Motivation and Rejuvenation through Vacation
With summer winding down, Kathy and Michelle are getting in their last few trips before fall hits. Michelle talks about her week vacation taking some amazing photos. Kathy is planning her unexpected trip to Mexico. They both discuss how sometimes work trips can often feel like vacations when you find rejuvenation and connection through community. But it’s always good to take some time away from everything to rest, connect with your own self, your own needs, and your own care. Even if you just take a day or two to rest, you can come back to where you were with greater stamina, energy, and inspiration.
Episode Transcript
Intro 00:00:00 Start your week smiling with your friends, Kathy Zant and Michelle Frechette. It’s time to get ready for some weekly motivation with WP Motivate.
Speaker 1 00:00:07 Happy Thursday, Kathy.
Speaker 2 00:00:15 Oh, dang it. It’s not Friday .
Speaker 1 00:00:17 I know. I wish, lemme tell you something. This is so funny. Yesterday, um, Allie was not feeling well. We were, and I, we were supposed to record the Underrepresented in Tech podcast and the wonderful Ann McCarthy was the guest. And so a few minutes before allie’s like, I’m not feeling well. Can you take it on by yourself? I said, oh, sure, no problem. So I always start that podcast by saying, hi ally, like this little soy thing, right? So I started the podcast and I’m like, well, usually I would start this podcast by saying, hi ally, but Ally’s not here today. I said, and I have a special guest today, so I’m gonna say hi Ann. And she laughed. I go, uh, so Anne, have you ever been welcomed into a podcast by somebody singing to you before? And she says, . She says, well, uh, no. But I think they’re gonna have to start doing that every time I’m on one from now on . So that was cute. Perfect.
Speaker 2 00:01:10 Yeah. I love it. That’s awesome.
Speaker 1 00:01:12 What a great conversation we had too. Can’t wait for that episode to air. By the time this episode is out, that one should be out too. So if you’re listening to us now, feel free to catch the Underrepresented in Tech podcast where Anne McCarthy and I laughed and had some great conversation all about the underrepresented gender release squad that’s, um, in process right now for WordPress 6.4. Anyway, that’s all we’re gonna talk about. But the way we were just saying, you know, hi, happy Thursday, and it’s not Friday. Just made me think of that. So I thought I’d share anyway, not using this podcast to show my other podcast, believe it or not,
Speaker 2 00:01:47 , we all gotta do it. Oh my goodness. Hey, well, I’ll just show the Cadence Beat podcast that we posted the other day where Ben and Hannah and I had a very good conversation about the future of WordPress and the future of Cadence. And I got to put Ben on the spot a little bit, and then his internet went wonky and I had to do magic to make it work, . So
Speaker 1 00:02:10 I said, we’re involved in a lot of things if you’re listening to this podcast Yeah. Find us at all the other places that we operate. We are ubiquitous. Is that the right word? Everywhere. That just sounds like such a good word. Right? I love that word. Yeah,
Speaker 2 00:02:21 I love that word too. . That’s awesome. Yeah. And I’m doing, woo, I gotta get my recording done. Nice. Let’s hope I get it done tonight, but I don’t think I’m gonna make it. It’s, it’s due today. And I had another thing that’s due tomorrow that felt like more pressure and these people kept giving me the deadline and like, here’s your deadline, here’s your deadline. And I’m like, I gotta get it done. And then I, I got my dates all mixed up and then it’s like the whoosh shush one is due today. That one’s due, Tom. Oh, why did I, oh, why does September? I think it’s like this deep breath whole summer thing. Mm-hmm. like when somebody’s in August says, oh, that’s due in mid-September. Oh my gosh. That’s like so far from now. Yeah, no, it just boom, it comes up
Speaker 1 00:03:03 So fast, . It does, it does. But last week, I, and so, I don’t know, I, I run our social, I don’t know if everybody knows that for this podcast. I run the social, you chime in sometimes, but I’m just like in there, run a social. Yeah. And like, so if we miss a week, ’cause like you’re out or I’m out or whatever, I usually repost an old episode. Like, we’re not here now, but check out this episode where we talked about X, Y, Z I, I wasn’t even that creative this week, . I was like, um, so we’re not here this week because I was on vacation, check out my photo album from my vacation. Like yeah, I’ve just been chilling myself all over the place. But it does bring up, I was, let’s talk about vacations. ’cause this year I’ve had a few weeks off here and there and all for different reasons.
