Three children, two businesses, and a puppy. It’s no secret why I started Women Run. I am a life long runner and a multi-tasking mom always on the verge of insanity and chaos who thought there must be other women out there who felt similarly. I saw it as a great product based business opportunity. In reality, what Women Run has become is much more of a support group for women who run and run and run! We’re all crazy (the good crazy of course!) but we all take on too much and feel the need to do everything ourselves and just simply do everything!

As I meet many of you and hear your stories, I realize how our lives parallel and we all need some comic relief, encouragement and inspiration to keep us moving forward no matter what has been put on our plate. Many of us have too much on our plates and we try to maintain our sanity any way that we can. Sometimes we need a new perspective, a pep talk to keep you doing what you want to do and have to do. That’s what Women Run is. But, we will also encourage you to take a look at the things that aren’t working or aren’t really necessary and take them off your plate so you can keep running and more importantly, take time for yourself.

Guilt rules many of our lives and we think we are being selfish when we do something for ourselves. To say we want or need something makes us vulnerable or weak. Oh contraire mon fraire! When we put ourselves first and take care of us, we do a much better job taking care of everyone else. That girls night you keep putting off? Well, it will do you a world of good. That extra long run you need desperately but can’t fit in because you are just too busy? That hair appointment to cover your grays or have your toes done by a professional? Not one bit selfish. This is self preservation and we call them mini vacations. A week in the Bahamas would be lovely, but sometimes all we need to recharge is a long shower with no children calling our name, a lunch date with an old friend, a morning walk with a girlfriend who needs a break from the crazy that has become her reality. We’ve all been there, we will all be there, but if you learn to put yourself first in a few small ways it makes it easier to cope, to deal with and not run away from the crazy. Identify the things that make your life chaotic and change them, deal with them, or simply walk away from them. I know that word simply is not simple, but trust me…do the necessary work to re-organize or restructure and you will be amazed at the balance, the ease with which you can work mini vacations into your daily run, and the calmness it brings to your life.

My own story is ever evolving and slightly complicated so when I say “we shoulder your pain and are here for you”, trust me, it’s genuine! Many of you know I run Women Run and I also run my own interior design firm. I have three children in three different school with three different schedules. This past year my husband and business partner of many many years and I decided to consciously uncouple (thank you Gwyneth Paltrow for that term) and now I am running my household single handedly. Last week my youngest daughter turned 10. A decade! I wanted to celebrate double digits and be the coolest mom ever by renting a water slide for her birthday party. Who could top that? Well, her dad brought home a three month old puppy and clearly the “who’s the cooler parent” competition has begun! Gulp. A puppy? I don’t even like dogs and his rental doesn’t allow dogs…so where will the puppy live? Well, needless to say…the puppy is fast asleep at my feet as I write this. We spend the first few hours of every day together before the rest of the house wakes up. I am already in love and have welcomed the joy and structure she has brought into our lives! Not one pair of shoes can be seen in my house. For fifteen years I have been trying to train my children to put their shoes in the closet when they walk in the door, but after 6 hours of watching their shoes be chewed to pieces, the puppy has trained them to put their shoes away! It’s also brought the teenager out of her bedroom. She spends more time with the family and the puppy. Me, a dog person…I never could have predicted this one. Just when I didn’t think I could put one more thing on my plate. But that means something else will have to be taken off my plate to make room. Maybe cooking and cleaning can take a back seat for now. ;)

-kyra  (Sorelle 10, Alta 3 months, Camden 12, and Emerson 15)

Summer…flip flops, lemonade stands, lazy days in a hammock, by the sea, in a pool, or on a boat. Early morning runs, longer bike rides, time to catch up with family, friends and maybe even yourself. Time to check in. We are half way through the year. How’s it going? With the extra heat and laziness that overtakes us we tend to boil down our to-do list to the bare essentials. In the summer, I wake up extra early and work during the quietest, coolest part of the day so when the kids return from camp we can head to the beach or do something fun. What absolutely positively must get done today is always the first thing I ask.

Summer is a great time to re-prioritize our hectic schedules, to simplify the running around we do, to let go, if only temporarily, of some of the obligations. Our food choices involve less cooking, our wardrobe is minimal with bare essentials, our housekeeping is minimized as we spend more time outdoors. In my house, we have been in re-prioritizing and simplifying mode all year and it’s made an impact on our lives in such a positive way. One great example…recently I simplified our tv plan to basic cable. At first you would think the world had ended! What? No Disney channel? Even my mother thought I was nuts! Think of the reaction you would get in your house?

Well, typically I come home from a long day of meetings and see three kids plopped in front of the tv – exhausted from their day at camp or work. Yesterday, after a long day ended in Boston traffic, I walked in to a clean kitchen (well, the kids version of clean), fresh baked cookies, and three kids on the living room floor playing an old fashioned game – together! Wow, I took away their standard mode of operation and creativity ensued! Change is sometimes hard, especially when it isn’t your choice. But once you take that first step and see how good change can be… you’ll never to go back.  What can you let go of? What will make your life a little simpler? It’s time to embrace the heat and do just the essential… happy summer!

