This weekend I got to spend a wonderful weekend spending some time connecting with some pretty cool friends and fellow bloggers. After an event fell through many of my friends put together their talents and with the kindness and generosity of the Renaissance Hotel we had a weekend long tweet up.

The primary topic that for me kept getting high lighted was the importance of taking care of you. As moms, business women, daughters, volunteers etc our lives get so full and everyone else gets fueled and filled but sometimes we are running on empty and well we need to take care of ourselves.

The weekend was great fun. Before we gathered at the meeting room a bunch of us caught up in the Arriba Restaurant and the yam fries were yummy. Then we went down for an afternoon of laughter and tears for me. My friends Mara and Julie both spoke.

 

Mara has girls just like me, and her fresh perspective always makes me think twice. Julie well she had me in tears. She took us through this exercise and even sharing my answers took bravery on my part. You see she talked about the things that block us. One of my biggest things that is blocking me in walking this healthier path is fear. Parts of it terrifies me if I am honest, and it is that realization that had me with tears in my eyes.

Then Meghan Graham spoke on being the mom of 3 with Autism. What an amazing woman! I was reminded so much that going with the gut was the correct way to go when parenting and advocating for my teen daughter.

After 3 great sessions it was time for a break, I went back to the bar in the Arriba restaurant and had the very best bread pudding I have ever tasted. I also took some time to take in the hunky ball players who were in batting practice.

Then it was up to Julie and Christine’s room for a pizza party supplied by the wonderful team at Mom Central Canada. And great sweets made by Candy Coated Sweets.

After hanging with the lovely ladies, I headed home since home is a hop skip and jump from the hotel.

The next day we gathered at Tim Hortons for breakfast and then walked over to the hotel for a morning of shared experiences again. Cherie-Lynn Buchanan was up first speaking about taking care of you and being the beautiful you. I fell more in love with her on Saturday. Then the wonderful Julie Cole had me in stitches as she doled out some practical advice on how to be a master juggler. Then my friend Wendy doled out some great car safety tips, and I realized how grateful I am that I took car safety seriously when Rachel was younger.

After a great morning together a few of us took our afternoon back to the restaurant where we ate lunch and watched a great game of baseball. It was wonderful that the Blue Jays won 5-0. After the game it was cute to watch the Jr Jays run the bases, some of them were just so wee little.

This weekend was about me time and learning to take care of me. I promise from now on I need to take care of me more and to plan this very important time. You can’t really fuel others if you aren’t fueled yourself.

Thanks to the wonderful Julie, Katie and Christine for throwing this together.