The one where I bought the wrong return ticket
Later this afternoon I’m boarding a plane to Portugal!
It’s my annual international trip that I am so privileged to take with a group of powerhouse businesswomen from my Mastermind.
Last year we went to Sardinia, Italy & it was there the idea to invite you all along to meet our Ethiopian artisans came to life - which is absolutely one of the most exciting parts of Purse & Clutch!
On paper, it sounds like a dream — and it is.
But if I’m honest, getting to this point was hard.
Really hard.
There’s the logistics, of course.
The never-ending to-do list that doesn’t politely pause itself just because I’ve decided to.
The emails to finish, the projects to delegate, the preparing a small novel outlining where to take the girls each afternoon after school, the inevitable sense that something will fall through the cracks while I’m gone.
But even more than the tasks, it’s the mental permission I struggle with.
To leave.
To unplug.
To invest in myself without needing to justify it with productivity.
To say, “I matter, too.”
As women — especially those of us running businesses, leading teams, or holding space for others — the instinct is often to make ourselves smaller, to take up less space, to delay our needs until everything else is handled.
But what if everything is never handled?
And what if the real growth happens when we finally step away?
This trip isn’t just about Portugal.
It’s about courage — to pause, to connect, to dream bigger.
I want to come back with more than just a full camera roll.
I want to come back with clarity, with fire, with ideas that couldn’t be born in the busy.
So if you’re in a season where stepping away feels impossible, I see you.
I’m in it too.
And maybe this is your permission slip, just like this trip is mine.
I can’t wait to share my experience in next week’s newsletter from the cobblestone streets of Algrave & the wide-open space that perhaps only distance can create.
P.S. As I was looking at the details of my return flight, to my horror I realized I’d accidentally booked it a day later than I meant to.
Taking up more space, even if it was just 24 hours, put me into a restless night of a panic. This stuff is HARD, y’all.
I’m happy to report that after many conversations with incredible ladies in my community I’ve been able to come to a place of seeing this as a gift. And that it’s okay to be a little bit of a burden to others, sometimes.
....It is, right? : )