Speaker 1 00:03:47 And some of them very restorative. Others I incredibly good, but in different ways. Right? So the first vacation week I took this year was to go to Oklahoma City and watch my second to youngest brother graduate from high school. And then while I was there, work with, um, Cory Miller and Lindsey Miller on post status stuff. So I was there for a week and it was vacation. I saw some museums. I spent time with family. I spent time with, uh, Corey and Lindsay. But it was also a working vacation. ’cause I did a lot of things about post status and I did some webinars and things like that for other companies while I was there. And then I took a week off in June to go to Word Camp Europe. And so that was a vacation time, but that was very much a working vacation, if you will, because I was there representing myself, but also like just doing all the things, interviewing with people, meeting with people, going to the parties.
Speaker 1 00:04:42 It was not restful. I will say that. Yeah. But last week I took a week off and four days I went out with my cameras and just communed with nature. Took some pretty awesome pho. If I, if I do say so myself, some pretty awesome photos of like, I didn’t see a lot of birds this time. Usually it’s real bird heavy. But, um, uh, you know, tiny little dams will fly. I got a nice closeup of a blue damsel fly. I communed with a, an eight point buck for about 20 minutes. I was talking to him. Wow. He just kept eating the flowers and I kept taking his picture, but he wouldn’t look up at me. So then I would like sing or like, you know, make whistle or something. He’d look up and I’d snap another picture or two. So finally I was like, all right, I’m just gonna let you have your dinner, . Those kinds of things, you know. So, um, so that was good. I was, I rented an Airbnb. I got away from my house and my, you know, I I came back from where camp us and my cat had passed away. So get away from all of those kinds of feelings, um, and just kind of get onto somebody else’s space and about an hour away from home and just kind of enjoy being away for a little while. So it’s good. Amazing. It’s good.
Speaker 2 00:05:55 That is awesome. You have to, to do it. I mm-hmm. with everything that’s gone on in my life. I haven’t allowed myself to have vacation, but I have had these opportunities pop up or ideas pop up and I’ve been jumping on, okay, well I’m gonna just go do this. And then I bring my daughter who always makes it feel like a vacation. You know, when you’re traveling with a teenager, it’s definitely not work.
Speaker 1 00:06:22 ? No.
Speaker 2 00:06:23 Well, not in the traditional sense. It’s,
Speaker 1 00:06:26 But it isn’t, yeah. , it’s different. .
Speaker 2 00:06:28 Yeah. But it’s cool like to travel with a family member rather than, you know, your work teammates moving boxes to a booth, that kind of thing. Yeah. Like, so like Word camp us. Yes, it was, it was work, but it wasn’t work. You know, I didn’t have to stand at the booth. I didn’t have, I didn’t have anything official that I needed to do. I got to decide at any time what talk I wanted to go to, what person I wanted to hang out with. Mm-hmm. when I wanted to take a nap, which I did mm-hmm. in the midst of Word Camp. Awesome. I’m like, I think I’m just gonna close my eyes for a bit. Um, I had the best time and so it was work and it was very hectic and I wore these cute Kate Spade shoes that destroyed my ankle
Speaker 1 00:07:10 . Oh no. That
Speaker 2 00:07:12 Was like not fun. But, um, yeah, no, it was, it was good just to get away and to have a different experience. ’cause those mm-hmm. it broadens your, your perception. It broadens your perspective. I’m sure you got that when you were out taking pictures, just like being in tuned with nature like that mm-hmm. , it just does something to you. It’s so good for your soul, I think.
