Saturday Secrets: An Epic Family Road Trip
Tips on living a calmer life as a working mama sent to your inbox every weekend Dear Working Parents,
In the darkest depths of COIVD remote-school winter last year, one light on the horizon gave me hope: our plans for an epic summer cross-country road trip. We've now gotten back from what were 4 of the most amazing weeks I've spent with my family. Full stop.
The short story? It was a joy-filled, lockdown detox adventure.
Just as Teddy Roosevelt immersed himself in the nature of the Dakotas to heal a broken heart after his wife and mother died the same day, being out in wide-open indescribable places like Badlands, Yellowstone, and Zion did wonders for our souls. What began as a get-out-of-Dodge and escape COVID-hell plan turned into the start of what I now know will be a life-long fascination with the National Parks. As Conor Knighton writes in Leave Only Footprints: My Acadia-to-Zion Journey Through Every National Park, "the parks felt more like something I wanted to run toward."
Want the longer story? Read on in this week's blog post: An Epic Family Road Trip: 8,153 Miles, 20 States, 7 National Parks, 2 Kids, & 1 Minivan.
Want to see some more trip photos than are in the blog post? I will be sharing a bunch in the coming weeks on Instagram. Just follow @mindfulreturn, and I'll give you the highlight reel! Have a question about working parenthood or returning to work after parental leave that you'd like me to answer? Submit it to lori@mindfulreturn.com. #Amplifymelanatedvoices
Let's stick with the travel theme! Iolani Bullock, a working mom and Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at The Carlyle Group, was frustrated that there weren't kids books about international travel that featured diverse protagonists. So she wrote a book herself! Her book, Lennox Takes Flight, is about an "imaginative kid who loves airplanes and dreams of the day he will get to board one. When his parents announce that the family is taking a trip overseas, he learns that his great grandad was a Tuskegee Airman who earned pilot wings." The book will be out in a few months, and you can sign up here to receive info when is available for order!
More Working Parent Resources
1. Heading back to work after parental leave soon? Next sessions of Mindful Return start on Monday, September 13, 2021. Going back to work after having a baby is challenging under *any* circumstances. Try doing it during a global pandemic, and you're going to want as much support as you can get. The next sessions of our 4-week, cohort-based online course for both new moms and new dads start on Monday, September 13, 2021. Learn more and sign up for the mom version here, the dad version here, and the UK mum version here.
"I admit that when I first signed up for this course, I was hesitant about adding yet another item on my seemingly never-ending to-do list during maternity leave. I rarely had time to drink a cup of coffee before it became cold, so how would I be able to participate fully in a "course"? Each morning, however, I found myself excited to read the insightful lessons and discuss topics with so many intelligent and caring mamas. Many of the lessons and discussions helped me recognize and address anxieties that I had but did not even know how to put into words. I returned to work recharged, energized, and far more confident in my ability to succeed as both a mom and an attorney thanks to this course."
-Michelle A., new mama to a four month old, and litigator at an Am Law 100 firm
[Have a financial hardship and can't afford the full course fee? We now have a streamlined process for applying for financial assistance to take the course. Simply complete this form.] 2. Do you have any friends or family in India who are expecting a baby or who are new working parents? If yes, please let them know that we have a unique opportunity for them to demo our brand new India Chapter of the Mindful Return course for free (normally $199 USD or 15,000 INR) in exchange for providing course feedback. On Monday, September 13, we will be launching both the mom and the dad versions of our India Chapter.
Although the Mindful Return program originally began in the US, the Mindful Return India Chapter courses have been carefully adapted to the Indian context by respected working mom and working dad professionals who live and work in India, to ensure the content is tailored to the Indian audience. The coaches within the course are also Indian moms and dads, based in India. Find out more here, and please reach out to me at lori@mindfulreturn.com, or to Aaditya at aaditya@laado.me or +91 9930443689, if you (or your friend or family member) would like a free registration for the September session of this India-based program. 3. Want to learn directly from the person who has been the nanny for celebs like Justin Bieber, George Clooney, Brooke Shields, Jessica Biel, Justin Timberlake, and Jessica Alba? Join me for a live conversion with Nanny Connie!
To kick off Mindful Return's fall book talk series, I'm so excited to speak with Connie Simpson, "nanny to the stars" on Thursday, September 30, from 12-1pm Eastern. We'll be talking about her book, The Nanny Connie Way, and about all things baby care and new parenthood. Hope you can join us! You'll have a chance to ask her your own questions, too. Register here! 5. Our next Friday Clubhouse chat will be on Friday, September 17!! Since the spring, I've been hosting chats on Clubhouse through Moms Club on Fridays at 12pm Eastern about everything related to parental leave and thriving in working parenthood. There's no chat this coming Friday (September 10), but please join us the following week on the 17th! You can follow @mindfulreturn on Clubhouse to have these events show up in your feed.
Clubhouse Chat: Friday, September 17, 12-1pm Eastern: Parental Leave & Juggling Work + Baby. Hope you can join me there!
All the best for a mindful return, Lori | 
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