The Importance of a Solo Date
A night out with your go-to BFF...you.
PICK-ME-UP: A GOOD TIME WITH YOU
Hello! Greetings from Brooklyn. On Saturday, I went on a date with myself. I booked a reservation at a fancy restaurant I love, got tickets to a Broadway show, put on a funky outfit, and went out on the town.
I need to do this more.
Why? It's so important to love other people and fill our lives with their love too. But above all else, the love we have for ourselves can carry us through daily tensions and seasonal heartbreaks.
Also, I wanted to remind myself that JEN GLANTZ IS A GOOD TIME! That Jen Glantz can have a good time even if she's all by herself eating a big bowl of pasta. That Jen Glantz is fun and funny - even if nobody hears those jokes. That Jen Glantz can sit still, listen to silence, and know that she's a whirlwind of a human, without anybody else having to say that to her.
In this issue: A note on love, love, love OH! and vulnerability.
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: Love is ????
He broke up with my on Valentine's Day.
“It's a made up holiday anyway,” he said, before telling me he never wanted to see me again. I was 26 and madly in love with the idea of love. I wasn't madly in love with him.
Though it would take me years to realize that.
It would take me years to understand that love doesn't look like a disco ball. It looks like a fuzzy oversized sweater. And love doesn't make you feel like you're front row at a Drake concert. It makes you feel like you're sitting back on your favorite couch. And love isn't meant to be seen on Instagram. True love does not photograph well.
I told myself next Valentine's Day, I wouldn't be so alone.
I wished the flowers, and the candy, and the stuffed animal were for me.
“Lucky person," I uttered to a stranger on the subway. I was 23 and single. I was living in New York City and didn't want to be home alone on Valentine's Day so I rode the subway up and down Manhattan watching other people in love.
I always wondered if love, like yawning, is contagious. I always wondered if you could wear someone else's feeling of love like you wear perfume. I always wondered if other people were in love, but you were single, if their love could make you feel some kind of spark for your own life.
I took the subway back home, grabbed a slice of pizza, and realized:
Love isn't a feeling you can force. Though it would take me years to remember that. Though it would take me years to really believe that is true.
I got mad that Adam forgot about Valentine's Day this year.
He said yes to something else on that day - not realizing it's Valentine's Day.
“It's our first Valentine's Day as a married couple,” I yelled. “AND YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SPEND IT WITH ME?”
I am 33 wishing I could tell the 23-year-old version of myself that love is anything but easy. It's like trying to rent an apartment in New York City. You need to give it time, you need to compromise, you need to write love letters to the person about why you'll be a great tenant in their life, you need to hold onto their love letters so you don't forget why you're doing this thing with them…why YOU ARE SPENDING YOUR LIFE WITH THEM.
So today, I'll ride the subway up and down Manhattan not so I can feel other people's love. No. Just so I can remember that we are all, constantly, trying to figure out how to be in love…with ourself…with today's version of ourself.
Am I still mad at Adam? Not at all. I found something odd and sweet for us to to do tomorrow. It's less about Valentine's day and more about the things we love EVERY DAY….Pizza and…words. I'll share that with you soon (or see it here).
All my love,
Jen Glantz
❤️
Random Links
Calm little song for you on this Monday.
Also, have this podcast for you if you need a quick hit of Inspiration.
Random, Random:
Picked From the Library: The 5 Love Languages
I'm reading this book like a textbook to understand how people receive love. It's fascinating.
So many odd jobs in the breakup space // dating space // and love space. Check out those odd gigs here.
Really interesting TED talk about a topic that is so mysterious and complicated = love.
Sharing this in case you need a great gift for someone who just got engaged or married!
Last-Minute Gifts for Valentine's Day
Because sometimes love makes us forgetful.
Ps. I have 1 spot open in March for coaching. Check this out if you're interested in working together one-on-one. PLUS! I have availability for company workshops in March. If that's of interest, look at this!
🖤
Mini Pick-Me-Up: Being vulnerable can bring you accountability
I was gabbing on the phone this weekend with a friend of mine who is also a writer. We talked about all the projects that are saved as a file on our desktop, hardly finished, and never seen by anyone else before.
We decided to share one project of ours with the other. Not for critique, but for accountability.
The most vulnerable thing you can do is open up to someone else. In our case, it's opening up those word documents and letting someone else read it. Why?
So it feels real again. So it gives it a life.
❤️
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.
If you're new to my emails - welcome! I promise to work hard to bring joy and motivation to your inbox every Monday.
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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