What is your defining question?

This summer I really had to take some time off to bounce back from the burnout I felt after the new Mojo Mom had been released. It had been such an intense year, when I had to push forward no matter what, to meet my book deadlines. Once I crossed the finish line, including dozens of interviews to launch the book, my mind and body went a little numb.

So this summer I slowed way down and gave myself the luxury of pondering the defining question, "What do I want?" At first I just wanted to rest! Then I allowed myself a good long time to consider different potential sources of inspiration.

Those thoughts are still with me, but they are now coalescing around a second defining question, "What am I willing to commit to?" That's a serious one, as I don't want to spread myself too thinly and I don't want to make promises I can't keep.

When I am ready to share big news this fall, I will announce it first through my e-newsletter, so I hope you will sign up on MojoMom.com to receive the newsletter and Mojo Mom Party Kit.

I am curious to find out what is your defining question right now. As you face transition, whether it is back to school, off to school for the first time, kids leaving for college, new job, new interest, or milestone birthday, is there one question that is helping point you toward your next step?

If you need a gentle nudge to take a step back and look at your life, I highly recommend Natalie Angier's article in today's New York Times, Brain Is a Co-Conspirator in a Vicious Stress Loop. It sounds scary, but it boils down to the necessity of giving yourself a chance to stop digging deeper when you find yourself in a rut!

Mojo Mom on the mend

It's been a crazy week all over, hasn't it? My personal plans got derailed Tuesday evening when I wasn't feeling well...I went to the local ER because my stomach hurt a lot and I couldn't get comfortable. To make a long story short, I ended up getting my appendix out on Wednesday morning. Abdominal surgery was definitely not in my dayplanner this week.

I did think of a Mojo Mom principle throughout all this: at 3:00 am I had a "Who's on your speed dial?" moment, making a list of people for my husband and mother to call the next day, both to cancel appointments and to ask my friends for help. I felt lucky to have a deep pool of connections--a resource you need to develop before the crisis hits.

So I am on the mend, feeling pretty tired, and a little antsy and frustrated that I just have to rest. This wasn't the break I was hoping for, but I thank goodness for health insurance and good medical care. I wish we could be spending some of the 700 billion dollars to provide health care for every person in the country right now.

The good doctors at UNC Hospitals said that they've seen a lot of appendicitis lately. I have noticed that all the Democrats I know in Chapel Hill are really stressing out about the election--what a roller coaster, even before the economic meltdown! So I can't help but wonder if there is a mind-body-stress-appendix connection. (I couldn't find any medical confirmation of that but I still have to think all that stress can't be helpful.)

I actually started taking a Mindfulness-based stress reduction class on Tuesday, but not soon enough, I guess. But it did help me pay attention to what was going on in my body.

Take home message--take care of yourself!