Can't I just get the Spark Notes already?

Here’s what happened to me:

I found out I was pregnant.

I had taken a prenatal yoga teacher training, that included childbirth education, and so I definitely knew about the trimesters and the various bodily changes that occur, in theory, but I still felt disconnected and unsure of what was coming.

I began reading books, taking birth classes, doing web searches, reading blogs, and subscribing to instagram accounts.

I spoke to every woman I knew who had had a baby at some point in their lives, and asked them about their experience, in detail.

And yet, nothing really fed my ever-insatiable desire to get to the heart of things. To get to the big things I needed to know. Not just what was going to happen in my body, and the fruit size comparable to this little fetus, but also what I was going to encounter socially, what I needed to keep in mind in order to maintain perspective when things got hard. What I found instead somehow put me in a greater tailspin of confusion and had an arresting affect on my ability to feel empowered and prepare myself for what was to come.

I kept waiting for that one book, one blog, or one instagram account to finally be my “go-to”, my Spark Notes, that friend that would give me the ‘inside scoop’ on what was really going on and what I really needed to remember when push came to shove. Yes physically, but also mentally, emotionally and perhaps even spiritually.

It’s only recently, standing in the shower after a long day with my kids and family that things clicked. Suddenly, these big ideas came rolling through my mind. These concepts that I felt in control of, but was watching so many others grapple with. I jumped out of the shower and wrote everything down.

I had finally realized that what I was looking for hadn’t been written because

I needed to write it.

When someone needs the best mascara, shoe, food processor, baby crib, place to eat out, advice on an outfit or a bad haircut, I’m always their go-to. Not only that, I am the hard advice, the positive affirmation, the backrub, the get-you-out-of-a-jam friend. I pride myself on my dependability, my trustworthiness and my honesty. I won’t bullshit you, and if I’m bullshitting you, I’m telling you I’m doing it because its what you need to hear to move forward.

Couple that with my near decade of retail, merchandising and product development experience, I know products, I know people and I know how to connect all of the pieces together in the most efficient way.

I demand a lot of the people and products in my life, and in turn, they rise to the occasion.

I also love that we are amidst a renaissance, a re-birth, of the female voice.

Women everywhere are taking a stand to say that we are all human beings, and that our lives and experiences matter.

So here, my beautiful creators of human life, is your quick and easy “go-to.”

It’s is meant to make you feel in-control of your bodies and what happens in it and after “it”, from someone you can trust, who is riding on this journey too.

You are the shapers of our future generations, and without stepping into your own power, we won’t have the kinds of minds that push the status quo to make this world a better place.

I believe in you, now its time for you to believe in you too.