How to Handle the Ordinary Day
What to do when life feels repetitive
PICK-ME-UP: YOU'RE THE RAIN, I'M THE SNOW
Hello! Greetings from Florida. I'm still here watching the rain wondering what it thinks about the snow. Do you think they are enemies or the closest of friends?
I have some friends in my life that when I explain our friendship to other people I always say, “We have nothing in common, except we both ____.”
The truth is, friendship begins because something keeps the conversation going. Then it grows and expands. Sometimes, a person you thought you'd never get past talking about the weather with, becomes someone you are eager to tell your life story to…slowly, of course.
I'm grateful for both the rain and the snow in my life, just like I'm forever dazzled by the people I keep close and the ones who want me close by.
In this issue: Holding onto memories for dear life, the truth about ordinary days, and odd jobs for those of you who love to travel.
Why you’re getting this: I'm Jen Glantz and this is my Monday Pick-Me-Up newsletter. I've been sending it for over 8-years, every single Monday morning, to thousands of awesome humans, just like you. Thank you for letting this email live in in your inbox. It makes my heart explode with joy.
The Pick-Me-Up: The Memories are Magic
The majority of my life fits inside one of those plastic bins you get from Target.
The bins you store boots, or linens, or records (the ones you know you're never going to play again), before lugging those large rectangle chunks of plastic to the back of your garage.
I have just one of those bins but I used to have many.
I used to have one plastic bin for all my yearbooks, another for random items from being in a sorority for 4-years, and one just for journals that I filled to the end over the years. I will never forget the plastic bin that kept all my homework from K-8th grade or the bin that stored textbooks I never ever wanted to look at again.
There was an entire closet in my parent's house that served as an unofficial shrine to my past. It held all my memories…. my love letters, the stuffed animals I used to consider my closest friends, and the things I was too scared to ever throw away (except the textbooks - those were a mistake).
That closet door didn't lock, but it felt like it did.
Everything inside stayed protected, like it had a place in my life and wasn't going anywhere.
A few years ago, my parents moved. I had to whittle down all of my things into one plastic bin. Just one.
I tossed so many things out that it made me cry. It wasn't just a pile of papers. It wasn't just a stuffed animal I won at a local fair in the 4th grade. It wasn't just a trophy I got for being on the softball team (even though I was mostly just on the bench).
It was a pile of things that were stories, that were memories, that were…..me.
I'm back home in my parent's house and when i'm back home in my parent's house, I remember things.
All of a sudden, I'll think about a person I had a massive crush on, or some random Tuesday in Chemistry class, or how much I miss eating lunch in my high school cafeteria, and then all of a sudden, i'll get mad at myself.
JEN, SERIOUSY STOP.
Stop feeling so many things about a time that's practically in the dumpster.
Then, I do this thing where I count the years backward and realize it's been 20 years since that moment, since I lived that memory, and I start to feel faint.
Where have the years gone and what kind of person have I become and life was so much better then, wasn't it? Who knows.
And then I top off this flashback with one final mean comment to my nostalgic and romantic self:
“You're pathetic for caring about something that happened 20 freaking years ago! That memory belongs with the rest of you stuff…in some south Florida landfill.”
But the other day, mid-flashback, it hit me.
The longer the memory was, the more heavy it feels to remember it.
We've been carrying around that story around for years (whether 30 or 2), it doesn't matter, when we replay our past in our head, it feels like we have sandbags, with a weight that's equivalent to the amount of years that have passed, pushing down on our hearts.
We carry things with us that weigh us down and remember those things when we least expect it.
So let yourself have a moment.
Let yourself feel what it felt when Ryan signed a full page in your yearbook or how you spent hours writing letters begging your parents to pick you up from sleep away camp early (they never did).
Don't be scared to be sad. Let your memories have a moment, no matter where they should be living right now.
All my love,
Jen Glantz
❤️
Random Links
Loved the Movie / Love the Song
I watched the movie Tick, Tick, Boom on Netflix last year and loved it. Here's a fun song from the movie. I also just finished watching The Pursuit of Love on Amazon Prime - and WOW! What a beautiful show.
Also, have this podcast for you if you need a quick hit of Inspo.
Picked From the Library: Cultish
Odd Jobs if You LOOOOOVE Travel
If you're eager to get away or get out of your current frozen environment, I have two new odd job newsletters you are going to love. One is all about the gigs that will pay you to travel and another is about cities that will PAY YOU CASH to move there and work remotely. How awesome? Read them here.
Ps. I'm excited to open up some more coaching spots! I have 2 spots open in February. Check this out if you're interested in working together one-on-one. PLUS! I have availability for company workshops in February/March. If that's of interest, look at this!
🖤
Mini Pick-Me-Up: Ordinary Days
If you think about it, most days are just ordinary.
Most days are not a holiday or a first-class ticket to a beach in Mexico.
Most days are leftovers from the back left corner of the fridge and answering emails that start off with “hope all is well.”
Most days are figuring out what TV show to waste time watching and whether or not you took the clothes out of the washing machine. Did you?
Most days are questioning why you're so mean to yourself and kind to everyone else or if THIS! is what happiness is because if this is what happiness is then why does it smell like the day's old t-shirt you're wearing?
Most days are ordinary but they don't have to be.
You can wear that dry-clean only jacket today.
You can take those leftovers and stick them in the freezer and eat home made tacos on the floor of your living room in a bathing suit. Why not?
You can teach yourself a new dance move today.
You can declare tomorrow a holiday and celebrate it.
Most days are ordinary, yes. But they don't have to be.
The End
Thanks for reading my Pick-Me-Up Newsletter.
If you're on Instagram, add me here: @jenglantz. I post interesting things every day to my story.
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Until next time... I'll be rooting for you and cheering you on!
Have a great week.
Jen Glantz
p.s. Here's the About Me on my website if you forgot who I am or where we met.
-Jen Glantz
Author, Serial Entrepreneur, Podcast Host, Pizza lover, & Goofy's best friend.
Here's what she is currently working on:
The Newlywed Card Game // Books // You're Not Getting Any Younger Podcast // Bridesmaid for Hire // Odd Jobs Newsletter //The First Years of Marriage Newsletter // The Monday Pick-Me-Up Newsletter // Jen & Juice Business & Life Coaching // Company Workshops