The Permission We Forgot To Give Ourselves

 


Today is Sunday—a day that was originally meant for rest.
But somewhere along the way here in America, something shifted. We forgot how to just be. We’ve put ourselves in a position where we feel responsible for everything, as if the world will stop spinning if we do.

Let me let you in on a little secret: that’s a lie.
 The sun will still rise. The world will still turn—even if you take a break.

In our family, we call this a snow day.

A snow day can happen in the dead of winter with three feet of snow on the ground, or in the middle of summer when it’s ninety degrees outside and the sky is perfectly clear. A snow day is simply the moment we decide we need to stop.

So what is a snow day?

It’s a magical day where we rest without apology. We stay in our pajamas, read books, watch a movie, and let the dishes pile up in the sink. It is a true day of rest. And yet, I sometimes stop and ask myself—why do we feel the need to announce it? Why must we “pretend” that circumstances have forced us to slow down in order to give ourselves permission to do nothing?

Society has conditioned us to believe that we must keep going. That rest is weakness. That a snow day is indulgent. Why has it become more acceptable to clean, shop, and work than to sit on the couch with a blanket and a book?

Self-care should be number one on the list. And I don’t mean bubble baths or candles. I mean the deeper kind—looking inward. Taking a walk without music. Listening to your own thoughts. Sitting with yourself. You might be surprised by what you hear.

Keep a journal. Yes, it’s cliché—but it works. I don’t love writing, so I record my thoughts using my voice. That simple habit has helped me more than I can explain.

We are all allowed the privilege of rest—without guilt. We need to normalize that in America. So many other countries understand the importance of work-life balance. Here, we often work endlessly just to pay for homes we rarely have time to enjoy.

So I guess what I’m really saying is this:
 Stop.
 Look around.
 Notice what’s draining you.
 Pay attention to what’s feeding negative thought patterns—and then take action.

Action takers get results. And I know this much: I want to love the life I live, with self-care, self-awareness, and the understanding that it’s okay—necessary, even—to lay on the couch sometimes.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

You are Enough, Even If You Don't Belive It Yet

  I remarried about ten years ago. After two horrid relationships, I finally stopped pointing the finger outward and asked myself a harder question: Was there something about the men I was choosing… and trying to save? So I did something completely different. I chose someone completely different. Years before that, I had gone to a psychic. She told me the person I was with at the time was not my soulmate. She said I would meet someone new, that the relationship would move quickly, and to “just go with it.” When I met John, I knew. Our conversations flowed effortlessly. We would spend hours texting and talking every single day. When my feelings started deepening, I asked him where he saw this going. At that point, we hadn’t even met in person yet. He told me he just wanted to be “texting buddies.” I said that was fine. I could always use another friend. But by December of 2014, we decided to finally meet. Our first date lasted eight hours. I knew he was the one. He is k...
Read more

“Sean: The Little Boy Who Taught Us How to Live, Love, and Be Brave”

Oh, so many years ago, a little boy and his best friend walked into my kindergarten classroom. They were inseparable—two tiny souls navigating the world side by side. At the time, I had no idea how deeply those two boys, especially one named Sean, would change my life forever. Sean looked like every other child in my classroom—floppy hair, a contagious laugh, and a smile that could light up even the hardest days. But behind that smile was a warrior. Sean was fighting cancer… for the second time. He had already beaten it once. This was his rematch. I reached out to his mom, Kim, wanting to understand how best to support him. And when I met her, I immediately saw where Sean got his light. Kim carried strength in a way that didn’t shout—it quietly radiated. She wasn’t defeated or fearful. She believed in her son with every ounce of her being. I shared with her that my own son was battling a life-threatening illness. There was an unspoken understanding between us—the delicate balance of wa...
Read more

Beyond the Epstein FIles : Believing the Survivors

  Speaking the Truth, Even When It’s Uncomfortable I know I’m going a bit off topic this morning. But I do my best writing when I’m emotionally attached to what I’m sharing. This blog has always been a kind of public journal for me. My hope is simple: to let people know they are not alone. I speak my truth—whether it’s right or wrong—because it’s my truth. So let’s talk about the elephant in the room: the Epstein files. Whenever I see an email with names blacked out, or hear people whisper about “the list,” I feel a pit in my stomach. It’s a heavy wave of sadness. It’s 2026, and I watch other countries confront horrific acts head-on—holding people accountable, issuing apologies, acknowledging survivors. And yet here, that accountability feels painfully absent. I refuse to call these women victims . They are survivors . A survivor is someone who endures the storm and comes out the other side. A victim is a label that traps people in a moment. These women are far more than that....
Read more