May | 2023 | Jessica's Fitness

That time that I remembered it was my birthday halfway through the day 🤷🏻‍♀️

This week was a busy one with work and kids’ activities- so busy that I almost missed my birthday in the middle of it! For a quick second I wondered if that meant that I just wasn’t excited about my birthday anymore- I’ve heard that happens sometimes?!? BUT, I realized that was so so so far from the truth. I was busy doing a job I love, training clients and leading my wellness team to do great things and watching my kids excel at the activities they love. Truthfully, I was busy living a life I love, that I dreamed of long ago- and actually living in the present all day long 🙏
But, as I like to do each year, I did take some time to reflect this weekend. Things have been a bit tough lately, as our family lost a loved one and we’ve all had so many emotions around it. Life continues to remind us that it is ever changing, unpredictable, sometimes very hard and more often very beautiful.
So this weekend I reflect on where I am and I am so grateful. Though I’m always going to be a student in the field of wellness, I am grateful to have a healthier body at 39 than I did at 20. I am grateful to be strong enough to move this body God has given me and be a model for my kids that we can improve ourselves with each year of life.
As I plan to embark on some new career adventures this year, I’m grateful for each step that has taken me here. None of it has been wasted and everything I’ve learned along the way has helped me at some point further on.
In this next year, I look forward to helping my clients more by advancing my skills as a wellness partner for them. I look forward to meeting more passionate entrepreneurs, wellness advocates and moms. I look forward to unplugging more frequently, doing more spontaneous and adventurous family trips, committing to dating my husband again and laughing and smiling as much as possible. The whole year won’t be easy- if never is- but I look forward to coming out of my 39th year of life stronger, more present, more grateful and more joyful than ever!!
Cheers to the rest of you May birthday friends!! And here’s to another year of growth to us all!! 🥂🥂

This is a different kind of Mother’s Day post, because, although I am so very excited to spend the day with my family tomorrow, I very clearly remember a time when I wondered if a day like that would be in my future.
Mother’s Day can be a hard day for many, and that’s certainly the case for the 1 in 6 women who are currently struggling with infertility (WHO, 2023). And, although I have two beautiful children who are my whole world, Mothers Day used to be really hard for me.
And baby showers.
And my friends’ kids’ first birthday parties.
And every day that I took a negative pregnancy test and then had to wipe away my tears and go to work.
You get the picture. Infertility is hard, and it’s even harder to talk about. But, once I started to share my struggle with friends, I realized how many people I loved were also wiping away tears as they pulled up the yet another baby shower for someone they loved.
I won’t share my exact story with you or what did or didn’t work for me. Because all of our journeys are going to be so so different. But what remains the same is- you are not alone and your future is brighter than the present when you are in the thick of it.
What I’ll also share are some tools that made my journey easier:
🌸acupuncture. My journey with acupuncture started when I was getting ready for fertility care because of the evidence that it can really be helpful for people struggling with infertility. But, it has remained a part of my life because I have found that it is so valuable in managing my stress and protecting my energy any time that my body is struggling and even when it’s not.
🌸protecting my peace. For some time, staying off of social media more was imperative for me, as was exercising regularly, spending time with friends and spending impromptu weekends away with my husband hiking and relaxing (which, we haven’t been able to do much since having kids!)
🌸protecting my health. Cleaning up my diet started in my 20s, but I got very serious about limiting processed foods and dangerous additives during my fertility journey. Again- when I noticed how much better my body was designed to feel, this became a lifelong habit for me and I know I’m healthier because of it.
🌸seeking alternative help. Again, my challenges with fertility led me to do my own research and start looking for people, in addition to my medical team, who could help me with symptoms and root causes. A functional medicine doctor, pelvic floor therapist, acupuncturist, therapist, yoga or mindfulness teachers…all incredible partners in this or any other health journey we may encounter.
No matter how you feel this weekend, know that you are allowed to have those feelings, you deserve to protect your peace, and you will be ok.
❤️This picture below is one I took when rushing out the door to get my one year old son ready for our “mommy and me” music class one morning. I remember rushing around to pack the diaper bag and seeing his shoes waiting in the middle of the floor for us. I stopped in my tracks, took a deep breath and smiled so big at these adorable tiny shoes, remembering so clearly how I longed to hold little shoes like that in my hand for so many years. So have faith, friends, and imagine all the beauty your future has in store for you ❤️