It started with a simple request from my son.
They’re planning a family vacation. They rented an Airbnb with a pool. The grandbabies are excited. My son? Even more so. He looked me right in the eye and said,
“Mom, you have to get a bathing suit. You’ve got to swim with us.”
And that one sentence cracked something open in me.
See, I haven’t owned a bathing suit in over 20 years.
Not because I don’t enjoy the water.
Not because I’m incapable.
But because somewhere along the line, I quietly decided I didn’t belong in one anymore.
And isn’t that how it happens?
We slowly write ourselves out of the story.
The Silent Fade
At first, we think we’re just adjusting.
We don’t buy the bathing suit.
We stop volunteering for the road trip.
We opt out of the messy art project.
We let someone else take the stage.
Not because we don’t want to participate.
But because we can’t do it the way we used to.
And instead of adjusting the approach, we remove ourselves completely.
We start shrinking our world.
And sometimes we don’t even realize we’ve done it until someone invites us back in.
It’s Not Just About the Pool
Yes, this story started with a bathing suit.
But this is bigger than swimming.
This is about how we slowly stop giving ourselves permission to participate in life just because it doesn’t look like it used to.
We think:
- “If I can’t do it like I did at 25, I shouldn’t do it at all.”
- “I’m too far behind to start.”
- “It’s selfish to carve out time or spend money on myself.”
- “What if I say yes… and still don’t feel like enough?”
But here’s the truth I’ve come to realize:
We don’t need to do things the same way to still experience the same joy.
We just need to do them differently.
Adjust, Don’t Abandon
My hands don’t work like they used to.
So I use new tools.
I break my projects into chunks.
I rest when I need to.
And you know what?
I still get to create.
Some of our Roycycled Besties can’t get down in the garden beds anymore—so they build raised boxes.
Some can’t handle a full-day paint marathon—so they stretch a project across a week, a little at a time.
We adjust.
We adapt.
We reclaim the things we love.
Not because it’s easy.
But because we’re worth the effort.
You Still Belong in the Story
This is what I want every Roycycled Bestie to know:
You don’t need permission from the past version of you.
You don’t need to go back.
You just need to start from where you are.
You still belong in the studio.
You still belong at the retreat.
You still belong in the pool.
You still belong in the story.
What This Has to Do with a Retreat…
I didn’t set out to create a retreat.
I set out to create a space for women like me, like us, to show up again.
Not perfectly.
Not in the same way we used to.
But fully.
Last year, I met women who showed up to the Roycycled Besties Retreat thinking they didn’t quite belong.
They think:
- “Everyone else will know each other.”
- “What if I’m not creative enough?”
- “This might be too indulgent…”
But by the end of the weekend, they said:
“I didn’t know it, but this is exactly what I needed.”
“This retreat changed my life. Seriously.”
Because the Roycycled Besties Retreat isn’t just about paint or paper.
It’s about presence.
It’s about permission.
It’s about finding yourself in community with other women who get it.
The Details (aka: What You’re Saying Yes To)
If you’ve been on the fence—or sitting on the sidelines—here’s what you need to know:
- Dates: April 24–27, 2026
- Location: Safford, AZ
- Capacity: Limited to just 55 women to preserve intimacy, connection, and space for real transformation
- What to expect:
- Three full days of hands-on creativity, real-talk instruction, and soulful conversations
- Guided projects with new techniques (and room to make them your own)
- A Thursday night mixer to ease you in and help you feel at home
- Laughs. Tears. Epiphanies. Belonging.
- You, remembering who you are
- Three full days of hands-on creativity, real-talk instruction, and soulful conversations
This isn’t a giant conference where you fade into the background.
This is a sacred space for women in their third act to reconnect with their creativity, their voice, and each other.
A Few Things I Know to Be True
Let me speak directly to the part of you that’s unsure:
- You don’t need to come with a friend. You’ll leave with them.
- You don’t need to be “an artist.” If you’re curious, you’re qualified.
- You don’t need to be ready. You just need to say yes.
You can let it look different.
You can adjust.
You can write yourself back into the story.
So, What’s Your Bathing Suit?
For me, the bathing suit is literal.
For you, it might be:
- Booking the retreat.
- Pulling out that sketchbook.
- Giving yourself permission to create—even badly.
- Saying “yes” to something just for you.
Whatever it is…
Buy the bathing suit.
Say yes to joy.
Say yes to you.
Not ready to join us in person? Check out my online Roycycled Besties Community!
