Our Last Summer

Trust. Surrender. Allow. Let go…

These are all whispers from the Aegean Sea, off the shores of Skopelos Island, Greece where I currently sit on a sailboat next to my gorgeous 18-year old daughter and we embrace our last summer together before she spreads her wings and flies into the new beginnings that await her beyond the walls of my home.

Mamma Mia

We’re here in the Greek islands because it’s where the majority of the movie Mamma Mia was filmed, a movie that has been a regular re-watch in our home through the years; we watch it when we’re sad and could use a pick-me-up, or to have a dance party/ sing along, or on a random rainy day with popcorn. She and I have watched Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried portray the final moments of their mother-daughter time together so many times over I can hardly count!

We dreamed of the day when we could have our very own “Donna & Sophie Summer” together in the Greek Islands, and now we’re here, on this boat sailing over the crystal waters of the Aegean Sea and I’m pinching myself.

I glance over at my daughter, here beside me, and then **flashback** I see her, age 9, so full of the spunky shakti of life! Already half way through her childhood, I think as I watch her dance in her to the beat of her own beautiful drum. She’s slipping through my fingers all the time.

Back to the present moment I think ***I still have these 10 days with her*** and I promise myself to be fully present for each and every one of them, which means putting my work on the shelf…something which I’m admittedly struggling with. You see, through the post-divorce years, I have had to step into my masculine energy, my “Donna” energy of doing it all: I have learned how to mow a lawn, shovel the snow, take out my own trash while also cooking, cleaning & creating a sustainable business where I can live the life of my dreams while helping others do the same.

The sea whispers to me….the time to “do” is behind you. Now is the time to simply “be.” Rest, Donna, Rest.

Life Prepares You

I can see now how the events of my Life have helped turn this dream into a reality. It turns out that the Universe has a sort of literal sense of humor which had to turn me into a single mother first (as is Donna in the movie Mamma Mia). I had to experience the masculine fire that takes over on a cellular level when you’re faced with a choice of how you plan to answer these crucial questions:

Now what?

Who am I now?

I decided that my answer to those questions is that I’m a goddamn phoenix and I will rise from the ashes of the fall of my idealic marriage and life as a domestic goddess. I will show my children what an inspired life of passion and dedication looks like.

Donna bought herself a fixer upper on “Kalikeri Island” (which, btw means “summer” in Greek!) and quickly got to work building her dream life while single-handedly raising her daughter. I started this blog, Let Love Rise, and began rebuilding my life through musical, mystical storytelling.

For 9 years I have been working for this moment, for this dream vacation with my daughter, my Sophie. I am incredibly proud of my fierce, loving, independent, courageous, Sagittarius Rising daughter. And now it’s down to 10 beautiful days together. It’s time to bask in this reality that we’ve created for Our Last Summer together.

Flowing with the Feminine Energy

I have been incredibly focused on creating the life of my dreams since I became a single woman. And I’ve seen my daughter be incredibly focused on pursuing her high school dreams while imagining what’s next. It’s important for us both to recognize this rite of passage that we’re experiencing here in Greece and simply bask in the moment.

But how do we go from full force to full stop?

There is a tremendous outflow of resources to make this trip happen right now & it’s scary to stop doing, even though I believe that the Universe wants to see me (and you!) succeed beyond measure…and so I sit here on this boat trusting that it’s okay to stop the “doing” and just “be”. I’m realizing that it’s time for me to hang up the Donna overalls and trade them in for something more aligned with my feminine flow.…maybe one of those lovely Greek dresses that I see all over town?

The Sea whispers again…Play! Follow the fun! Don’t take yourself so seriously. Be the Dancing Queen! Enjoy all the hard work that you’ve put into getting here. Live this one wild and precious life with courageous abandon!

So that’s exactly what we did…

Trust and tattoos

In the following 10 days, we road tripped around the island, singing Mamma Mia songs from the top of our lungs. We ate sandwiches on the sea with exotic cocktails at sunset. We climbed the 200 steps to the top of the iconic Agios Ioannis Chapel. We swam in the crystal waters and did “water gymnastics” worthy of gold medals. We ate greek salad on the daily and savored the fresh goat cheese. We walked the cobblestone streets and pet the stray cats. We ate ice cream whenever we wanted it. And…because there just happened to be a tattoo shop on the island… we got tattoos to always remember Our Last Summer together.

This is LIFE. According to many, I might be considered to be frivolous or irresponsible with my money; I “should” be saving it for retirement they would say. To which I would respond, but what about LIFE? What about today? What about these precious moments that I intentionally sought out so that I could complete a promise to my 9-year old daughter that one day we would go to Greece? This is Life, and it is worth every single penny!

Onwards and Upwards

Last week I helped my daughter move into her dorm. As we were driving home from breakfast before I left town, she put on Slipping Through My Fingers All the Time and held my hand as we drove through the unfamiliar streets of her new city and allowed the tears to stream down our faces. I remember saying “I’m so grateful that we went to Greece” and she whispered back “me too!”

And now whenever I’m missing her, I can recall the moments of Our Last Summer and look down at the crook of my arm to see the Greek word “Donna/Dynamo” resting underneath a pair of waves. And she can look at her ankle to see the Greek word “Sophie” alongside the sail of a boat, and we will remember the beauty of the dream that we co-created.

A dream + everyday inspired action = the co-creation of a life of joy and fulmillment!

Your dream doesn’t have to be Greece. It simply has to be something that fills you with desire, joy and inspiration. And perhaps it’s a bit irrational. Your life is yours to create. So what are you being called to? There are no regrets in life, except for the risks that you never take.

So go on, dream a little dream. Live your life to the fullest. TRUST the process. ENJOY the uncertainty. And BASK in the moments of crowning acheivement. The moments of our life are slipping through our fingers all the time, so make the most of them! You won’t regret it.

According to the astrology of the Magi, my daughter and I have a past life Sun/Moon connection. She is the Sun (Jack of Diamonds) and I am the Moon (10 of Diamonds). My role as her mother is to love, encourage and support her, letting her lead the way. That, I can do…even from another state. Much love, courage and strength to you, my Sophie, my sunshine. I love you to the Moon and Back! xoxo, Donna the “Dynamo”