I have not been my best self this week. (Sorry, Oprah.)

After a two-week holiday break + slow on ramp back to work last week, this week the shit got real. All of my businesses resumed firing at full cylinders + I took lead on two new major clients in my role as creative director at Women Online. As my stress increased, so did the disastrous state of my office, the frequency with which I desperately rooted for dark chocolate, the evening zombie stares as my mind kept cycling through what needed to get done, and the volume of my stress-related dandruff (Lord, it's humbling to be human). My alternation between extreme stress vs. attempts at deep breaths + positive self-talk left me feeling about as Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde as the above photo, which was result of a 10-minute transformation when, in a panic, I realized my day's worth of conference calls were VIDEO CALLS.

Listen, I knew this week was going to be hard. In fact, on Sunday, as we drove home from a ski trip and I felt the Monday to-do's stack up in my head and a paralyzing knot form between my shoulder blades, I told my kids that I would need their help this week. That I would need them to do their homework and other after-school routines without me nudging. That I would need Violet to let herself into the house off the bus for the first time (OMG). That I would need them to tolerate a lot of conference calls during times when I'm usually available to them. 

And then the other night when I was trying to be present with Violet while she was working on a craft—but really, my mind was spinning on client deliverables and I kept checking my phone—I looked at her sweet face and blurted out, "I'm so sorry, Violet." She asked why I was sorry and I said, "Because while I love working, I don't like these times when I'm so distracted and stressed out and it makes me feel like a bad Mom." She looked up at me with those big, loving eyes and said, "Mom, what are you talking about? You're doing great! You don't need to apologize for anything but I forgive you anyway." And in that moment—as I looked at her face and anticipated my phone-it-in-nachos-for-dinner-plan—I exhaled and realized that yes, if your kids can forgive you, you can forgive yourself. Everyone has hard weeks. There are always do-overs. Nachos for dinner are totally legit.

If you had a hard week too, be kind to yourself this weekend. If you're anticipating a hard week next week, carve out little pockets of kindness in your schedule. Life is a marathon, not a sprint.