (who struggles with alcoholism) and watching that scene brought me back to when I was 5-years-old waiting for my father to pick me up after my mom and he divorced.