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Love Looks Like a Two Door Coupe

It’s been ten years this month since that scared, uncertain girl in that photo packed whatever could fit into her tiny two-door coupe and moved to Texas.

At the time I thought I was leaving a broken relationship with a boy, but unknowingly I was moving toward a better one with myself.

For the first time since I was sixteen, I was single. I secured a random MALE roommate off Craigslist (we’re leaving that part out when I tell this story to my daughter). But instead of being the Craigslist Killer, he turned into my best friend. The breath of fresh air I needed to begin again.

I spent the next year drinking Bloody Mary’s on my brownstone porch, free and alive. I met the most magical group of friends, the kind who don’t care about anything except your core. And I also made one crucial choice:

I did the work on myself—and reaped …

by Stephanie Hanrahan Inspiration Inspirational Leaders Inspirational Words Love Love In Action Loving Yourself Purpose The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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Working Out Our Strengths

I am a creature of habit.

I’m the girl who looks at the menu online before arriving at a restaurant.

I like sticky notes and strict schedules.

I find comfort in knowing what’s coming next.

You can imagine this kind of personality doesn’t do well with a lot of unknown.

And yet here I am, post-workout on my bedroom floor. Feeling sweaty and tired and strangely at peace.

These last few months have taken a tremendous amount of mental strength, and the upcoming ones might as well. This means we, solely us, are responsible for our own survival. And I’m not just referring to our health. The unknown has the power to destroy us psychologically before it ever touches us physically.

So here’s how I’m coping:

Every day I get up and make my bed. I do an online workout. I feed my body fuel (except for Sundays. That is the day of rest and Andy’s ice cream). …

by Stephanie Hanrahan Love In Action Leave a comment chat
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Dare to Dream

We were walking down the street when we spotted this sign:

“Write down your goals and dreams for 2021”

The first two didn’t take me long: forward progress for my kids and health for my husband.

I was going to end it there, but something felt incomplete. I had forgotten myself. It had asked for my goals and dreams, not just theirs.

This is quintessential motherhood: you’re always last in line.

This generation of mothers has gotten the memo that in order to be “good moms” we have to be selfless. And while selflessness is a wonderfully endearing quality, it’s also a slippery slope to be “less of your self.”

And when I narrow my focus, that’s not what I want my children to see and then one day feel compelled to emulate. I don’t want them to view motherhood as martyrdom, I want to model what a full and complete life looks like for a …

by Stephanie Hanrahan Female Social Entrepreneurs Guest Blogs Inspiration Inspirational Women Inspirational Words Love Loving Yourself Priorities Purpose The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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Celebrating Through Our Sorrows

Tonight we paused our normal tidy-up-hurry-up routine just long enough to play a game of Chutes and Ladders. It’s a game of luck, but somehow I managed to beat my daughter twice in row.

As I won the second time, I waited for her reaction, expecting a meltdown or at the very least a sign of frustration.

But instead, my girl congratulated me, ran upstairs, and returned with a medal she made to celebrate my victory.

Every bone in Campbell’s body is good. Even on the longest chute down, the one that cost her the win, she said, “That’s alright. I love long slides.” She was so excited for my gain that she could care less about her loss.

During these days of increased division, may we remember this old adage,

“You’ve got a wedding planner praying for sunshine and a farmer praying at the same time for rain.”

One person’s win is not the same.

May …

by Stephanie Hanrahan Community Guest Blogs HeartBeats Inspiration Inspirational Words Love Love In Action Love in Family Loving Others Motherhood The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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It’s Never Too Late to Create a Sister

For many years I held the status of being an only child and the personality traits which accompany that still exist within me. I like organization and independence and can turn on my extroversion just long enough before I retreat to my bed and binge watch bad reality TV.

But I always envied the deep relationships I saw women form, especially when it came to sisterhood. There was something so comforting in knowing another human being not only had your back but understood you in your entirety.

I didn’t have enough gusto to join a sorority during my college years (again, recovering only child), but what I did do was stumble upon a co-worker—while slinging baby back ribs at a BBQ restaurant—who seemed familiar and safe and became a good friend.

Fast forward fifteen years later and we are sisters.

I use the term sisters because “friends” feels inadequate at this point. Over the …

by Stephanie Hanrahan Girl's Night Out Guest Blogs HeartBeats Inspiration Inspirational Women Inspirational Words Love Love In Action Love in Friendship Loving Others Leave a comment chat
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You Have What You Need

When I was in nursing school, I was introduced to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

Basically, the gist is this: everything we “need” for human survival can fit into a pyramid. At the bottom of the pyramid, the largest part, are your most basic needs: food, clothing, water, shelter. And as you move up, there are smaller needs (ie. friendship, companionship, acceptance). Still equally as important as the bottom tiers, but less vital for survival, hence smaller. After all, if you’re starving to death a spa day may seem a little secondary, right?

It donned on me this week, as I was sick and solely concentrating on my body‘s survival, that we live in a society that has the privilege of not worrying a lot about the bottom rung. Thankfully, most of us know where our next meal is coming from.

But the downfall to accessibility and ease is that we get a lot …

by Stephanie Hanrahan Community Girl's Night Out Guest Blogs Inspiration Inspirational Words Love Love In Action Loving Yourself Priorities Purpose Roadblocks in Life The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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