Happy Sunday, everyone. Mere here!
Currently I am writing this newsletter a week early with the idea to give myself a bit of space ā¦ in short I am working to be prepared for what will be coming up. In a few days, my sister and I are heading to South Carolina for what I've started calling a turn and burn trip: you drive to your destination, you stay twenty four hours (if lucky), and you leave. We'll be releasing my dad's ashes. I'll also be seeing my teenage and college home for the last time.
I almost wrote there's a lot to wrap up on this trip. But wrapping up implies something's finished, and honestly, it feels more like there's a lot just starting. There have been so many doors that have opened this year yet this still is more than I can fully put into words right now.
This trip is just one piece of a year that's been defined by nothing but unknowns for me. For example, as I shared recently my husband is still in our home in Canada, and I'm currently living with family while I look for a rental. September, October, I genuinely don't know what these hold. And in truth depending on the week my answer has changed dramatically. I have a few different paths in front of me right now, and none of them are settled. And oddly enough, I'm not scared. I haven't been yet. Instead I have only felt this propulsion forwardā¦ sometimes propulsion has felt like a catapult but here we are ha ha.
I share this because I want you to know I'm doing this whole thing called life alongside you, not from some finish line or Instagram filter. Speaking of, I'll admit, I've been on Instagram a lot less lately, and as Iāve said it before here in a newsletter it actually does bother me. I wish it were more of a priority for me and I would be more present there. I can truthfully say if you donāt see me post .. I am not there ha ha.
So no, I'm not writing this from some finished, figured out place. I'm in a reflective moment right now, because there's going to be a lot changing quickly as this year winds down. And what I can say is that I any resilience I'm starting to let myself recognize in myself, I see the same thing every day in each of my clients and what a damn honor that is.
Something that's been a massive anchor for me through all the ebbs of this year is my work, my people, my community. I can say, truthfully, I love what I do and the people who I choose to surround myself with. I get to support the most incredible women and, I love that that support extends to their loved ones too, their husbands, their parents, their early adult and adult children! I love that I get to do this on a bigger scale as well, through mentoring other coaches doing this same work in their own practices.
That mentorship side is actually where this week's blog came from and I truly hope you spread the word to as many females as you know. I was talking to one of my mentees about a client of hers, who had had a similar experience as several of my clients. These women went in for their women's health exam and never got a pelvic exam. The reason they had been given....they are in or close to being in menopause.
My mentee said exactly what I said to my clients, āshe may be in menopause but she still has a vagina.ā
I wrote the full breakdown of what's is happening to that tissue, what a brand 2025 clinical guideline says providers should be doing instead, and what to ask for at your next appointment. As a female, I understand that this may not be a comfortable dinner time topic, or comfortable topic at all to some.. But it is an important one. Dare I say a life saving oneā¦
Read the full piece [HERE]
With Passion and Resilience
Mere and Sarah
If you have a question of your own, the anonymous form that started this entire series is still open. Ask Fortify {HERE} I already have the next one queued up and I cannot wait to get into it!
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