91. Leaving Home to Remember Exactly Who You Are When You Come Back

In this week's episode, Laurie is discussing her recent vacation in London and Paris, and sharing all of the incredible experiences she had "across the pond." She's also talking about the most surprising thing she learned while away.

This episode is full of great recommendations for any midlife woman interested in spending time in two of the best European cities. You'll want to be sure to download it to refer to when planning your next vacation in London or Paris!

Links + Mentions:
School of Midlife's Free Live Training in December
Best Life Planner

Have Yourself a Merry Little Midlife Holiday Episodes:
Enjoy Thanksgiving This Year -- Yes, Even with Family Drama
Why the Best Holidays Are C+ Holidays
Boundaries to Fight Holiday Burnout with Erica Davis
Beating the Holiday Blues: When Festive Feels Like a Farce

LONDON:
Private Tours in London - We toured with Rob Humphreys for a Government Tour one day, and a Rock-n-Roll Tour another day
London Bicycle Tour Company - The Classic Tour
Chelsea F.C.
Hamilton - London

PARIS:
Dinner Cruise on the Seine
Food Tours: Paris by Mouth and We Taste Paris - can't say enough great things about our guide Aurelien Laban!
Cooking Class - we did the market tour + lunch cooking class

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Transcript

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Hey there. It's Laurie. Real quick before we get into this week's episode. Do any of the sound like you. You have everything you always thought you ever wanted. Career family, nice house, nice cars stamps in your passport. But it still feels like something's missing in your life. You're not quite sure what it is, but it just feels like you were made for something more. Or maybe you constantly feel like you need to learn one more thing, chase, one more achievement, earn one more accolade to make your life complete. You're always searching for the next right answer to find the fulfillment and happiness and satisfaction. You've always been looking for. Or maybe you feel like the planning never ends. There's always one more thing. To do or accomplish or get in place before you can take time for yourself. If you can relate to any of these, even a little bit. I want to make sure that you know about the free trainings that I'm hosting in December. Join me live to discover the three simple principles, every midlife woman, including you. Needs to know, to stop waiting until retirement or when the kids leave the house or when the time is right or someday. And start living her best life right now. You'll also learn how to become a part of the next cohort of the Gap Year. Starting in January, 2025. The Gap Year is a school of mid-life 12 month experience-based coaching program for high-performing midlife women to figure out who they are, what they actually want. And what matters most to them in this season of life. So plan to join me for the free live trainings in December. To learn how women everywhere are creating their best life in midlife. And skipping the midlife crisis. These trainings are free to join, but you must register to get the link. Grab your seat now with the clickable link in the show notes, or go to www.schoolofmidlife.com forward slash training to get signed up. That's www.schoolofmidlife.com forward slash training T R a I N I N G to get signed up. Let's make midlife your best life and let's get started now. I'll see you in December. Now let's get into this week's episode. Welcome to the School of Midlife podcast. I'm your host, Laurie Reynoldson. This is the podcast for the midlife woman who starting to ask herself big life questions. Like, what do I want? Is it too late for me? And what's my legacy beyond my family and my work. Each week we're answering these questions and more. At the School of Midlife, we're learning all of the life lessons they didn't teach us in school and we're figuring out finally what it is we want to be when we grow up. Let's make midlife your best life. Well, Hey friends, it's Laurie. Welcome back to the School of Midlife podcast. I am excited to be here, live with you today. If you have listened to the last two episodes, then you'll know that I have been on vacation. Had a great time. I'll talk more about that. Um, during this episode, but the last two episodes were replays from last year's have Yourself a Merry Little Midlife Holiday Series that came out, um, around this time last year, six different episodes on how to you know, not just survive the holiday season, but also enjoy it. And the last two episodes were about healthy habits and setting boundaries. If you enjoyed those episodes, then there are a couple more that I think you would really like from last year. They're talking about how to survive the family drama. How maybe. Taking down the expectations a little bit in during the holiday season are going to help you enjoy it more. Um, what happens if you're feeling a