Let it Snow

Happy New Year!

How many of you opened up that new calendar and looked at the month of January as a clean slate? Did you join me in thinking this month and year are both filled with possibilities for productivity and personal growth? I sure did until this plan was foiled, before I could even add my birthday to the month!

For the holidays this year, I caught that darn flu bug that is taking down many people faster than a golden retriever playing catch with a tennis ball. I was down and out for almost two full weeks. During that time, I looked around my living room while I sat in my cozy chair coughing away and started to get irritated by the holiday decorations still up long after Santa had put the sleigh in the barn for the season. Hopefully, he has been sitting on a beach somewhere and not coughing and blowing his nose like the rest of us. One of the decorations on the center of my mantle is a sign that reads “Let it snow.” The more I looked at it the more it started to be a literal sign meant for me. Now, I don’t live in an area that gets snow but the sign made me think…what if I just “let it snow?” What if I just accept that the next few days will be about sitting still? Maybe just let what happens be the course? Why do I always feel like I am not where I should be? What is it about this time of year particularly that makes us want to be at our very best? Does that mindset change the course of the year ahead? I think the answer is yes, but I don’t necessarily think it changes things for the best.

When we do start a resolution or a new beginning in January, sometimes we hold steady and kick some great goals up ahead. We eat better, we exercise more! We are more proactive at work. I also think we start realizing that we cannot take on our usual life and add these habits to our list without something else giving. I know that I start to feel bad about myself and I start having guilt around the fact that I didn’t stick to a new regimen or that something else that was important had to give.

That little “let it snow” sign is my new resolution. I want to feel like I am enough, just as I am. I want that for you as well. To the caregivers in this group, I REALLY want this for you. You may still be finishing up 2025 projects that need your attention. You may still have medical bills to sort, new doctor appointments to set up. You may start eating more veggies when the time allows and that is great. It doesn’t mean you are behind if you don’t have the wherewithal to start a new year, new you program. I hope you can “let it snow” and maybe spend an hour a week with a friend, even if it is on the phone. I hope that you can keep your favorite snack and a little book of affirmations in your nightstand to ease your stress when you are feeling lonely. I want you to see the to do list or the resolutions that you would like to conquer as free flowing. What if we just let ourselves breathe? What if we allow time to be open for possibility? If we find time on a Wednesday afternoon, maybe we take an hour and go to a little shop we have wanted to walk around. Or, have an impromptu visit with a neighbor?

It is hard to plan when there is someone in our lives with cancer. If you are the one living with neuroendocrine cancer, you are committing to your health daily. For this, I am impressed by you. I want you to feel inspired to hop up on a weekend and take a drive somewhere new. Or, write a thank you card to your caregiver. I don’t want too many extra things jotted down on a list or a calendar. If we open some time for a little beauty and simplicity, maybe we will realize something. We are all enough just as we are. We are valued by our loved ones and for those that we inspire through our actions. Caregivers and those living with NETs are resilient. You are growing daily while living your best life. Let’s create breathing room. I would love to see our collective resolution to be Self Acceptance! No added pressure to add or change something.

Letting it snow, letting things go, are just metaphors for “lets just be.” Can we be okay with that this year?

There is only ONE you. You bring your own good to this world. You can be free to leave space for a happier life by opening your soul to it. I think to do this, we need to practice accepting we are pretty darn great as we are. Full stop.

So, as I sit around my house coughing a lot (to the point that my dog is giving me stink eye all day) I want you to let it snow. I am!

Lets use this intention together: I am allowing space for wonderful things to present in my life. I am accepting that I am enough just as I am. I have permission to just be. I will seek out the moments that I can try new things or welcome what already is as often as possible, organically. I don’t have to be more or do more. I am free to just “let it snow.”

From the bottom of my heart, I hope you see yourself as I do. You are pretty darn great! This neuroendocrine life is a lot, and it is filled with the most amazing group of people. I for one am better for getting to know a lot of you. Take care!