Acceptance – Melissa Schlies

Don’t Forget to do THIS Before Christmas

So many of us are afraid to confess or to declare what it is that we want because we confuse naming our desire with demanding the desire. —Emily P. Freeman At the end of October, Tony and I started making our travel arrangements for Christmas. Every year, the week after the holiday, we fly to see Tony’s family in Wisconsin. But this year, I wanted to go to Massachusetts first. I wanted to be with my family for Christmas Day. For two or three nights, we sat trying to figure out flight logistics, but it just wouldn’t work out. On [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-12-20T10:34:02+00:00December 20th, 2021|Categories: Acceptance, Adulting, Christmas, Holidays|Comments Off

A (Mostly) Unexpected Christmas Bucket List

One of my favorite Christmas memories from growing up, is of my dad taking our family into Boston. He wanted to introduce my sisters and I to one of his favorite memories as a kid: seeing The Enchanted Village at the now former department store, Jordan Marsh. A small mechanical village with over 250 animated figurines, The Enchanted Village, takes you back to a Norman Rockwell version of Christmas. Created originally in 1958, it can still be visited each holiday season at a large furniture store in Massachusetts. Only, at fourteen, I probably didn’t appreciate it as much as [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-12-12T20:56:03+00:00December 13th, 2021|Categories: Acceptance, Adulting, Christmas, gratitude, Habit Making, Holidays, Hope|2 Comments

When it doesn’t feel like Christmas

There is a mouse in our house. Unfortunately, I am not talking about a cute Christmas book we all need to buy the children in our lives. Nor am I channeling Dr. Seuss with this post. There is an actual mouse somewhere in our house. I guess this is what happens when you buy a home that is over a hundred years old. There are cracks where a mouse (I am hoping it is only one), can get in. And now, in the middle of the Christmas season, Tony and I are trying to figure out which cracks it’s using [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-12-07T21:11:39+00:00December 6th, 2021|Categories: Acceptance, Adulting, Christmas, Contentment, Holidays|Comments Off

Finding Body Contentment…in a Pandemic

On the first night of our trip to Colorado last month, Tony and I found a pizza place for dinner. Not realizing it would be freezing after sundown, we opted for outdoor seating and were led to a table on the adorable patio of an Italian restaurant. We ordered our food. Then we waited. We waited some more. I put on my fleece, and folded my arms against my body to keep warm. Excited to be on vacation, we started talking about our weekend plans. But the food still didn’t come. Tony pulled out his phone as he often does, [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-10-25T00:01:15+00:00October 25th, 2021|Categories: #mybodyhas, Acceptance, Beauty, Body Image, Contentment, Self Care|Comments Off

One Surprising Step in Finding Contentment

“So, is it possible to get to the point where I am ok being single?” Over the tops of our Starbucks coffees, she looked me straight in the eye and I couldn’t lie to her. Not that I wanted to. It’s just, as a mentor whose job it is to encourage, it can be difficult to speak the truth when it’s discouraging. “It may be. But it’s also possible you will always want a relationship until you have one. I know for me, as hard as I tried, the wanting never went away.” I replied, hoping my words didn’t sound [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-10-11T01:28:56+00:00October 11th, 2021|Categories: Acceptance, Contentment, Habit Making, Health, perseverance, Relationships, Self Care, Singleness, Waiting|Comments Off

How Do We Find Contentment—in All of This?

As I write this, a big red truck is beeping outside my window. The sound of grinding pavement can be heard in the distance. It’s not the perfect soundtrack for writing, but here I am. For almost six months now, our city has been digging up the streets around our house to replace our gas lines. And even though today there’s the promise of new pavement, believing it will all be over soon, is difficult. There’s been too many weeks of “no parking” signs posted on our sidewalks. Too many days of circling the block trying to find our way [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-10-04T14:18:01+00:00October 4th, 2021|Categories: Acceptance, Anxiety, Balance, Contentment, Depression, Habit Making, Self Care|Comments Off

When You Feel Behind & It’s Already Fall

In January, when we were all praying this year would be better, I committed to practicing yoga at least three times a week. I needed a physical way to release all the stress my body was carrying—but also, I was out of shape. And rather than begin with an intense exercise regimen that may be hard to maintain, I decided to slowly build back the strength I had lost in 2020. Soon, yoga became a morning routine I looked forward to. It helped me start my days with purpose. Emotionally, I was calmer. And the more I practiced, the stronger [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-09-16T10:22:58+00:00September 20th, 2021|Categories: Acceptance, Anxiety, Balance, Change, comparison, Conflict, Failure, Habit Making, Routines, Uncategorized|Comments Off

Fact or Fiction: You Can Have the Life You Want

A few years ago, I started following some popular online influencers and entrepreneurs. People who not only seemed to crack the code to social media, but who also had upbeat, positive sounding messages for their audience. One thing I heard from them over an over was, You can have the life you want. Then interestingly, whenever these same people made their rounds on the podcast circuit, inevitably they’d talk about routines. Specifically, they’d share the few habits they practice everyday that have enabled them to be the best versions of themselves. Some even made it sound as if their success [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-04-25T20:30:42+00:00April 26th, 2021|Categories: Acceptance, Balance, discipline, FOMO, Habit Making, Routines, Self Care, Success|Comments Off

On Turning Forty, Making Bucket Lists, & Redefining What Matters

Do not resent growing old, many are denied the privilege —Irish Proverb When you were eighteen, who did you think you’d be at the age you are now? Looking back at myself at that time, I could see who I’d be in college. I could see myself at twenty-five. But I couldn’t see beyond that. I certainly couldn’t see myself today. I had this I idea that I should create a 40 Before 40 Bucket List. This week, I’m getting ready for my second pandemic birthday, and it’s a big one. I’m turning forty. And at some point a few [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-03-19T23:53:25+00:00March 22nd, 2021|Categories: Acceptance, Adulting, gratitude, Hope, Travel|2 Comments

A Year Later: Five Things I Wish I’d Known Pre-Pandemic

A year ago this week, I drove a half hour north to meet a friend at Barnes and Nobles. When I got there, I pulled into a parking spot just as my phone “dinged.” I had a text. I put the car in park, turned off the engine, then grabbed my phone. Tony’s name showed up in a little grey box on my screen. I clicked on it, and there it was: The first sign our lives were going to change because of COVID. In his text, Tony told me that as of the following week, all the offices where [...]

By Melissa Schlies|2021-03-08T00:33:40+00:00March 8th, 2021|Categories: Acceptance, Change, Routines, Social Distancing, Waiting|Comments Off

Don’t Forget to do THIS Before Christmas

A (Mostly) Unexpected Christmas Bucket List

When it doesn’t feel like Christmas

Finding Body Contentment…in a Pandemic

One Surprising Step in Finding Contentment

How Do We Find Contentment—in All of This?

When You Feel Behind & It’s Already Fall

Fact or Fiction: You Can Have the Life You Want

On Turning Forty, Making Bucket Lists, & Redefining What Matters

ABOUT ME

RECENT POSTS