5 things I was thankful for over the weekend

(because outside of the wedding and love filled bubble I was in, the world is still exhausting and upsetting)

My littlest sister got married over the weekend… and it was absolutely beautiful!

Like, are you kidding me?! <3

I’ll talk more about that amazingness in a second, but also wanted to address WHY I’m making this post.

As I’m sure you know, late last week 50 years of precedent around a women’s right to abortion was struck down by the Supreme Court. Despite the fact that we more or less knew this was coming after the leaked draft, I quite literally had to avoid thinking about it so that I could still enjoy the wedding weekend.

This is something I really don’t understand and certainly don’t agree with, especially the complete bans that are popping up around the country with no regard for cases of rape, incest, medical needs, etc. (Not that I think any of those things should necessitate the right to an abortion anyway.)

I’ve seen statistics and polls saying that upwards of 70% of Americans were in favor of upholding Roe… that 70 % is obviously just not reflected on the SCOTUS. (Don’t even get me started on Supreme Court appointments and the popular vote…) The arguments FOR the right to abortion and women’s rights to have autonomy over their OWN bodies seem SO CLEAR to me. Not to mention the hypocrisy of other rulings around gun rights and religious freedoms that also came out this week. Church and state are not seeming so separate these days and it’s extremely disconcerting to think what else could be coming down the line that this ruling is now precedent for…

I’m happy to talk more about my views, or listen to yours in an attempt to better understand; if you want to chat… reach out. I’m here for it.

But, in the meantime, I’ll be out here in my yard typing, focusing on the positivity of this past weekend, and reflecting on things I’m grateful for, wearing my cute Pride crop top, because I also support everyone being able to love whoever they love and being whoever they are called to be.

This focus on positivity is not meant to ignore the realities of these decisions, but instead as a way to keep myself sane and balanced.

Without further ado…

5 things I was thankful for over the weekend

1. Family + Friends

   My boyfriend and I were talking on the drive home about how nice it is to really enjoy spending time with your family. Not everyone can say that and I count myself extremely lucky to be able to do so. These guys are just a few of our amazing relatives:

   

   All of the friends that were present at the wedding, some of which I’ve known for years and some I just met, were so incredibly nice and kind and genuinely inquisitive and supportive. It was amazing to see, and really nice to know that my sister and new brother have really good people in their corner.

   

   

2. Nature

   We were at a ski resort so far North in Vermont that we were basically in Canada. Mountains, animals, trees, flowers, the windy roads to get there, outdoor fire pits… all beautiful!!

3. Love

   Oh gosh, I love love. I truly believe that love is infinite… you can love as much and as many people as you want and feels right to do. I loved seeing the newlywed’s love, I loved expressing my love through our maid/matron of honor speech, and weddings make me feel all lovey for my hunny too!

   

   

   I also loved all of the beautiful dresses!

   

   We crushed it ;)

4. Delicious food and drinks

   Somehow I have zero food pictures, but it was all delicious. And if you haven’t had a Dirty Shirley (a Shirley Temple with vodka) yet, you are missing out! I highly recommend trying one. I may have had a few mimosas too… come to think of it, that might be my favorite alcoholic beverage… is that weird?! The salmon and risotto I had for dinner at the wedding was *chef’s kiss.*

5. People who advocate for others

   Not me drawing a parallel between the beginning of this post and the wedding?! You betcha. Long story short, some things didn’t go exactly as the bride and groom had planned on their wedding day… things had to be moved, they couldn’t get to the top of the mountain as scheduled, their second option for taking photos was taken by someone else, etc. However, their photographer stood up for them and figured out a way to make sure they still got what they wanted on their special day. He took hundreds of calls over the course of the day to check out other options for photos, to get them to the top of the mountain after the ceremony, and he even fought off the golf course A-holes who yelled at us when we got too close to the course while trying to hide before the bride and groom’s first look (eye roll emoji). What am I getting at here? This guy, who no one had ever met before, went above and beyond his job description to do everything he could to make this exactly the day that the bride and groom wanted. He didn’t have to. But it was appreciated more than he will probably ever know. This advocating for others, especially when you don’t have to, or when you don’t want the same exact things they do, is admirable and I imagine we can all do more of that in our lives.

As I wrap this up, I’ll take one other opportunity to make a shameless plug for my Wedding Arms (and back!) Fitness Programing! Do you have an event coming up and you’re looking to strengthen your upper body? Or do you simply want to get stronger and have guidance along the way?! I got you… and check these results:

That’s a wedding back if I ever saw one… And just wait until I show you the “real” photographer pics ;)

Although it’s called Wedding Arms, it’s certainly not limited to people getting married/in weddings, but instead to anyone looking to do some strength training and increase upper body definition! Click here for more info and to sign up if you’re interested!

Okay, that’s enough venting and reflecting for today. As I said, if anyone wants to talk further, please let me know in the comments or send me an email at sara@nutritionforlifeproject.com.

As always, thanks for reading. And feel free to share with anyone who might also enjoy reading.

xoxo,
Sara