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TP365/Year 10:: Connections – Christine

3 Oct

Today marks a milestone. It is a homecoming sort of day. Not only is it Tom Brady’s return to Gillette Stadium it’s also the first official connection of Year 10 for The Promise 365.

I met my friend Christine at Panera Bread today but that wasn’t what we had planned.

Jamie and Christine at Panera Bread

We had actually planned to try The Farmer’s Daughter in Easton, Massachusetts. I have heard so much about this amazing place and we couldn’t wait to try it. However, when we arrived the crowd wrapped around the block and lining the brick wall across the street had another idea — to the tune of a one-and-a-half-hour wait. What? A 90-minute wait for brunch?

We were too hungry for that so we set off to find another option. Stonebridge Cafe it was. Until it wasn’t. They also had a too long for our tummies and schedules wait. So Panera Bread it was!

As I pulled into the parking lot I was surprised to see a Bertucci’s next door. How appropro! It was at Bertucci’s Home Office where I first met Christine so many years ago. I was Director of Marketing and She was Director of Operations. We had a symbiotic relationship (one that isn’t always found between marketing and operations departments). We worked together so well for the good of all, all of the time.

Christine has seen me through many life stages and I was so excited today to see her teenage daughter — the last time I saw this beautiful young lady she was an energetic little two-year-old.

Over brunch we caught up and I was curious to hear about the life and times of teenagers. Note: teenagers no longer “date” — they “talk” — just in case you’re trying to keep up.

In many ways today was a connection of a few kinds. Connecting with a friend, connecting with memories of an old job, and probably most important, connecting with a new generation.

It reminded me that sometimes that best way to connect is just to listen.

More tomorrow,
Jamie

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Guess Who’s Back?

1 Oct

That’s right! ThePromise 365 is back…and I’m so excited to see you here!

It’s feels like a new world. It’s time for a new season. And, now, we have a new promise. Welcome to October first! It’s time to turn over a new leaf. In fact, here’s a little something I wrote about the Month of October in a previous blog post:

The seasons are changing and if there is anything I have learned in this almost decade of blogging, it is this: with the seasons come knowledge. In fact, wisdom. It is the fall, the harvest, the reaping of what we have sowed that I usually figure out what the year was all about in the first place. My teacher taught me this years ago — fall is the harvest, it is the time when we begin to unlock the bounty before us.

It is time for change, that’s for sure. Before we go into the future though let’s rewind and look at where we have been in the past.

This promise stuff all started back in 2011. This was me, then, right before jumping off into the great unknown.

It all began while on a work trip to Lake Austin Spa Resort, where I decided amongst the lavender-infused massages and cucumber muddled water to give up shopping and invest in myself instead of my wardrobe (because a hot stone massage cost the same amount of money as a new dress but made my body feel so much better). 

The power of that first promise led me to make a new promise every year for nine years. They whisked me off to Paris to throw my divorcee wedding ring in the fountain at St. Sulpice, down the grand canyon camping next to scorpions, and swimming with sharks in the Bahamas in the name of facing my fears. Just as I thought I had discovered the secrets of survival, I was dealt a blow called cancer. I survived three surgeries in eleven months and learned more about myself than I ever could have imagined.

Originally, I set out to save money, invest in myself, and to take care of my head, heart, body, and soul. What really happened was this: I finally faced my fears, healed my body, and ultimately changed and saved my life.

I made nine promises over nine years: Not Shopping, Lovemore Fearless, Abundance, Peak Performance, Bliss, Yoga, Kindness, Joy and Trust.

Since then, I have posted 3,277 blog posts. I always thought I would blog for ten years but then, as Year Nine was coming to a close it seemed like I had said everything there was to say. In fact, it felt like I was repeating myself.

Then COVID-19 hit.

There’s nothing like a worldwide pandemic to change everything.

We no longer take toilet paper for granted.

I’m pretty sure we all finished Netflix.

I certainly did not have to worry about shopping for clothes for over a year. Let alone highlight my hair.

We are changed. We are in this world together, navigating a new way forward.

So, with that comes a new promise! Tomorrow, I will tell you what it is.
Here. We. Go!

Lovemore,
Jamie

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