A birthday, a funeral, and an anniversary.

These past 2 weeks have been a rollercoaster.  We celebrated my oldest daughters 3^rd birthday, laid my 89 year old grandmother to rest, and my husband and I said cheers to our 4^th wedding anniversary.  The emotions of these past few weeks, coupled with travel, and a jam packed work schedule has taken its toll on me, but that is exactly why I created The Undefeated Heart.  The Undefeated Heart stands for supporting you with REAL LIFE.  It’s not meant to sugar coat things, it’s meant to dive in to the deep and sometimes dark unknown to help you not just survive, but THRIVE using tools, resources, humor, compassion, and sometimes, a swift kick in the butt!  The reason I wanted to create this business so badly is because life is hard AND it’s also WORTH IT.  Life may be messy, but it’s beautiful, magical, and the most awe-inspiring thing we will ever experience and I hope that this blog gives you hope, joy, perspective, and actionable methods to make a difference in your everyday life.  This blog post may appear to be about me at first glance, but it’s actually about each and every one of us and the life we work tirelessly to build. And now, back to the journey….

The Birthday.   Since my early teens, every doctor and specialist I met with told me that it would be impossible to have kids.  Sydney was a 3 day labor and came out not breathing.  Every obstacle and wrong turn was in front of us yet, SHE IS HERE! She is healthy, tenacious, and has the sweetest soul.  I thank God every day for the most perfect gift of our children and this day was no exception.  Sydney’s birthday reminds me of miracles and I could not be more proud of the young girl that she has become. We had a fantastic birthday celebration which spanned multiple days and centered upon love, joy, balloons, and all things FROZEN!

 The Funeral.  My grandma was 89.  She had 3 kids, 5 grandkids, 5 great-grandkids and one on the way.  She lived a full life that included a love of family, Penn State football, dancing, and as many Hershey Kisses as she could sneak into the nursing home! She struggled with Alzheimer’s and Dementia in her later years, but continued to fight and even managed to bust a move at all of her grandkids weddings! She contracted CoVid while at her nursing home and passed away a few days later.  My grandma lived an incredible life and we laid her to rest at a beautiful military cemetery next to her husband where I know she is at peace.  Death is never easy at any age, but heaven got a great one with my grandma and I know that she is up dancing with the angels.

The Anniversary.  We laid my grandma to rest the morning of my 4^th wedding anniversary and that night my husband and I went out to toast to our anniversary.  My parents were able to watch the kids for us which marked the first time that we’d been out alone on a date in over a year. We’ve tried to do more trust me, but with our busy work schedules, the birth of our 2^nd child in October, and quarantine it didn’t quite pan out the way we wanted. We didn’t do anything extraordinary for anniversary, but the quality time with just the two of us gave me a sense of peace that I hadn’t experienced in a long time.  4 years probably doesn’t seem like a lot to many of you, but I am so proud of the love and family that we have built and it truly does feel like we’ve been together at least 40 years already!

So that was my last 14 days…. A birthday, a funeral, and an anniversary.  The funny thing is, as different as the events probably seem, the one thing that kept showing up over and over for me was MY TRIBE.  Your tribe are the people that define.  Jim Rohn said, “you become like the 5 people you spend the most time with – choose carefully.” 

I am so blessed to have the best tribe of family and friends in the world.  The amount of people that offered to cook dinner for us, look after the girls, help us throw a birthday party, get our mail, send cards, hugged us, texted us, called us, LOVED US filled me with immense gratitude. 

This is what I wish for each of you – to have a tribe that lifts you up and lights you up. The single most important thing that you can do to live an Undefeated Heart Life is to surround yourself with people that support you, push you, and love you unconditionally. 

So who’s in your tribe?  Who are those 5 people that you surround yourself with? Take some time this week and identify them, appreciate them, and spend time with them.  Leadership is about others and it starts with your tribe.  While these past few weeks haven’t been easy, I’ve seen the incredible power of my tribe and I thank God every day for the people that make it all worth it.

Cheers to you and your tribe!

Lauren #33

P.S: Coming in August is an all new way of living an Undefeated Heart life with monthly themes, weekly newsletters, blog posts, and all the things you need to live your best life ever! STAY TUNED!!!