Speaker 1 00:07:36 I agree. Absolutely. And my daughter went with me to Athens. Yeah. And so I had that experience of bringing your kid along to a non-work work type event too. And, uh, yeah. We, but I will tell you, because I do tend to work myself, like represent my brand and all of that. Like, I was jealous of her vacation photos when I was technically there on vacation and didn’t do any of those things myself. So I have to get better about that taking in some sight and things like that for myself. But yeah, it, it was good. And I’m taking a four day weekend coming up here in October and flying to Atlanta and spend some time Nice. About an hour north of Atlanta with some friends, um, for my birthday weekend. So that’s gonna be fun too.
Speaker 2 00:08:22 Amazing. That’s great. That’s so awesome. I’m going to, and again, another idea slash opportunity that popped up. I’m going to Cabo Press in October. Ooh. For the first week of October. I have never, my husband has been to Cabo multiple times. ’cause one of his friends used to do this seminar in Cabo. And so of course the husband’s going and sending all the pictures and rubbing it in my face that I’m back home. Well, I was in Shasta, so it wasn’t like that bad. Mm-hmm. Right. But still, I’ve, so I’ve got all, I’ve got the Cabo sweatshirt, I’ve got the Cabo like beach bag. I’ve got all kinds of like, cool stuff from Cabo that he brought me back, you know, is like guilt payment, right. , but no Cabo memories of your own . And he is always promised me that I would get to go to Cabo and I, the opportunity came up and I’m like, how do I say no to that?
Speaker 2 00:09:16 Like, I am going, I am going it. And I am absolutely so excited. Like I’m more and more people that I’m finding out who are gonna be there. And it’s gonna be, I think it’s gonna be exceptionally good. So yeah. It has something to do with WordPress, but it’s cobble. So how much work is it gonna be? It’s gonna, I think, see I love work. I love to work. I love to, I’m very passionate like you of like mm-hmm. Helping people find opportunity through WordPress because I’ve seen what it’s done for people. Absolutely. And I think Absolutely. It’s amazing. Um, so to me it that like going to Word camp us didn’t feel like work going to it, going to any kind of Word camp going down to WP Campus in New Orleans. Mm-hmm. that did not feel like work. I got to spend a lot of time with Maestro Stevens.
Speaker 2 00:10:03 We sat and talked for like maybe three or four hours just about like life stuff. Mm-hmm. . And, um, I got to hang out at the pool at the Four Seasons, not, you know, I treated myself . I’m like, ah, good for you. I’m gonna stay somewhere nice. And I had a massage, which I immediately, this was the first massage I have had in, I don’t even know how long it’s been forever. But I like literally cried because it was just like all this tension in my body could really feel it coming out and just like, I need more of this. I need to take care of myself. Mm-hmm. . Um, so it’s just like that. But that’s what I get is like work WordPress isn’t work to me. The community isn’t work to me. That’s fun. That’s like, I agree. It can still be exhausting, but it’s not work. Can’t. Yes. Yes. But it’s kind of like, I like the social aspect of WordPress because we all kind of share at least like, I’m trying to think.
Speaker 2 00:11:04 I mean, I love my daughter, I love her friends and everything. Sure. But like, if I’m hanging out with them, it’s like kind of just like peeking into their world. But that’s okay. We can leave that over there . But when I’m I mean, it’s like, yes, all right. I don’t know what this language, this bra and you’re doing too much and all of these like words that they say or that’s so su and that’s your ops and all of the like teenager words. I’m like, it’s like a foreign language, but it’s so funny. Yeah. So it’s funny to look into it, but I don’t wanna live in that world. Right, right, right. I, uh, but the word, we all share a common mission, a common view, common experiences, common histories. And so there’s like this commonality of community that’s I think what makes a community that’s that commonality of mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 00:11:51 of experience and goals and all of that. That is so just worth it. Um, one of my friends from high school said to me, there’s no, because, you know, we’ll see each other ever like 10 years. Right. And she, we were, last time I saw her, she’s like, you know, something that nobody’s ever gonna be able to take away from us. Our experiences, our memories, our history. So even if I don’t see you for another 10 years, we still will always have that. We’ll always be able to come back together and have that. And I’m like, dude, cheers. .
