Get set to sail with Deb on her first ever Purseology Cruise to Cozumel!

Read this archived column from 2008 and discover why it inspired Deb to plan her first Women’s Getaway Cruise. . .  

If I tell you where I am right now, you’ll probably be envious, maybe even jealous. I’m alone – minus kids, husband, friends, family, chores – in a log cabin in the middle of the woods. There’s a fire burning in a stone fireplace and someone just brought me seared tuna on a bed of fresh spinach, which I am now eating while sipping a glass of Pinot Grigio from Italy.

Did I mention I was alone? Did I mention the miles of wooded trails right outside my front door? Did I mention the quiet? The king size bed and a remote all to myself? Comfy sweat pants?

Everyone in my real world is left to fend for themselves for three nights and four days, while I luxuriate in solitude. Oh, I’m not totally free of responsibility. I’m here to work and write. As I told my husband, “Maya Angelou does is all the time!” But truthfully, my heart and soul needed it more than my writing.

I’m not even sure men need this kind of getaway. Men are better at finding alone time, even when they are in the middle of a party or family gathering. They don’t feel the responsibility to connect and nurture everyone around them, the way women do.  Most of the men I know are more selfish, or more assertive about getting what they want first.

I don’t have to spout statistics to support the fact that women are weary in January.  Whether self-imposed, or expected, women do most of the holidays. After 10, 20, 30 years of holidays, most of the women I know are exhausted, irritable and finding it hard to get back on track. And I’ve discovered that as we women, um, mature, our entire beings cry out for some solitude.

Most of us don’t do much about it, besides suffer in silence or complain to our best girlfriends. We tell ourselves we don’t have any choice, that our time is not our own. We say that one day, when the kids are grown, our parents are healthy, or our partners are supportive, that our time will come when we can put ourselves first.

So we wait. We wait for that time, or for permission.  Sometimes that permission comes from a doctor, a concerned friend, a pink slip, a frustrated husband, a smothered kid, your dog. But most times permission never comes.

If this column doesn’t leave you sighing and saying, “I wish I could do what Deb did”, then I applaud and admire you.  Obviously you’re a woman who knows how to balance the needs of others with your own.

But for the rest of you, who need some coaxing, let me tell you, it was worth every single solitary second.

Maybe this is all the encouragement you’ll need to give yourself a time-out.  Maybe you’ll cut this column out to remind yourself to take a break every now and then.  And maybe your best intentions will be swallowed up by your obligations, work load and family to-do list.

So let me give you an actual prescription slip:

Here is your official DPGA (Deb’s Permission to Get Away) to attend my first ever retreat!

I wrote this column four years ago and I never had my retreat.  I forgot to do one thing – give myself permission to believe that I could pull it off! My dream was to hold a fun, meaningful and empowering retreat for moms, sisters, cousins, and friends – women of all ages. I wanted to give women an opportunity to laugh a lot, learn a little and go back to their lives, lighter of heart. Well, it took me four years, but I finally believe it’s possible. And then, my cousin, Colleen, the travel agent gave me permission to sail!

I’m sailing to Cozumel from February 7-11 for my first ever Purseology Cruise!

What is a purseology cruise, you ask?  After years of delving the depths of many purses and speaking to women across the country, I’ve created a retreat to share the wisdom that comes from harnessing the power of your own unique purse-onality. Based on my purse presentations and other wisdom-filled teachings, we’ll talk, we’ll laugh, we’ll dance and we’ll become empowered to be our best selves.

For only $250 you can reserve your space today!  =Call Erin Foster at Travel Connections to set up a payment plan that works best for you. (Note first 20 women to sign up will receive a save the date purse-onal empowerment luggage tag!)

Click here to read more and be on the lookout for developing news on available scholarships and ways to help struggling, single moms take part in this special event.