The Scar That Became My Map I once read: ‘You go to bed with one life, and wake up with another.’ That was my divorce. I was blindsided. But here’s the truth: I didn’t find fitness after he left me, it had already been my refuge for years. In the pockets of time between raising children, managing a home, and being the devoted, perfect executive wife. Fitness was the one place I could prove to myself that I was meant for more. It was where I touched my own greatness when everything else was about serving his. And here’s the tortured part: motherhood wasn’t the ultimate fulfillment. It brought boundless joy in the early years, but when adolescence hit and rebellion set in, I resented being the only one who saw what real parenting required, with no partner to share it. In truth, I began to resent the role altogether. All the roles. The performance. Then came the divorce: discarded, erased, replaced overnight. Only one 2-hour conversation to dictate how he would be divorcing me. Instructing me as to what i was expected to do during the divorce. A pat on the back that I’d been a good mother, “go do your yoga and care for your plants”. The trauma was brutal, but it forced me to pivot hard into myself. This is my limp: the scar that will forever change the direction of my life. It had to happen this way to snap me into saving myself. The limp remains, but so does the strength of the woman who finally chose herself. I didn’t follow the instructions. I did it my way. So much healing, it’s been messy and beautiful.

I blinked away tears and breathed deeply, listening to you read this aloud to us today Nicole. Goose bumps. Thank you for sharing it here again. Words that resonate so deeply.

🚩 SMART – Reinvention, improvisation, and vitality in action. 🚩 FUNNY – Bringing connection through playfulness, making new friends 🚩 TORTURED – Speaking my future into existence with unapologetic fire!

I get loosey! 💃🏼🕺🏼https://open.spotify.com/track/3xpnKNuV6IZxgMIIJLeLKX?si=i7rrbBvGRVOknuf5ogQSVQ I lived in Barbados for three years and participated in Kadooment/Crop Over festivities (imagine Carnival in Rio, but smaller) where the Soca music and lyrics had people gyrating their hips and moving their bodies in the most SPECTACULAR free spirited way. SO, I blast this song (and many like it) and dance, preferably with a mirror in front of me to check out my sweet moves so I can laugh!! HAH! Please listen! It’s so so fun! These lyrics tho: I looser than... Lucy I sweeter than... juicey Dis carnival have meh so damn loose, hey Get loose, ah weh yuh get loose Get loose, ah weh yuh get loose Get loose, ah weh yuh Loosen yuh waist, kill dem wid di pace

@Paul Chamberlain Say less. I’ll have the SUP crew paddling into absurd joy 💯

@Rachel Milford 😜