Speaker 1 00:12:23 Exactly. I got nothing, but that’s okay. No, but so true. It’s so true. And to, like, I, I wish I was one of those people that kind of like, even if it was just a bullet point, journaled my, my like time away. Right. Because I think, oh, I’m not gonna forget what I did. And I think back to Bangkok and, and what was it, February or March when I was there. Yeah. And I’m like, I couldn’t tell you what I did every day of like what I did. And now I wished I had, same thing for Athens, same thing for Word camp us. I’m like, wait, what day did I do this or that or the other thing and who did I see? And I really do. I need to get better at that because, and that’s my goal next year. That’s my, there you go. My New Year’s resolution for next year is to, for, to journal better the things that I wanna remember. Because Yeah. I’m not 20 something anymore. .
Speaker 2 00:13:16 Well, it’s so cool to go back to, you know, I, for me it’s like what happened 18 years ago on this date? I love Facebook for that. That I can like, well, 14 years at least I can go back to like when my, the year that I joined Facebook was the year I had my daughter. Mm-hmm. . So like, her life is really my experience of her life. Yeah. My experience of being her mom Yeah. Has been chronicled there. So I have all of those memories, but I don’t want them there. You know, we talked about this like that a hundred years thing. Yeah. Like that’s really, it just really has been sort of this touchpoint, this spark of thinking about the content I create. And since starting my newsletter, I have been writing more. I’ve had to write more. ’cause I made a commitment, I’m gonna do this weekly, and maybe it’s not every Friday. Maybe it’s Monday, but I started doing day one. Mm-hmm. I download, you know, our friend Kristen works at day one. So it’s like,
Speaker 1 00:14:13 I should do that. That’d be a great way to
Speaker 2 00:14:15 Do it. Oh gosh. Not only do I write in there and it kind of cogitate the thoughts I have that are good for my newsletter mm-hmm. . But it is such a good tool for not just journaling, like what’s going on up here, but like you can put pictures and all kinds of other stuff in there. And it’s not Facebook. It’s not, you know, your c i a file or whatever, what’s doing with our stuff. Right. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:14:37 It’s yours.
Speaker 2 00:14:38 Right. It’s your stuff. And then from the stuff that I write in there, just kind of like free form. Then it’s like, oh, I wanna expand on this one paragraph, this one idea. And that becomes like something I might write in my newsletter mm-hmm. because I’m not just dumping like, oh, my therapy thoughts that’s in there. But also like, what do I think about what’s happening in the community? What do I think about what’s happening at work? What do I think about what’s happening with all sorts of stuff. The stuff with the husband Claire Snaring at me and, and telling me that, you know, all of her friends know that she’s upset too and that I should just like, be accepting of that. And I’m like, do your friends have a support group that I can join? When you’re like,
Speaker 1 00:15:17 This , I need
Speaker 2 00:15:19 Support too, please.
Speaker 1 00:15:21 .
Speaker 2 00:15:22 But day one has just been so good and it just kind of, I read this article about, um, the creative faucet, like it once you turn it on somewhere that it ends up just like spilling out into everywhere. And I’ve like fault it. So day one has been huge for me in terms of like chronicling my life and over the past few months I’m writing like every single day. That’s nice.
Speaker 1 00:15:48 I keep feel, I keep having this feeling like, because I haven’t journaled for 55 years, that it’s too late to start. But it isn’t too late to start. It really isn’t. Not at all.
Speaker 2 00:15:59 Yeah. It’s never too late. Okay. Maybe I’ll start. Your daughter’s gonna love it too, because like someday, you know, you and I are gonna meet on the other side and snark over there. Mm-hmm.
Speaker 1 00:16:07 .
Speaker 2 00:16:08 Do they have
Speaker 1 00:16:09 Podcasts at heaven?
Speaker 2 00:16:10 They might. They might. Well, for us, we’re gonna have to
Speaker 1 00:16:15 For sure.
Speaker 2 00:16:16 Heavenly motivates.
Speaker 1 00:16:18 That’s right. I love it.
