The birth of Mama Needs A Refill Mini-Retreats all started with a dream.  When I turned 40 I rented a house at the Oregon Coast and invited girlfriends to gather in the stormy month of February around the fire so to speak. Twelve women who represented a wide plethora of my past came to celebrate with me. What they didn’t know was that I was celebrating them.

One night we gathered around the fireplace in the huge rented living room and I read a short piece I had written about each woman, telling how I knew them and what their friendship meant in my life. A couple of women left the four day get away saying how we should do this every year, commenting how it felt like a retreat.

A few months later my friend K, called to tell me about her dream. She woke that morning with visions of something even better than sugar plums dancing in her head. In her dream a circle of women were gathered around me as I read to them excerpts from my blog. K’s dream was affirmation of stirrings in my brain about gathering women to recharge and refill their cups.

My first Mama Needs A Refill retreat was a two night get away. I rented a home on a nearby island, hired friends to cook for the weekend and gathered an intimate circle of six women around the fire.  The retreat was a success and two all day retreats followed. Although the desire to join a retreat was warmly received, it didn’t out weigh the tugs of responsibility. Spending an entire weekend day away from family wasn’t at the top of anyone’s list.

And that is how the Mini-Retreat was conceived. Four hours during the day while kids are at school was ideal. No one would know they were gone. The thing is, it doesn’t take that long to replenish when your only focus is yourself. For those of us who dream of long vacations away from our families on a deserted island, how many of us live that dream?

The tools, rituals, intimate gathering, inviting setting with views of the Puget Sound and Olympic mountains out the window, set the scene for rejuvenation. We all think and maybe even talk about doing something for ourselves but let’s be honest, we leave it at the bottom of the list.

You don’t have to catch a plane for the mini-retreat if you live in the greater Seattle area and you will still be home for dinner. The mini is about planting the seed so you can feel, see and taste the benefit of spending time with yourself, being instead of doing. An authentic refill is about going within to not only  discover but to hear your own wisdom. Sometimes we have to get out of the house to do that.

You are invited to check out the Mini-Retreat Schedule: www.mamaneedsarefill.com. Or make it easy, mark your calendar now with Friday October 3rd, Friday November 7th and Friday January 9th in 2015. These are the next three retreats. I don’t know what you will get out of going but I do know it will be something valuable. It will be something more, exactly what that more is, is a mystery I am willing to dance in with you. And just maybe as you dance in receiving a full cup you will discover the seed you have been looking for.

Are you ready to receive?
Cheers, Jenny