little blue during the holiday season? So I will drop clickable links to the. Original episodes that rounded out the Have Yourself a Merry Little Midlife Holiday series in the show notes here. And if you've enjoyed the last two, then you can listen to the rest of the series. But in today's episode, I want to talk about kind of an aha as a surprising realization I had while we were on vacation. We were in London for a week and Paris for a week. And this is the vacation that we have put off. This was our third time scheduling it. We were originally scheduled to go on this vacation in September of 2023, but Mike's mom. I had a series of falls and had to have surgery, and we had to reschedule at that point because we needed to be here to help her rehab from her surgery. So we rescheduled it a year later to September of 20, 24. And then Mike's father passed away. So we finally, we put it on the calendar for November of 20, 24 and we finally made it and it was, it was fantastic. It was just one of those really. Wonderful vacations and it's possible, you know, that we've had so much going on in our lives, particularly as it relates to taking care of my parents. We had to cancel, not only this vacation last year, but pretty much all of our vacations and we're travelers. So it was nice to finally get away and, um, be able to. Just do something. Outside of where we usually hang out and have a bunch of new experiences and. So I want to talk a little bit about that today. I will start by saying that every morning in the Best Life Planner, I, as you know, I write out the five things. I'm grateful for the 10 dreams I achieved the kind of the big things I'm working on in my life that. If I achieve them, I'd be living my midlife best life. And then of course, rounded out with the five things that I'm looking forward to today. So 5, 10, 5. Well, number six on my 10 dreams I achieved is I vacation annually in Europe and at the beach. Because best life, Laurie, she takes two vacations a year, uh, and I've had several people say, well, you could just go to the, the beach, somewhere in. Europe. I could, but I want those to be two separate vacations because to me there's so much history. And so much to see so much to go and do an experience in Europe. That. Yeah. We might spend some time at the beach in Europe, but I also want a second vacation each year, which is literally just sitting my ass on a beach. Maybe drinking, tropical cocktails, maybe eating chips and guacamole, depending on where we're at. Probably reading a book, just not doing a lot of anything. Um, you know, Getting dressed for the day just to go out to dinner is kind of my speed for that type of vacation because they're in my mind. They fill you up in two different ways. One of course, the experiential of the go do see all the things that, that is something that challenges you and is exciting in one way, but then there's something so restorative and rejuvenating and refreshing about simply getting away, being somewhere, you know, where you don't have to take care of the laundry. You, you don't have to worry about the bills. No yard work, but able to just get away and do nothing. And that there's something that I absolutely love about the, two vacation. Years that I am. Being intentional about taking in my life. Now, of course, if you have a year, like we've had the last year and a half. Probably not going to get two vacations in, but we, we did. We were in Mexico in may, and then we just returned from Europe. So I actually made that happen this year, but it's not going to come off of my 10 dreams I achieved because that's something that I want to keep front and center going forward. Um, if you want to learn a little bit more about the morning, 5, 10, 5. I know I've talked about it on the podcast before, but, um, Go to the website, learn about the planner. I think I've, might've mentioned that. At the retreat this year, one of the women who has been a long time user of the planner said, Laurie, you. You did not name this correctly. Yeah. You call it a planner and I get that, but this is way more than a planner. I think about it as my life designer. And it is one of those books that I keep with me all the time. So that I know exactly what I'm supposed to be doing in my life. So yes, I call it a planner. There is a lot more in it that will help you step more fully and be more intentional about living the life that you actually want to live. If you want to learn a little bit more about the planner or, or the life designer, whatever you want to call it. I'll drop a clickable link to the Best Life Planner in the show notes. And you can check that out as well. But back to our vacation, which is kind of the focus of today's episode. We were gone two weeks. Which when you think about it, it doesn't doesn't seem like all that much for a vacation, but it, I mean, it feels, it felt like. When we were planning it, it felt like it was the perfect amount of time. We would spend