Lifestyle & Parenting

The Mom Flow: Failing Forward + “I Have No Friends”

April 14, 2024

Welcome to Friday Five, where I share things that are on my mind in the hopes of helping you connect to your Mom Flow. Thanks for being here! —Erin Sousa

My fave friendships

I’m fascinated by hearing about others experiences with adult friendships. We always assume that friendship is easy for everyone else, or, at least I do. I’ve become really choosy with who I spend my time with and have drilled down into some very rewarding relationships and I’ve learned something interesting about myself. It takes me awhile to truly ‘fall in love’ with a friend and I like to just let it happen in the beginning, see if we both make the effort without putting too much pressure on it. I see if we have a reciprocal relationship, because in my past, I’ve been the friend who plays the constant support role – it always used to feel great to be that for a friend. Since then, I’ve learned that a reciprocal friendship actually feels better. What I sometimes would, and still do struggle with, is when I feel disappointed by a friend that I’ve become more close with BUT, I’ve actually gotten a lot better at just letting any ‘disappointments’ roll off my back. So interesting to see the evolution that comes with age. There are only so many hours in the day and I only want friends who genuinely bring healthy energy.

What’s really happening right now

The week has been truly NEXT level. I started the year in a reset putting myself first, focusing on my wellness and shaking up the energy with work and did that ever add rocket fuel to my entire life. I’m almost busier than ever with work and clients which is such a good thing, and something I’ve always been grateful for. That said, I don’t recommend listing your home like EVER. Ha. It’s crazy stressful in every way, just prepping your home for listing photos, let alone an open house, is a lot. I’m pretty shook. I don’t know how we have done it AND Lola was sick this week which really made things even more challenging. To put a positive spin on it, I’m so proud to see how much I can accomplish… makes me feel empowered!

Big chats with my little girl

Lola’s almost 4 and I can see her personality shine and a real boost in her maturity lately. New phases, new stages, which I find to be one of the more challenging parts of motherhood… keeping up! Also, knowing how to handle things like what happened this week. First off, I can’t be alone in feeling so protective of Lola’s feelings while also wanting to raise her to be resilient and confident, right?! I realllly don’t want to mess it up and feel like things I say in these moments are so formative? Let me explain. This week she said to me “I don’t have any friends” and I legit died inside. It’s obviously not true (and actually, she just was just referring to a girl at soccer who maybe wasn’t as receptive to Lola), but it made me wonder how I’m going to navigate these kinds of things and I worry so much about how the world will feel to her as she grows. I know this is just the start!

Failing … forward

It’s the first week since the beginning of the year that I’ve slipped on my movement and high protein/high fiber meal planning and I am feeling kinda bummed about it. I’ve literally had zeroooo extra time to fit a walk into my days (which honestly as I write this I know is not true – I could get up earlier but I just cannot, sometimes sleep wins and it’s what your body needs). I think the most important thing is recognizing it, and defo taking stock about how it makes you feel in your body. Knowing it’s just a dip and not a walk back on a lifestyle is going to be key for me because I fought hard to push past myself and it felt amazing. I’m back at it next week, mark my words!

There’s more! Keep reading this week’s edition of The Mom Flow by Erin Sousa; subscribe for free to receive new posts and support her work, here!

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