So…What’s a Permission Slip?

As bizarre as it may sound, I quite literally forgot about myself. Not in the sense of “letting myself go” (by the way, I really dislike that phrase). It was more that my life began to move at such a rapid pace that I lost all sense of how far and how fast I had travelled until one day, I completely ran out of gas.

If I’m being honest, I have yet to fully refuel. I could attribute this to my limited personal time as a working mom with small children, the restrictions placed on all of us in the height of a global pandemic or the fact that I get exhausted just thinking about braving the DC area traffic to do anything. While these things are all true, at the heart of it all, I am still learning what refueling and prioritizing my own wellness looks like in my “new life” as a working mom. I feel the need to make that differentiation because once upon a time, this girl had the blueprint for balancing the corporate climb and a very healthy dose of play and vay-caaay (vacation). My blueprint for fun and travel was masterfully drafted on premium paper. French Riviera me, please!

Burned out and desperate to feel more like myself again, I knew that I needed an answer to the question, “Why is there a gap between how I am living my life and how I would like to be living my life?” In so many ways, my life was amazing! The problem is that there just wasn’t enough room for me in it. I wanted more time to do things that I enjoyed and to be able to commit to making investments in myself, whether that meant more regular exercise, time to work on passion projects or more opportunities for slow, quiet mornings to enjoy an extra hot cup of my coffee.  I made a promise to not only find the answer to this question but to be open to where this path of discovery might lead me.

My journey of discovery led me really far inward. I started to examine how I was spending my time. I looked closely at who and what I was allowing into my physical and emotional space. I questioned how I had been so good at showing up for my girls and my loved ones, but not nearly as good at showing up for myself. This journey of prayer and introspection took a hard-right turn and led me straight to where we are meeting in this very moment… “Mom’s Permission Slip”.

This blog will be about my life as a working mom. The Tiny Clarkes will make lots of cute cameos but they will not be the primary focus of this blog because I am being intentional about making room for myself in this season of my journey. I will be open about my life experiences and what the investment into motherhood has looked like for me. I will share things that I have learned or the steps that I am taking to better facilitate my environment.  I may bring you along for new hobbies I try, places I travel or virtually welcome you into my home for a peek at decor or organization projects I take on. I will be transparent about things that excite me, things that challenge me and the everyday questions that my life as a working mom present.

Here, I hope to begin to build a community. A safe space for moms to be reassured that they are not alone in this. None of us, and I do mean none of us, have all of the answers but there is power in community.

I believe that most women are pretty good at figuring out the what, how and which décor will add the perfect finish to all of the magic. We aren’t lacking in “know how” or execution. We are lacking in grace. We just aren’t kind enough to ourselves. I refer to these posts as “Permission Slips” because I’d like to think that I am helping to free you from the guilt associated with self-care by assuring you that you do have permission to do those fun, relaxing, energy cleansing and refueling things.

Here, I will hold you accountable for making rich deposits into yourself. Consider each “Permission Slip” as an invitation and open letter, from my heart, addressed directly to the pieces of you that need to be reminded that YOU ARE A PRIORITY.

Until Next Time,

Self-Grace, Power and Gratitude