one week in London and then one week in Paris. Because of course, if you are traveling that far. And, and there's going to be some. Jet lag on both ends of the trip. It kind of feels like you need to go for. At least a certain amount of time. Right? I mean, there, there was someone that we met who lived in New York city and he was there for a four day weekend. But it takes him six hours to fly there. So, yeah. Okay. I get that for us. When all of the connections line up, which they did going to Europe, then that, you know, we're looking at like a 13 hour. 1314 hour flight travel timeline. Coming home. We had some delays. Because of mechanical issues. So we actually had a 27 hour travel day when we were returning home, which was really a long day. I will say that the older we get the harder it is. I think it's an age thing. It's just, it's harder to adapt to. The time change and the jet lag and, um, We had not expected to spend that much time traveling, but anyway, uh, Completely kicked both of our asses. We did not do much for the weekend. Once we got home, but anyway, um, Suffice it to say we were gone for two weeks and when we were planning it out, We had not been to London before, so we wanted to spend a week getting familiar with London. We've heard great things about it, and it did not disappoint. We really, really enjoyed our time there. And then we wanted to spend a week in Paris and. I am convinced that I will get to a point in my life where I spend. Part of the year in France. I just love it. Um, I think I'm on. Day, I don't know, 1020 of consecutive French lessons on Dualingo. I learned French in school when I was younger. Um, certainly I have forgotten a lot of it, but. I just love. The idea of going to the market in the morning and finding the fresh cheese and the fresh fish and some charcuterie. And of course, a, uh, out of the oven, fresh baguette. And lovely flowers and just having that kind of simple, easy go to the market, buy all the fresh stuff, take it home. Enjoy it. Be very. Intentional about meals and eating, you know, not sitting in front of the TV, not watching a sports. Event. Actually enjoying the food, savoring the food. There's just something about the French lifestyle that really appeals to me. I had, I'd been to Paris once before, but we had packed so much into it. That we were actually outside of Paris. So in the Champagne Region, More than we were actually in Paris. So while we had seen the Eiffel tower and we. I had done one of those double Decker bus tours, which I know they're touristy, but they are a fan tastic way to orient yourself and see a bunch of any new city. Um, we're big fans of the double Decker bus. And we had done that the time before, but there was so much to Paris that we had not experienced. So. Our schedule for Paris. This time was much different than it was before. And. It was, it was great. Let's talk about what I loved about the trip. We did such cool things in both cities, things that we had never done before, experienced places that we had never seen. In London, of course, we went and saw all of the. You know, Westminster, Abbey and Big Ben and Parliament. And we, we did a lot of the touring through. Sites that you're supposed to see. And we did that. Another thing we did is we went to a soccer match. Or a football match, depending on which continent you're on. Um, it had been, it was the first time though that I had been to a Premier League game and it was, it was fantastic. It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. It was just, we got on the train, they call it The Tube in London. We got on the train and went to a game and got there early enough so that we could have the full experience with the. Home team fans, and it was a ton of fun. So we did that. We of course stopped by Harrods, the big department store in London. And that was, I don't know, it was fine. It was, I don't think we'll go back again. I mean, it was just kind of one of those things that you see and. If you're really into high-end shopping. Cool. But we also, when we go abroad or really on any trip, we only pack a carry on suitcase. Which is great because anytime you're going through Customs, you know, it's, it's super quick. Um, but also there's not a ton of room to bring a bunch of stuff home. So we weren't really looking to do a lot of. Shopping while we were there. So we go to the football game, we did some touring. We had this really cool private tour, like a rock and roll tour in London. And heard all about the Rolling Stones and David Bowie and the Beatles and Amy Winehouse. Just all of these. Great. Musical. Acts that are either from. The London area. Or spent a significant amount of time there. That, that was really an incredible, um, I will say both the rock and roll tour and our tour of the Parliament and Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, those were all done with a private tour guide and so worth the money. Not only are you not in a huge