👋 Can I ask for help?

It's Monday. I'm Here for You.

The Pick Me Up is a Monday morning newsletter filled with advice, personal stories, and tips to help you get out of bed and jumpstart your week.

Greetings friend.

It’s me — Jen Glantz.

I'm not going to lie, my friends, last week was tough.

Adam was away for a few days and I was home solo with baby and dog. I woke up Friday morning and checked the weather. It said rain. I said: we've got this.

I put rain jackets on everyone and everything -- including the stroller. But when I went downstairs, I saw that it wasn't just raining. It was pouring. It was flooding. There were waves of water outside my apartment building. I'm from Florida. Even so, I've never seen anything like this before. 

Goofy had to go outside. But it was dangerous, especially with a 6-month-old baby. I didn't know what to do. I stood in the lobby of our building and watched the water continue to thicken. It was rushing into our building. It was coming in through the walls. 

I didn’t have anyone there to help me. I was scared, I was desperate, I was sad.

I stood there and sobbed. 

It was that moment stacked with the maddening fact that I haven't slept in months stacked with the harrowing truth that motherhood is so secretly lonely stacked with the exhaustion of just trying to do everything -- work full-time and take care of a baby full-time -- that just made me completely unravel.

My whole life, I've gone through great lengths not to be a burden on anyone. I work hard to never ask anyone for anyone. But on that day, I didn't have a choice.

I asked a friend in the building if she could do me a big favor and sit inside with the baby while I somehow took Goofy outside.

She said: of course.

I held Goofy above my head and swam (yes, swam) through the waves of water to get across the street where there was a part of the sidewalk where the water wasn't so high. Goofy went to the bathroom. We swam back to my building. 

I spent the rest of the day trying to find ways to thank this person for what felt like the favor of a lifetime.

She said: I love helping others but I don't ever like asking for help either.

And it made me realize — I fight so hard to do everything myself, like I have something to prove. As if the people around me will like me more if I never ask them for anything.

But that’s not true.

I need to remember that people in my life want to be around me for the good moments but also have the armor, attention, and ability to show up for the really hard times too.

If there’s one thing I could change about myself it would be to ask for as much as I give. Not in a “let’s keep score kind of way” but in a “wow, see? People want to be there for you too” kind of way.

I think most people do. You just have to give them the chance.

Why you’re getting this: I'm Jen Glantz and this is The Pick-Me-Up newsletter. I've been sending it every Monday, for 8-years, to thousands of awesome humans, just like you. Thank you for letting this email live in your inbox. It truly makes my heart explode with joy.

Ps. I’m so grateful that you’re reading this because writing this newsletter every week is my favorite thing. If you know anyone who would adore getting this in their inbox, it would mean the world if you’d share it.

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⚡Instant Pick Me Ups

Ps. All of the picks from the past few months are all inside this list here!

📚: A book of postcards that you can send to friends for no reason except that you love and miss them.

📚:I want all of these books — how fun!!! I think these are great holiday gifts for people in your life too.

📄: I wrote this article on a few ways I use AI to help me save time in my business and life. Here’s a good (free) AI app that helps you with writing.

🎙️: From TikTok to podcast - what do you think of Alix Earle? I find her to be fascinating and mostly enjoyed her new podcast.

👟: I’ve been having a good time trying out new workouts I’ve never done before — from dance classes to a rock climbing class. I’ve been feeling lazy and not excited about doing my usual workouts so I’ve used this app to find classes to try. I did a Corepower Yoga Sculpt class that was just mesmerizing.

🎵: I love a good Sia song.

🛍️: The last few things I bought on Amazon

• I needed a second tripod so I bought this one again. It’s the best because it folds up and is tiny to store.

• I had to test out this moisturizer for an article I’m writing and I actually loved it.

• I sent this gift to a friend who misses NYC.

• Bought another one of these because I got a new phone case. This is my on-the-go tripod. Works really well!

🛠️: I built a tool! It can write you a personalized maid of honor speech instantly. We also launched a best man version too — check it out!

💬: An old co-worker of mine shared really good advice on LinkedIn. He said that he doesn’t ask his kids what they want to be when they grow up. Instead he asks them what they want to try. We think too much about destinations — goals. But what about the in-between and what we do while we’re on our way to getting there?

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👩 Real Life Pick-Me-Ups

• I used to think it was cringe when people had kids and referred to their friends as “aunts” or “uncles” — but now I’m that person and I think it’s absolutely the most special thing in the world. I don’t have a big family. I have a handful of really close friends. Lately, so many of them have been meeting Gemma and it feels so natural to introduce them to her as Aunt… or Uncle…. One lesson I hope to teach her, that I didn’t know growing up, is that people we deeply love are our family, even if technically they are not.

• Last week was the Jewish holiday — Yom Kippur. It’s such a powerful holiday and I use it every year to do a friendship inventory. Here’s what it looks like.

• I love talking about Money. Here are some of my biggest money mistakes that I’m working on fixing up.

Until next week — say hello in the comments!

-Jen Glantz