Speaker 2 00:16:22 We’ll figure out a but someday we’ll be gone. Mm-hmm. . And you know, I think, you know, like I’ve been, I’ve talked to my son, I talked to him about, um, like her life up in Shasta and I’m like, sorry I was such a basket case. And he is like, no, that was like the best experience of my life. I was so happy I got to grow up there. Like, you don’t remember me like worrying about stuff and kind of being kind of crazy sometimes. And he’s like, no, it was all awesome. And I like, he has no idea. Like all the stuff I’m going through right now and all the crazy stuff that’s going on in my head now, like Claire does, has no idea. She thinks I’m fine. Right. Because I’m Right. Put on a good face for the kids. You’re your mom. Yeah. But would I think it would be helpful for them someday to look back and say, oh wow, mom was kind of crazy. Huh. . .
Speaker 1 00:17:14 But we all made it. And that’s what’s important. .
Speaker 2 00:17:17 Exactly. But I think that realistic perspective of like the, the things that we’re experiencing are valuable and I think that they should be preserved. So yeah. I agree. You should journal. Okay.
Speaker 1 00:17:31 There’s my pitch.
Speaker 2 00:17:32 You’re welcome. Kristen. I’m selling day one out here every day. .
Speaker 1 00:17:38 I love it. Yes. I’m going to download the app, I promise for sure.
Speaker 2 00:17:43 It’s pretty cool. Sure. And the, and the, I I’m actually paying for it now because of the, um, the, you can do it on the phone too, so you can like, take pictures of stuff and pop it into day one too. I I really love the app. I think it’s just amazing. So
Speaker 1 00:17:59 I’m gonna check it out. I promise. I will. And I’ll let, I’ll report back to you and let you know how it goes. what I think.
Speaker 2 00:18:05 Awesome.
Speaker 1 00:18:06 Oh, I love it. Well, I, I don’t know what next year’s gonna bring vacation-wise, but I, I’m gonna make better plans to actually, like, if I go, like, let’s say I go to Workcamp Asia, I’m gonna plan a couple extra days to see Taiwan. I’m gonna, if I go to where Camp Europe next year, plan a couple extra days to see Italy instead of just, oh, you have show up for an event and then peace out again right afterwards. I’m, I’m gonna start living a little more. I think that’s my goal.
Speaker 2 00:18:38 Amazing. I think you should, there’s so much to see in Italy. Gotta get just beyond, oops. Beyond Torino. And there’s so much, you gotta go to Florence and you gotta go to the fountain in Rome and throw the coin over your shoulder. Yes. And
Speaker 1 00:18:54 Exactly
Speaker 2 00:18:54 Else. There’s so much to do. Alfi Coast, Positano, Sicily.
Speaker 1 00:19:00 You could spend a month there. Can you ?
Speaker 2 00:19:02 Oh my gosh. Yeah. I, I spent there two weeks there. When was it Two weeks? Yeah, it was two weeks. Well it was a week in Switzerland and then like five days in Switzerland and then another like 10 days in Italy. And it was like, just the best. Just the best. So I’m really trying to go to, no, I’m not gonna say I’m going to W C E U mm-hmm. , whether I speak there or if I just wander around the halls and hug people, I’m gonna be there.
Speaker 1 00:19:35 I’m gonna commit to it too.
Speaker 2 00:19:37 Woo.
Speaker 1 00:19:38 It’ll be good. For sure. Well, whatever you’re all doing over the next time, if you’re still, if you’re still here after all of our ramblings this week, um, tell us what your vacation plans are. Tell us your, uh, maybe next week we’ll talk about our favorite vacation memory from childhood. ’cause I think we don’t have time to get into all that today, but I’ve got some great ones. Um, and, and also some adult looking back on their childhood memories. Like I have some things to talk about there too. So maybe, we’ll maybe we’ll investigate that next week. So if you have a vacation, uh, story, tell us about it. Either hit us up on our website or our Twitter account, x account, whatever it’s called now. Um, or dmm us whatever. We just, we like, we like you guys and we wanna interact with you. So anyway.
Speaker 2 00:20:21 Yeah. Thanks for listening, watching whatever.
Speaker 1 00:20:23 Exactly. And we’ll, uh, we’ll see you next week. Have a good one.
Speaker 2 00:20:30 Bye.
Outro: This has been WP Motivate with Kathy Zant and Michelle Frechette. To learn more or to sponsor us, go to wpmotivate.com.