group of people, but you can really get one-on-one time. It's it's easy to get in and out of spaces, maybe that big groups can't get into, you can ask a ton of questions. I would highly recommend. Private tours. Moving forward. So instead of going. On group tours, which you know, can be fine. Um, really worth it. And honestly, not that much more expensive to book a private tour, but much more enjoyable. Another thing we did in London is we saw Hamilton in London, which I felt was super ironic. Right. It's about, of course the, um, The revolution in the, in the. The war with England. Anyway, it was great. The cast in London was spectacular. It was in a beautiful theater, just so much fun. We did high tea one day, which was a new experience. Another thing we did, that was really a lot of fun and the weather was spectacular. Is, we did a private bike tour. So we were able to see a ton of the city. On bicycles. That we wouldn't have been able to experience either on foot or. There's something different. If you are in a car that takes you to a neighborhood or an area. Yes, you can see it, but it's so much different than being on the ground either. Walking. Or. In our case, on, on bicycles and. It was such a cool experience. Um, Yeah. It was great. So London was fantastic. And then after a week in London, we went to Paris. And our first night we did a riverboat cruise. Um, Maxims, well known popular long standing restaurants in Paris, and they catered our dinner on the boat. It was fantastic. You know, when we booked it, we thought, well, this is probably going to be one of those really touristy things. I, we might have been the only Americans on the boat. There were a number of. French. Citizens who were celebrating birthdays, anniversaries. So it wasn't near as touristy as it sounds like it could have been, it was, it was fantastic actually. And it was really cool to see. The city at night with all of the lights and the. It was, it was great. I mean, There's something about the Eiffel Tower that any time I see it. I get that little kid giddy, like kind of. Sort of like when the first snow falls of the year, it doesn't matter where you are or what you're doing. It's just so exciting to see it's snow. Well, that's how I feel when I'm in Paris. And I see. The Eiffel Tower for the first time. And the second time and pretty much anytime I go around the corner and like, it pops up in my view, it's it just makes me so excited. I love it. Paris is known for their brocantes. Which are their flea markets. And some of them are a permanent flea markets. And then some of them just pop up for the weekend. And we went to this really cool pop-up market in a neighborhood that we had never been to before Passy. And we shopped this really cool flea market and it was. It was great. It was, it was just a really fun experience. We did a couple of private food tours in different neighborhoods. So with those food tours. We. Would meet a guide and there were. Both times. The tours were. Six people. Really small. And our guide. We w we ended up having the same guide for both of them, but we meet the guide. First stop. As soon as you meet the group and the guide, you go to an incredible bakery where they're serving award, winning croissants and baguettes. Because the French loved their bread. In fact, Um, I don't remember the number exactly, but. The billions of loaves of baguettes that the French people consume each year. It's it's staggering. How much bread that they eat. It's also delicious. It's so here's, what's interesting though, is in France every year. There is a competition for the best croissant. And then another competition for the best baguette. And if you win the baguette competition, Then you supply all of the bread. to the President f or the year. So it's kind of a cool, I mean, obviously there's some bragging rights that go along with it, but also, you know, you just, it's, it's kind of a big deal. So each food tour started at an award-winning boulangerie and award-winning bakery. And, you know, croissant right out of the oven. We picked up some bread for later in the day. And then you hit all of these individual cheese shops. Um, charcuterie markets. Award-winning chocolate producers. And once, you know, we stop at these shops at these small little markets. We pick up what the, the guide has selected for us. Then we went and would have these incredible picnic style lunches. At a wine shop. So you've got all of these goodies that we've picked up plus paired with wine. It was a wonderful way to spend the day. We did two of those. One day when we knew it was going to be pouring down rain, we booked a cooking class. That was super fun. We got up, we, we did a cooking class for lunch. So what you did is you met in the morning and you walked to the market. To look at all. You know, what is fresh forum? A meat standpoint, what's fresh from a. Fish standpoint, let's look at the vegetables and there are only three of us that were in