Word of Mom

This post was made in partnership with Poise®. All opinions my own. 

Once upon a time, I was a young dancer. My life was all about ballet; all day, everyday. I started dancing when I was four years old and took this love and passion into my university years. I received a scholarship to college because of ballet, and I am the person that I am today because of ballet.

I never really wanted to do anything else with my life. I wanted to be a prima ballerina and dance on stage. But one day in my early 20’s, I realized that it wasn’t going to happen.  There were physical obstacles that I just couldn’t plow through. I had horrible hips that would not allow me to turn out completely and feet that just couldn’t arch properly or place me on pointe in the perfect position that was needed. So I pivoted. After college I became a journalist and covered breaking news stories. When I became a mother years later, I took my love of journalism and developed that into a media company that I operate today. 

I did a cold, hard stop with ballet over 20 years ago. It was painful to leave my greatest love behind. But because of my 10-year-old daughter, I’ve found myself back at the barre. She dances five to six days a week with The School of American Ballet here in New York City, and is becoming quite the little ballerina. It is with her passion and dedication for ballet that I have now found myself having a dance re-birth.  

My children have always known about my ballet background and my love for dance. They’ve seen me dancing around our house just about anytime I can. But seeing my daughter in class inspired me to take ballet classes all over again. And I’ve been able to do so with success and ease thanks to Poise®. 

I suffered from LBL (light bladder leakage) after my third baby arrived. However, I wasn’t going to let one more thing keep me from enjoying ballet again. Poise® Impressa® goes in just like a tampon and stops light bladder leaks from happening. Its allowed me to live my life the way I want to. I can jump and dance without fear of leaks or urgent bathroom breaks. From now on, my children know once the music’s turned on, a dance party’s about to happen, all thanks to Poise® Impressa®. Check it out for yourself now by shopping on Amazon or visiting Poise.com. 

Now I never have to worry while dancing with my kids in the kitchen or while practicing my grand jetés at the studio. I’m my best, youthful self, everyday. When I look at myself in the mirror during ballet class, I feel like the young girl I used to be, once upon a time.

Alone time is something I rarely desire. I am a people person. I always say the more the merrier and you will usually find me with my family or friends. I don’t like to be alone.

But for the first time in my life, I went to an island out of the country, alone for 24 hours. I was nervous. I was excited. I was apprehensive. I almost didn’t go. My friends do this all the time, I thought to myself. Why shouldn’t I be able to do it too? Granted, they do use cannabis sativa to help ease any travel anxiety and loneliness they may feel, which I hear works wonders, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of being separated from my family. I think sometimes as moms, we are so used to having our children around and we are so protective of them that we can feel fearful leaving them. I have left them many times for business trips with my business partner and I have left them for a week to travel with my husband. Yet, I never left them to be alone. The thought of being alone scared me more than actually leaving them.

I knew that I was also going to meet up with my husband the following day after being alone, so that added some comfort, and we were going to be together even if it was only for 24 hours too.

When you are married for over 17 years and you have 3 children, you jump at the opportunity to be together minus the kids. Anyone who is a parent can relate to this. Any parent also knows the coordination prior to departure is anything but easy too. I am thankful that my parents were able to fly in and watch our kids, as that adds an extra layer of mental relaxation, knowing that the kids are happy and well taken care of back home. If not, I too would have had to rely on cannabis-related products like edibles, cbd vape, and oils, just as my friends do to reduce stress and anxiety. Maybe, I can save it for the next holiday when my parents are unavailable!

I arrived at The Waldorf El Conquistador and settled in. The minute I arrived on the property this exhale happened. I could feel my breathing shift. I could feel a sense of peace and relaxation instantaneously kick in. I had 24 hours to myself. It was solo mom time. It was time that I could spend by myself without the worry of others having to depend on me. I actually didn’t know what to do with myself. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to have some alone time, so I think I’d be stupid not to take full advantage of this, especially when the opportunity was right in front of me. There were so many things that I could do, but I really just found myself wanting to relax. I wanted to be relieved of all the stress and emotions that I feel on a daily basis back home. The one thing that came to mind to help me achieve this goal was the idea of smoking marijuana that my friend has been trying to make me do for ages now. I never considered it before, but now that I want to relax, it felt like the perfect option. I had one problem, however, and that was I didn’t have any with me.

That’s a shame, but at least I’ll remember it next time if this is something that I want to pursue. So, instead, I decided to read by the pool, have a walk around, and then went for dinner. The Sushi Bar seemed to be a comforting idea that evening. At least I could talk to the Sushi Chef. I even had my phone so I could work and connect with others, but I’m not yet sure if I will follow through with this.

I took the opportunity to explore this spectacular property. I had never seen such a majestic setting. The hotel is situated on top of a mountain and you take a funicular up and down to the waterfront and beach. It has many pools, the Coqui Water Park that our children would love with water slides and a lazy river. There is the Waldorf Astoria Spa that features the Ki’ Spa for the little ones and then there is the unforgettable Palomino Island. This is the resorts private 100 acre tropical island paradise.

I took the ferry from the hotel over to this island, and you feel like you are in some James Bond movie. It is gorgeous. It is tropical and it is breathtaking. However, if you want action they have all the jet skis and activities one would desire, however if you want privacy, it is there for you too. I enjoyed my day on the island, I actually read a book, which we know is a difficult feat now with kids in tow and I started to realize that it is really nice to be alone. In fact, I think I could have handled a few more days alone, but I was also so excited to see my husband and celebrate our anniversary together.

The next day, he arrived and I could not wait to take him to Palomino Island. We felt like we were on the island alone. It was romantic, just what we needed. Later that day we had the Nirvana Spa Package, which included scrubs and a couples’ massage.

The hotel has many delicious restaurants too. Some can be found in the main hotel and others are down at the Marina where you catch the ferry to the island. There was so much that we didn’t have the chance to do since it was a quick visit, which is why we will have to return as soon as possible. The El Conquistador has a Championship Golf Course, Camp Coqui for the kids, which allows them some extra playtime and the parents some alone time, shopping, several pools, game rooms, and more!

The simplicity of being alone is something I have taken for granted. This recent getaway showed me that it is necessary and hopefully something I can do on a more regular basis. But the best part of going away was with my husband and the most memorable was our day together on Palomino Island.