Dear Together Friends, Fans, and Family,
Thank you for all of your nice emails and texts after last month’s newsletter. We talked about glitter and having time and mental bandwidth to be a bit “extra,” and I received notes saying, “Thanks for the vulnerability, sharing, and the doses of joy,” and “The tone of this one – your honesty, vulnerability, and humanness – made this edition one of my absolute favorites.” I didn’t think I meant using actual glitter until pre-St. Paddy’s Day found me doing this.
What’s St. Patrick’s Day without a little gold?
I don’t know if it is Daylight Saving Time, the weather feeling like spring (and oy, the ALLERGIES), or the release of alllll the travel soccer and volleyball schedules, but I’m bringing some big energy into April over here. March is always both a light and heavy month at Together HQ and with the Semi-Together Family. Our teaching schedule quiets a bit for spring breaks around the country, and my kids have a quieter sports schedule between seasons. But it’s deceptively calm, because…
Are you ever struck with spring cleaning energy? This slightly quieter month brought a burst, and I went for it. For me, it is often less about cleaning (talk about allergies!), and more about planning and abundance – okay, well, and a littttle container-izing.
- Containerize the Carport. One of the Together Teens and I spent 90 minutes attacking the carport that was overflowing with sports gear, scooters, fake plants (don’t ask), outdoor holiday décor, and more. While we didn’t actually clean this outdoor space, we did spend some time getting each item in containers to offer protection from the elements. (Also, you don’t need another storage bin, you need a system!). This work helped us realize we needed to donate a few items, repair some broken gear, and get some Hula Hoops back in circulation. Speaking of home Togetherness, my former colleague Lisa Chun is releasing some super cool content.
Our carport bin system—simple, but effective.
- Costco Stock- I posted on my personal Facebook page for people’s Costco recommendations as we got ready to take our inaugural trip for the Semi-Together giant family, and let me tell you, my people have OPINIONS on Costco. I don’t know if this will become one of our regular food shopping faves, but I definitely can direct 8 kids to unload, unpack, and unbox some Costco. It took some Tetris, but we managed to fit everything into a spot in the house.
The Semi-Together Household fridge Tetris system.
- Community Building. Together (born and raised in Dublin) and I went back and forth on whether we wanted to host a St. Paddy’s Day party again this year, and ultimately, we decided large gatherings of lots of folks we know and love is completely in line with our values. And so, somewhere between 75-100 adults, a live Irish band, and a lot of Guinness were packed into our home last month. What is this life without an occasional grown-up house party?! And yes, of course we had a Party Project Plan.
A Project Plan is key to make sure our annual party goes off without a hitch!
And now, I need to consolidate some Calendar Babies, and attempt to vacuum the gold glitter that is all over my house. Which is a pretty reasonable representation of how I like to live.
#togetherforever #clipboardsandclogs
MHM
PS In what could be the most fun hangout of all time, I’ll be chatting with legend Elena Aguilar of Bright Morning this summer! (We already love to hang out, check us here and here). If you have any great instructional coaching materials to share to inspire me and others, send them to me here! They may just get featured this summer.
Top Together Tributes
- Need a productivity tool, but not sure how to get started? The Together Group loves a digital tool like Notion, but they can sometimes be intimidating. Longtime Together Friend Kim F., the founder of Early Partners in New Orleans, describes her total transformation.
- Are you Team Aptos or Team Calibri? You likely noticed that Microsoft changed its default typeface While some folks are on board, others want their tried-and-true default back. Where do you stand on this issue? Have strong font opinions? Serif or sans?
- Upgrade your airplane snacks. I’m not exaggerating when I say 20+ people forwarded me this article, likely after watching my half-baked Together TSA Traveler videos. If you’re flying this spring or summer, you would probably like to eat more than a tiny bag of pretzels while also avoiding overpriced airport food. Let’s all up our game, shall we?