that class. So Mike and me, and then, then the this other gentleman. We figured out what we wanted to buy based on what was in season. And then we went back and we cooked it. So we made this incredible. Our entree was, A scallop dish and the incredible beurre blanc sauce. And then for our meal, we did an That was braised in a tomato and orange sauce with little to. Uh, little potatoes with it. And then we finished with a chocolate souffle. We were probably in the cooking class for six hours a day, including the market tour. But like I said, it was pouring down rain outside, so it wasn't like we were going to. Go outside and see a bunch of monuments or anything like that. It was, it was a great way to spend the day. Inside. Then one day we got on the train and we went out to Versailles and we did A private golf cart tour of the gardens. Which. Uh, I'm sure are stunning. We had never been to Versailles before, but right now everything is it's kind of dead, right. I mean the flowers aren't in bloom, all the statues are covered up for the winter to protect them. They are pulling out a bunch of. Plants that are annuals that, you know, aren't going to winter. Well, so it was w it was cool to see the gardens, and it was nice to be in a golf cart because we were able to cover a lot of ground. I will go back to Versailles though, because I think the thing about. That trip is how stunning it would be to see all of the. Flowers in bloom to see all the fountains on. Um, that's definitely something that when you go in mid November, you're not going to see. So we'll, we'll definitely go back to Versailles. Um, not to mention most charming little city in Versailles. The little town. Really a fun way to spend the afternoon. So we, we went and we did a lot of things and what's interesting is. We pretty much ate lunch every day. Whether it was in a food tour or in a cooking class. And then we vary. I think we only had like two dinners out the entire time we were there because you eat lunch at E maybe you start at two o'clock. And then it's a two or three hour. Thing. You know, you sit there and you really enjoy it. And there's no rush. Like there is in the U S. And so when it came time for dinner, we just really weren't really hungry. So most of the time we just had big lunches. Walked a ton and skipped dinner. Which means if you're basically eating breakfast and then a large lunch and skipping dinner. And walking. 20,000 steps a day, then you can come home five pounds lighter like I did, and still have eaten all of the croissants and baguettes and chocolate and all the things that you want to do while you're on vacation. because I loved the individuals that we worked with on all of the tours that we did. I'll go ahead and drop, clickable links to each of those. tour providers in the show notes. If you happen to be. Scheduling a trip to London or Paris, because like I said, we had a great experience. What I can't drop a clickable link to is the weather forecast? On our last day in Paris, we woke up to it snowing. Which was. You know how he's talking about the first snow of the year and seeing the Eiffel Tower and it's, it's like double magic, double kid. Giddiness excitement when you're in a foreign city, the very rarely get snow and it was. It was pretty magical. Um, it, you know, it didn't really stick a little bit, but it was a pretty heavy. Wet snow. And of course we were not, we didn't have the correct gear for it because we packed two weeks before it's snowed. And at that point, the weather forecast wasn't calling for snow at all, but. Even though we were cold walking around. Um, it was a little wet. It was still so beautiful. So, yeah, we had a fantastic vacation. Here's my biggest aha. Here is the thing that I was most surprised about because I love a vacation, like I said, where you go and do and experience new things and meet new people. Loved that. Um, The thing that surprised me the most about this vacation is two weeks seemed a little long for me. And here's why. I realized. That this is the first vacation that I have taken since I have completely changed my life. Since I have quit practicing law since I have moved away from real estate brokerage. Since I have really focused on the School of Midlife and really been intentional about figuring out what the second half of my life looks like. You know, not just for midlife, but midlife and beyond, like, what is it I want to do with my life and how do I want to live it? So this is the first vacation I have done since I have transitioned away from a more traditional workplace. And. Really. It's the first time that I have. I have stepped away from the School of Midlife for two weeks. And. I really missed my real life. Like, I love what I am living right now. And I would never have said that before. I mean. Sure there is something great about sleeping in your own bed when you get back. Aye. W I missed Theo terribly. I mean, it was, it was wonderful to see our sweet Theo