Tomorrow begins the 14 days of love challenge. For the next 14 days I will leave a note (we’ll now I create images and text them!) for each of my kids with “I love you because…” with a different reason each day.
It gets more difficult as the days progress as I try to find reasons I love them that they don’t think I see.
Try it with the people you love.
Challenge yourself.
Turns out ….
I used to think I was crazy. Why? I was made to believe I was crazy. I was told over and over that I was crazy. I was gaslit until I did not know up from down and forward from backward.
Turns out….
I used to be an angry, broken woman. Why? I was told over and over that I was angry for no reason and I was broken beyond repair.
Turns out….
Life is difficult and glorious and more exciting than I ever realized. Why? I forgot who I was and that I can do hard things like step out of my comfort zone to use the word no.
Turns out….
I know more than I ever thought possible once I trust my own knowing.
Turns out…..
I hold the power to create the beautiful, untamed life I want for others and myself.
Turns out….
I am not crazy or angry or broken.
Turns out….
I am a GODDAMN CHEETAH.
I was 26.
The year was 1992.
The photographer was my very own brother.
This is the only copy of this photo I have and it was ruined in a flood. The glass has come off in parts but I think it adds to the dimension of the photo.
I have always loved this photo so I decided to recreate it with an updated twist to represent the woman I am now…. 30 years later.
The year is 2022.
I am 56 years old.
The pieces are finally coming together.
Oh the things I would tell that young woman… the lessons she would learn, the mistakes she would make, the wisdom she would gain. I know we would have been good friends had we known each other then. I’m so proud of that girl for all she has become.
Peace
#tutulady
#forwardisapace
This is 56.
This is what ….
-negative self talk
-not loving myself
-fighting
-never feeling good enough
-never fitting in
– surviving and thriving
-lessons learned
-embracing my uniqueness
-inspiring others
-loss and gain
-tears and laughter
-building businesses
-stepping into my own power
-loving my body.
-Saying F**k Yes more often.
-love, light and a little go screw yourself
-feeling joy-having faith
-finding peace
……looks like.
This is what life looks like at 56 and let me tell you….. it is AMAZING!
Time to kick up my heels and celebrate!
Six years.
So much can change in 6 years.
So much learning and so much growth. I’ve learned that getting divorced sucks but being divorced is a whole new world of freedom. 6 years ago when I was barely breathing and trying to hold it together while my world fell apart I could never have even imagined a night like last night.
But when you learn the art of manifestation from your son, you learn that life can be an amazing adventure.
Learning to move forward has been the biggest blessing and taken me places I never thought possible. I take none of it for granted.
On a cool fall evening, I sat at a table along the Chicago river. I took a deep breath and took it all in. The table was filled with the most accomplished women. I was honored to be sitting with them and now blessed to call them all friend. These women teach me to own my story and the chapter I am currently writing. They teach me that I am not only deserving of love but I am worthy of all the good that comes to me in my life. They teach me that in order to continue to move forward, I must embrace the next steps. They teach me that growth is scary but I need to not just lean in to saying yes more often but jump in, saying “Fuck Yes”!
At the head of the table was a woman who saw something in me years ago and thought I deserved to be at that table. She taught me to ‘just be a mom.’ She taught me to trust myself. She teaches my every day that I still have a long way to go, a lot to learn and a lot of goals that need accomplishing. She is teaching to say #FuckYes to life a lot more often(and Hell No to the couch). For that and so much more, I am forever grateful.
#tutulady
#forwardisapace
Kristine Binder 