-kyra

“One day, she remembered that the only person who could make her happy was herself! So she took back her power, re-claimed her place in the world and shined like never before!” Anna Taylor

Happy May 1st!! This is my favorite month. WOMEN RUN celebrates it’s 4th Birthday and on May 11th we celebrate MOTHER’S DAY! We get one day. For 364 days a year we cater to our families, our homes, our pets, our aging parents, our work, our businesses, our children’s schedules, our shoulds. You know, “I should do this or I should that”. But this one day we get to do what we want to do, not just what we should do.

So…what do you want to do? Sleep in? Spend time with your family? Go to your mother-in-laws for dinner? Or maybe, go to a movie and sneak in a bottle of wine and your favorite pizza? (Wait, if you’re alone maybe it should just be a glass!)
Maybe run a road race with your girlfriends while your husband stays with the children. Or go for a walk on the beach and out to lunch with friends and laugh all afternoon. Go shopping, eat brownie batter, and the entire pint of Ben & Jerry’s. This is your day. Think this through. It won’t happen again for 365 days!

No matter what you decide, do the thing that makes you happiest. Everyone needs to hear this message. You are the only person who can make you happy. Things, people and events make you feel happy, but that deep down happy feeling comes from within. From the confidence of knowing who you are, what you want, and living a life you consciously chose. This is a scary feeling, but it’s so exhilarating! You have the power. You’ve had it all along my dear.

Happy Mother’s Day to all moms & those who are like mom’s to so many of us!
We could never do it without you…

xo kyra

It can be a person, a place, or a thing.

You light up when they walk into a room. Your body language changes.
You can’t stop smiling. You stop talking or you babble nervously.
Feeling and emotions can not be controlled. You can reason with yourself and control your actions with will power, but there is no denying true love.

We all have them. Things we can’t live without, people we drop everything to spend time with, places we visit time and time again to wash over us a sense of peace, calm and serenity. Things we hold near and dear to our hearts that get dragged from home to home.

In my early days I was very much “in love” with the life I wanted. I was in love with the energy I soaked up from interesting people, new places I traveled to, exciting places to live and the beautiful things I acquired. I was hunting and gathering people, places, things and experiences – thousands of photos, oodles of memories, piles of love letters, hundreds of stories.

But with age comes wisdom and with wisdom comes a refinement of what or whom you fall in love.  Not because you consciously control your emotions, you simply gain a new perspective. Things we love once came in a “blue box” but are now hand made love letters from your children. The places were once the islands of Greece but are now your kitchen table where good friends and family gather. The people were once upwardly mobile with lots of potential and fascinating backgrounds but are now the people who make you smile every day. The smiling mailman, the waitress who knows you by name, your family (even the nutty ones!) and the friends you made in childhood who are still in your life.

We are women who run but with age we realize it’s not all worth running for or after.  We purge our closets and the clothes we’ve outgrown, we purge the friendships we’ve outgrown, we simplify our to-do list, we buy less and cherish more. We slow down and listen and watch and soak in what we love because we know it’s fleeting and we are not promised a tomorrow. We kiss and hug those we love every day. We apologize and forgive quickly and don’t hold grudges. We thank those who brighten our days and make our path a little easier. “I love you” comes out a little more easily and is more genuine. You say it to your mom and your sister when you’re hanging up the phone, you tell your children every night and every morning as they head to the bus stop. You cherish your romantic relationships. You don’t take them for granted. If you’re still looking – you’re pursuing true love… because it does exist. Head over heels love. The kind of love you feel for molten chocolate cake, the smell of cinnamon roles, a hot shower after a run,  sleeping in on a Sunday morning, the first sip of coffee each morning, a roaring fire and a good book. Now those are worth running for!

I Believe

You run, you laugh, you hope, you dream….

but what do you really believe in?

I believe in true love

the power of the moon

& wishing upon a shooting star

I believe less is more

in living simply but living well

I believe in slowing down

watching & listening

I believe in dreaming BIG

listening to your heart

taking a leap of faith

I believe in thanking people often

giving compliments freely

the power of friendship

I believe in laughter as a cure

the power of music

the power of chocolate

I believe running can save your sanity

create balance

instill serenity & strength

make you jiggle less and feel sexy

I believe in the promise of a new day

the power of a smile

the power of coffee & wine

I believe in being bold

in asking for what you want

in taking chances and having no regrets

I believe children need love – not things

that disappointment is a learning opportunity

in raising the bar

I believe we are not promised a tomorrow

in telling people how you feel – today

I believe you become what you think about

in the strength of determination

in writing a new chapter

I believe in you

Celebrate the magic of Believing!   – kyra