while we were gone. We, we have a house sitter. Who comes and stays with him. And it was great to get. Photos of him and videos of him just running big smile on his face, all four paws off the ground. I mean, he, he obviously missed us because when we got home and. One o'clock in the morning when we, when we walked in the door, I mean, he was just beside himself, so he was excited to see us, but it, it made me feel good that he was also having a good experience while we were gone. So, yeah. I understand that I'd be eager to get back because I love my bed and I like the routine and R four legged boy is, you know, everything. But. It's more than that. For the first time maybe ever in my life. I was craving getting back to the life that I've created at home. Yes. There's something fantastic about going and doing and seeing and being somewhere new, but it's pretty fucking fantastic when you can't wait to get home. To be back in the life. That you have been intentional about creating for yourself. It's that whole idea of making midlife your best life? And figuring out what you want. And figuring out how you define success so that you can create a life. That. Is not only successful by your terms, but feels good when you're living it. And it was such this beautiful realization for me that I have done that, that I am doing that, that it's not something that I'm waiting until. Retirement or the time is right or someday. Yeah, we've had to delay some things because of the caregiving time that Mike's parents have required. But for the most part, We are. Doing the things that we want to do, we're living the life that we want to live. It's so much different than. I had ever experienced before. Like when I was say in the law firm. Or even at the real estate brokerage. There is so much time. That has to be put in ahead of time before you leave on vacation. Do you know what I'm talking about? Where you have to make sure that all of your projects are staffed. You have to make sure that your team is they're all self-sufficient and they can keep moving forward without you. Just the sheer number of projects and emails and. Up front work that always went into leaving town while I was in a more traditional workplace. It was exhausting. Uh, do you know what I'm talking about? I'm sure you do because. The amount. Of prep time that goes into leaving the office for two weeks. It almost feels like. Is it really worth it? I mean, of course going on vacation is great. But when you have to spend so much extra time and energy before leaving town, it almost feels like. The trade-off isn't worth it. And then of course, while you're away. There are calls and emails from your team that people expect you to answer. Just like you're still in the office, you know, it's, it's kind of that, Hey, got a minute. Um, I don't mean to, I don't mean to bother you, but we could really use your weigh in on this. This time. I obviously put out of office responses on everything. I mean, my phone, my emails. But I also might, my team knew I was away. It was not a big deal. Like don't reach out to me. You can figure this out. You don't actually need me. And I, it wasn't all that pressure to set things up. While I was gone.'cause I, it was just a much different. Feeling that, you know what things are in a really good place. Nothing is going to no balls are going to be dropped while I'm gone. Everyone. Knows what they're supposed to be doing. Everyone has their, their tasks in line. They, they know what's going on. We are going to be fine. And then the other thing that was really cool related to work. Is it wasn't like I spent days and days getting caught up. On emails or phone calls or, you know, all of that. Post vacation re-entry work that goes in. At the office where you spend maybe an entire day just emptying out your inbox. It was really easy to just look at my inbox, select pretty much everything that came in while I was gone and delete it without spending much time going through each email. Figuring out, does this need to be filed? Is this something that needs my attention? Well, no, it doesn't need my attention. Cause it happened, you know, last week. I don't need to worry about it anymore. Darren Hardy who wrote The Compound Effect, talked about. His. Secret for going away on vacation. And it was his out of the office message said I'm out of the office between these dates. Your email will be automatically deleted while I'm away. If you still need to reach me on this issue, when I return. Contact me after this date. I have not done that. I love the idea of it because how often do we actually get pulled into things that someone else should really be taken care of? Something that really, I mean, yeah. Okay, we can, we can weigh in. We can give our opinion on it, but at the end of the day, this is something that someone else should be taken care of. And they're only looking to us to make it easier on them. Well, what if we just said, you know, not my circus, not