If you had told me in July that the next few months would unfold like a coming-of-age movie for both me and my kids, I probably would have smiled politely and assumed you were exaggerating. But then life did what it always does: it hit play on a montage I never saw coming.
On the business side, it was a full throttle season. I hosted my first Rise event, scaled my GLJ team back which put me back in the kitchen, apron on like the early days, launched a brand new website and introduced new products I’d been dreaming about for months. It was creative, chaotic, exhausting, and honestly . . . kind of thrilling.
Meanwhile, my home life decided to match that energy beat for beat. Both boys played volleyball this fall, which meant I became a regular in gym bleachers across the Island, and they were cast as brothers in their school play. The show went on to win first place at the North Island Drama Festival and head to provincials, and watching them fall in love with the stage, just like their theatre kid parents once did, has been nothing short of joy in its purest form.
Add in cadets, competitive trampoline, high school workloads, girlfriends, first cars, talks about university prerequisites . . .
We’re in a season that is more alive, more textured and more special than I ever imagined this stage of motherhood could be.
And somewhere between juice batches, volleyball practices, theatre rehearsals and late night teen talk car rides, I realized something surprising: I wasn’t falling apart. I wasn’t spiraling. I actually felt good. Not perfect (cause who is?!), but genuinely okay.
So I sat down and asked myself why. What was keeping me grounded through such an intense and beautiful stretch of life?
And although there are many complexities, three things rose to the top and I’m sharing them today:
1. EXERCISE
Three to four days of lifting weights and hitting 10,000 steps. They say it works and it’s true. Nothing fancy. Just moving my body. Sometimes it’s a quick gym session, sometimes it’s a walk with Millie and often it’s a walking pad session with a show on in the background. Those hours are my reset button. Every time I think I don’t have time, I remind myself that I don’t have time not to.
2. MY FRIENDS
You know that one friend who gets it without you giving the backstory? The one who can turn a vent session into a therapy session into uncontrollable laughter? She has been my lifeline. Ten minutes on the phone with her and I go from “I can’t do this” to “I’ve totally got this.”
And then there are my other dear friends, each relationship with its own rhythm and ritual. One always picks up the phone when the other calls. Another meets me for a hike or coffee every other week, no matter what. For me, these friendships ground me, inspire me and fill me with joy in a way nothing else can.
3. EATING THE SAME THING FOR BREAKFAST + LUNCH MOST DAYS
Groundbreaking? Not even close. But freeing? Absolutely. No decisions, no spiraling in front of the fridge, no reinventing the wheel. Just simple, nourishing, done.
Sometimes it’s not about adding more. More routines, more supplements, more hacks. It’s about removing the noise and leaning into what quietly works.
As I head into the holidays, I’m choosing that simplicity on purpose. Less pressure. More presence. And maybe one extra green juice a week, because my skin deserves a little holiday cheer too.
XO, Andrea
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