Audacious Freedom

Getting ready to move in less than a week, I reflect on how *capable* I am with this move and in hosting cocktail parties and meals over the decades. I am efficient and I get sh*t done!

Confident is defined as “the feeling of self-assurance arising from one’s own appreciation of one’s own abilities or qualities”. I further define it and own my own confidence as: “the feeling of self-assurance arising from one’s enjoyment of and gratitude for one’s own abilities and good qualities”. I reflect on my confidence and the memories and stories told to me at my 35th high school reunion 2 years ago - stories told to me by four former classmates, all men. I am grateful for their love and support of this confident woman. Oh, and their names have been changed.

In this episode, I share my scores on Brene Brown’s “Wholehearted Inventory”. On her “Unlocking Us” podcast, I listened to Brene’s 6-part “Summer Sister Series” on her book “The Gifts of Imperfection”. I react to the behaviors I am *letting go of* and the ones I am *cultivating* on my report of the inventory and as Brene and her sisters, Ashley and Barrett discuss in the series. *Emotional alert*. I cry in this one.

I have a recurring dream where I can’t yell or scream at someone who deserves it. In this episode, I share my thoughts on the dream and on my getting caught off guard by people in my waking life who do or say something unkind to me.

In this episode, I share the essay I submitted to The New York Times Modern Love column. I wonder if I’m too sassy for them because I heard back that my piece was not *right* for their *needs*. I wonder if I’m arrogant and therefore off-putting to the editor and the column and if I could ever be happy in a relationship with another *body*.

Elizabeth Lesser blew my mind with an alternate version of the story of Adam and Eve, and, with the Greek myth of the story of Cassandra. I reflect on the women’s liberation movement, #metoo and Lesser reminds us of how we ended up with the trial of Dr. Larry Nassar, who for almost 30 years sexually abused hundreds of female athletes under the guise of medical treatment.

It’s that time of year again and social media is on fire with bare feet and cocktail posts by the pool or by the ocean! In this episode, I share my perspective on the hype and on my relief to be at home this summer, with my daughter and our pug, Bogie. Going absolutely nowhere.

As the launch date for my podcast was approaching, I felt as if I wanted to slow time down a little. Not unlike the way I was in no rush to give birth to my baby. Tune in for how birthing this podcast and birthing my baby are similar in how my life will never quite be the same.

People come and go in our lives and some people we remember and others we forget. One beautiful man named Lucas is a friend to be remembered, for a particularly kind gesture at a unique time in my life. In this episode, I share - with the permission of Lucas and his wife, Camden - the sweet story of this one beautiful man, if only very briefly in my life. Oh, and their names have been changed.

Tune in for the story of my little guy, Bogie the black pug. Fellow dog-lovers and dog-parents will understand how devoted I am to his care as we now navigate doggie diapers, UTI’s - yes, dogs get Urinary Tract Infections, too! - kidney disease and cluster seizures.