The Woman Who Almost Said No to Herself
She almost didn't go.
And I think about that a lot. Because not too long ago, that woman was me.
Idaho. Of all places.
Someone I trusted invited me to a retreat in Idaho. My first thought? Idaho? What do I even know about Idaho? Potatoes. That's it.
I didn't know a single person going. And honestly, my biggest fear wasn't the unfamiliar location. It was showing up and finding myself surrounded by women who considered deodorant optional.
I almost said no. I almost came up with a perfectly reasonable excuse and stayed home where everything was comfortable and familiar.
But I went.
And within the first few hours I knew these were my people. Professional women. Funny women. Women who had also shown up a little nervous and were pretending they weren't. Women I still talk to today.
That trip gave me more than new friends. It gave me a new question I have been asking myself ever since.
What else have I been saying no to?
Idaho, 2024
Knew no one. Left with these women.
Then there was Patty.
Retired. Kids grown. Days full of other people's needs. And by her own words, feeling a little frozen.
When my Fall retreat came up, she said yes before she had time to think about it. And then spent the next several days trying to talk herself back out of it.
Camping. Her. In the woods. With strangers. Nobody in her life could picture it. Honestly, neither could she.
But she went anyway.
It wasn't a perfect trip. A hike went sideways. The biscuits took forever. There was a "fairy village" that was, to put it gently, a complete letdown. 😂
And those ended up being the moments she loved most.
She came home tired, ready for a real shower, and by her own words: "My heart was happy. My spirit was renewed. It was not expected and yet exactly what I needed."
Here is what I think is really going on.
This is not about camping or retreats or Idaho.
It is about a voice that gets louder as we get older. The one that shows up right after you say yes to something that scares you. The one that whispers:
This is not really your thing. You don't know anyone going. Is this really appropriate for someone your age?
That last one. That is the one I want to sit with.
Because somewhere along the way, many of us started using our age as a reason to opt out. Quietly. One small decision at a time.
But here is what nobody talks about enough. For the first time in a long time, many of us actually have the space to say yes. The kids don't need us the way they used to. The schedule has room in it. The woman who spent twenty years putting everyone else first is still here, still curious, still capable.
She just needs permission to go first now.
This is not the season to shrink. This is the season to finally show up for the things you kept putting off.
The women who need it most are almost always the ones who almost don't come.
The one who books at the last minute because she kept waiting for the right time. The one who shows up not knowing a soul and leaves with a group text she actually looks forward to. The one who swore she was not a hiking person and ended up leading the group up the mountain.
They all have one thing in common. They said yes before they felt ready.
And that yes changed something.
So what are you almost saying no to right now?
Whatever it is, I want you to think about Patty standing at the edge of that trail, not sure she belonged there. And then I want you to think about her at the end of the trip, tired and happy and completely renewed.
She almost missed that.
Don't let that be your story.
The Fall Foliage Women's Nature Retreat is back this October. Eight spots. Early bird pricing opens April 26. If something in you just said "maybe," that is worth paying attention to. Add your name HERE.
