Day of Hope #136 - Saturday April 13, 2024
Goal: Take care of myself while continuing to build the life and business I love.
Quote: “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”
– Sharon Salzberg
A Little Wine, a Little Sunshine, and a Lot of Gratitude
Today was my Day of Hope, and I was looking forward to slowing down. I started by sleeping in, and taking my time getting ready. No rushing. No crazy schedule. Just enjoying the morning.
I also spent some time preparing healthy meals for the week because I was getting ready to focus more intentionally on my health and fitness. Then I headed to one of my favorite places. 3 Horse Ranch Vineyards in Eagle, Idaho.
It was around 12:30 p.m., the weather was beautiful, and I was ready for a wonderful lunch and a glass of wine. The temperature was already 69 degrees and expected to reach 78. A perfect spring day. I was also there to pick up my wine club order and deliver something special. A signed copy of my book, A Day of Hope. A Special Thank-You
The owners of 3 Horse Ranch Vineyards had helped create one of the most unforgettable nights of my life. In March 2023, my family and friends surprised me with an incredible celebration for Hopes Highways and my upcoming book and website launch. The winery had gone above and beyond to make that evening special.
Now, a little over a year later, I was walking through their doors holding an actual published copy of my book. How amazing is that? I wanted to give the owners a signed copy as a small thank-you for everything they had done. It felt wonderful to return to a place that had celebrated my dream before it had fully become a reality. And of course, I couldn't help thinking... Maybe someday I'll have a book signing right here! Wouldn't that be fun?
I enjoyed my lunch, my wine, and the beautiful surroundings. There's something about this winery that always makes me feel at home. And today, I had one more wonderful memory to add to the collection.
Taking Care of Me
After lunch, I went for a walk along the Greenbelt. The weather was too beautiful to spend the entire day indoors. I enjoyed the fresh air, sunshine, and time to myself. I had also decided it was time to make some changes to my health and fitness routine.
I was starting a new healthy eating plan and exercise program. I missed feeling strong. Not just healthy, but physically strong. I wanted to rebuild my muscle strength, improve my fitness, and feel good in my body again.
So I spent part of my Day of Hope planning how I wanted to approach that. Because taking care of myself isn't just about massages, movies, and spa days. Sometimes it's about preparing healthy food. Going for a walk. Making time to exercise. And keeping the commitments I make to myself.
Later, I headed home to work on some of my older Day of Hope stories, take a bath, and enjoy the quiet. It was exactly the kind of peaceful day I needed. But behind the scenes, April was turning into a very exciting month.
Bonus: Lights, Camera, A Day of Hope!
On April 12th, the day before my Day of Hope, I spent the entire day filming a promotional movie trailer for my book. A movie trailer! For my book! Seriously, how cool is that?
I worked with a local production company, Wiser Wolves, and the filming went wonderfully. It took us most of the day, but the team did a fantastic job. The finished trailer was exactly: 1 minute and 13 seconds long. Of course it was! Ha!
I now had a professional video I could put on my website to introduce people to A Day of Hope and the message behind it. I never imagined when I started taking my monthly Days of Hope that I would someday have a professionally produced book trailer. But here we were. One more piece of the dream becoming real.
Getting My Book Out Into the World
This month was also filled with opportunities to introduce my book and Hopes Highways to more people. I joined the Women to Women networking group, which meant I could attend their meetings throughout the year. I was excited to meet more women, build relationships, and share what I was creating.
I also signed up with the National Grocery Association to pursue opportunities for book signings at Kroger-affiliated grocery stores. Book signings at grocery stores? Why not? People need groceries. Maybe they need a little hope while they're shopping, too!
I was determined to find creative ways to get my book into people's hands. I also met Brandie Wine, a writer for Greet Eagle magazine. They were planning to publish an article about me and my book! Another exciting opportunity.
I continued reaching out to bookstores and libraries, looking for places to hold book signings, and sharing copies with speakers and through Little Free Libraries.
There was so much to learn about promoting a book. Writing it was one adventure. Getting people to discover it was turning into an entirely different adventure. But I was excited. I believed in the message. And I was willing to do the work to share it.
You Are Enough. Just Be You.
I also had another Reiki healing session this month, and the message gave me something meaningful to reflect on. This session focused on motherhood, self-worth, and love. Part of the message explored the uncertainty I had sometimes felt about whether I had done enough as a mother. Had I made the right decisions? Had I given enough? Had I been enough?
The message encouraged me to recognize the love, work, sacrifices, and challenges that had shaped my journey as a parent. And then came a reminder that really stayed with me.
You are enough
The message continued by encouraging me to reconsider how I thought about love. Love wasn't always something I needed to prove through actions. It wasn't something I had to earn by constantly doing more for other people. Sometimes love could simply be about being. Being present. Being authentic. Being myself.
The message ended with three simple words: Just be you. I loved that. For so many years, I had been the person who took care of everyone and everything. The mom. The employee. The problem solver. The person who could always figure things out.
And while those were all important parts of my life, they weren't the only things that made me valuable. I didn't have to accomplish something every day to be worthy. I didn't have to keep proving myself. I was enough simply because I was me.
Building the Dream Without Forgetting Myself
Looking back, April was a wonderful combination of progress and peace. I was promoting my book. Filming a trailer. Meeting new people. Creating opportunities. Building Hopes Highways. And dreaming about where all of it might lead.
But I was also making time to take care of myself. To enjoy a beautiful spring day. To walk along the Greenbelt. To focus on my health. To relax. And to remember that my worth wasn't measured by how many things I accomplished.
I had worked so hard to bring A Day of Hope into the world. Now I was learning how to share it without forgetting the very message that inspired it. You deserve time for yourself, too.
And perhaps the best part was returning to the winery where people had once gathered to celebrate a dream that was still in progress. This time, I arrived with the finished book in my hands. Another reminder of how far I had come.
My Lesson of Hope: You can work toward your dreams, build something meaningful, and accomplish incredible things without forgetting to take care of yourself. Your goals matter, but so do your health, happiness, and peace of mind. And remember, you don't have to constantly do more, give more, or achieve more to prove your worth. You are already enough. Celebrate your progress, care for the person behind the dream, and never forget that sometimes the most important thing you can do is simply be yourself.