my monkeys. You take care of your shit. All take care of mine. And. There was something. About coming back. From vacation this time, that just felt lighter. That just felt like. I don't feel like I need another vacation. Like the re-entry hasn't been such the head. I feel like I need another vacation to.'cause I, I had so much time and energy spent trying to catch up from when I was gone before. No, I. It's. It's hard to explain. But it's wonderful. And. It took me by surprise. I don't know why it took me by surprise. I mean, I feel like I have been. I've made a lot of decisions over the past three or four years. To put me into this place where I'm at. And I think it was more of a. Grateful. Confirmation. That what I am doing. How I am creating this life, how I am setting it up. It's really working and it's worth it. And. It's one of those, you know, walk the walk, talk the talk, which is, it's one thing for me to sit here with a microphone and say, you should go do this. You know, you should, you should figure out ways to make midlife your best life. You should figure out what you actually want. You should figure out what you define success as. You should figure out what your best life looks like. I mean, there are plenty of people who just. Tell us what to do. And they don't actually do it right. They, they, they read in a book somewhere. Someone told them that that was the way to do it. And so they are simply a conduit to pass along the same exact information in a different way. That's not what I'm doing here. It is this beautiful. Realization. That all of the work that I've put in and all of the work that I'm sharing, whether it's at the School of Midlife, whether it's at. The Best Life Retreats, whether it's in the Gap Year, 12 month program. Wherever the information is shared, whether it's on this podcast, even. It works. Like this, this shit works. This is not just a bunch of hot air. If you are a woman in midlife high, performing done all the things up until now, been wildly successful in your career. Been a fantastic mother. You have excelled at all the things. If you are looking to make mid-life your best life. If you're looking to make sure that life is not passing you by in the second half of your life, then stick around because. This shit works. It's great. And there is something going about going away on vacation, a vacation that you, that I really wanted to take. I was so looking forward to. But then, then getting to like day 12, thinking two weeks might be tool. Two weeks might be too long to be away from the life that I have. Created the life that I love, the life that I could've only dreamed about and never really thought that I could live. I mean, it just. It's pretty great. And that's, that's the understatement of the season. That's maybe the understatement of the year, maybe the understatement of my life, but it is, it's pretty great. And my wish for you. Is, I hope you find that. And whether it's with me, like I said, at the Best Life Retreat or the Gap Year or one-on-one coaching. I hope you find that. And I, as always, I would be, I would welcome. The opportunity to work with you. But I hope you get to the point like me, where you don't need to take a vacation from your real life. Sure. It's great to go and do and experience new things, but. Once you get to a point in your life where your life is pretty fucking great. Then you're not constantly looking for what's the next. Promotion. I can get what's the next accolade I can. Urn. I will be happy when I will feel satisfied. If you stopped doing that, you really live in this, in this space of gratitude in the space of knowing. In this space of confirmation that, that you finally have it figured out. As always, I am thrilled to have you along on this School of Midlife ride, I am so grateful for you fitting because it is, uh, at the time this episode drops, it is. Thanksgiving week in the U S so very grateful for you to be here. Thank you for listening. I will see you right back here next week when the School of Midlife is back in session. Until then take good care. Thank you so much for listening to the School of Midlife podcast. It means so much to have you here each week. If you enjoyed this episode, could you do me the biggest favor and help us spread the word to other midlife women? There are a couple of easy ways for you to do that first. And most importantly, if you're not already following the show, would you please subscribe? That helps you because you'll never miss an episode. And it helps us because you'll never miss an episode. Second, if you'd be so kind to leave us a five-star rating, that would be absolutely incredible. And finally, I personally read each and every one of your reviews. So if you take a minute and say some nice things about the podcast, well, that's just good karma. Thanks again for listening. I'll see you right back here. Next week when the School of Midlife is back in session until then take good care.