Table Of Content

Changing the world one story at a time® www.chickensoup.com Table of Contents Introduction ~Mind, Body and Spirit~ 1. My Name, Melissa Face 2. Hello, Me, Cosmo DeNicola 3. Tanning Lotion and Trails, Lauren Barrett 4. Check Your Sole… Um, Soul, Anne Russ 5. Me Time Zone, Anneliese Rose Beeson 6. Hold That Thought, Monica A. Andermann 7. From Loss to Freedom, Laura M. Martin 8. A Splash of Insight, Lynn Kinnaman 9. Rest in the Present, John Kevin Allen ~To-Do and You~ 10. The Birds and the Bees, Kat Gottlieb 11. Stop Juggling and Put Something Down, Ann Morrow 12. Never Disappointed, Jon Peirce 13. The Discipline of Doing Nothing, James C. Magruder 14. A Daily Hour Just for Me, Barbara Lehtiniemi 15. Dinner with Kay, Brenda Beattie 16. Remember to Remember You, Joshua J. Mark 17. Fifty and Fabulous, Tyann Sheldon Rouw 18. Shinrin-yoku Is Good for You, JC Sullivan 19. Not Mad, but Madly Happy, Gina Gutzwiller ~Accept Help~ 20. No Superheroes Here, Brynn Mahnke 21. Sharing the Load, Judy Salcewicz 22. Recharging Batteries, Jonet Neethling 23. An Unexpected Gift, Wendy Kennar 24. Put On Your Mask First, Carole Brody Fleet 25. All Things Food, Diane Stark 26. Surviving and Thriving, Terry Hans 27. The Ladies’ Breakfast Club, Phyllis Cochran 28. Finding Time for Me, Wendy Portfors ~Self-Discovery~ 29. Running the Race for Me, Amber Curtis 30. A Lost Librarian, Lori Shepard 31. The “Me” That I Am Left With, Jack Byron 32. What Do You Need, Son? Ankit Raghuvir Rao 33. Letting Go of the Reins, Stephanie Nikolopoulos 34. Alone at the Kabuki Baths, Lynn Sunday 35. A Case of Shaken Identity, Marilyn Haight 36. Deep Breath In, Deep Breath Out, Dana Drosdick 37. Learning to Take Care of Me, C. Ede 38. Slow Cooking, Slow Living, Pam Gibbs 39. Trail of Hope, Annette Gulati ~Self-Care Isn’t Selfish~ 40. Somewhere In-Between, Kim Hanson 41. Permission to Joyride, Rebecca Radicchi 42. Farmer’s Hours, Kristiana Pastir 43. One Day, Wendy Hairfield 44. Grace over Guilt, Diane Stark 45. Finding My Footing, Joan Bailey 46. Better Reader, Better Mother, Better Me, Courtney McKinney- Whitaker 47. Refilling the Bucket, Wanda Strange 48. The Day I Saved Myself, Kristin Baldwin Homsi ~Declutter, Detox, Defend~ 49. Giving Thanks by Letting Go, Maggie John 50. The Day I Banished Busy-ness, Kim Forrester 51. A Working Man’s Chuck-It List, Timothy Martin 52. A Little Housekeeping, Connie K. Pombo 53. No Service Means No Worries, Noam Paoletti 54. Forever Changed, Jonney Scoggin 55. The Cleanup, Judee Stapp 56. Learning to Read Again, Robert Kingett 57. Me First Beats Martyrdom, Barbara Davey 58. Out of Breath, Dawn Marie Mann 59. The Six Months Test, Pauline Youd ~Giving Your Time with Joy~ 60. Patched-Together Positives, Jeanne Zornes 61. The Cheerleader, Susan Jelleberg 62. Self-Care Found in a Library Basement, Jill Keller 63. Redefining Doing It All, Haley Moss 64. Being Intentional about Self-Care, LaQuita Jean Starr 65. Counsel Walking, Sister Josephine Palmeri 66. Reaching Out, Margaret Lea 67. Finding My Way Back, Connie Kaseweter Pullen ~You Deserve It~ 68. My Own Beat, Stephanie Doerr 69. Should Today Be a Pajama Day? Marlys Johnson-Lawry 70. Just Us, Amy Newmark 71. Imaginary Holidays, Ann E. Oakland 72. The Face in the Mirror, Crystal Schwanke 73. Doing It for Me, Jennie Ivey 74. Time to Play, Tanya Janke 75. Girl’s Trip, Monica A. Andermann 76. Cereal for Dinner, Shannon McCarty 77. It Was a Belly-Binge Kind of Day, Dr. James L. Snyder ~Personal Space~ 78. The Best Mother’s Day Gift Ever, Karen Sargent 79. The Best View, Anna Jensen 80. Let It Go, Cassie Silva 81. A More Balanced Life, David Hull 82. Cozy Corner, Lisa Leshaw 83. One Piece at a Time, Jennie Ivey 84. The Glad Game, Polly Hare Tafrate 85. Adventures in Meditation, Phyllis Abate Wild 86. Three O’Clock on Phantom Lake, Ilana Long ~Pursue Your Passion~ 87. Escaping Insomnia, Debby Johnson 88. Wanted: Me, Butch Holcombe 89. My Holy Hour, Lola Di Giulio De Maci 90. Digging Holes, Barbara Sue Canale 91. Me Again, Meeg Pincus Kajitani 92. Reconstructing Me, Betsy S. Franz 93. Dancing with the Anxiety Monster, Juliet Huang 94. Not Available, Jayne Thurber-Smith ~We Time~ 95. A Suitcase and an Adventure, D’ette Corona 96. Alone Together, Diane Stark 97. How Do You Want to Spend Your Time? Melissa L. Weber 98. Looking Forward to Those Lily Pads, Kristine Byron 99. The Sneeze, Anne Wandycz 100. Cabin Life, Tamra Anne Bolles 101. My Ladies of the Lake, Louise Butler Meet Our Contributors Meet Amy Newmark Thank You About Chicken Soup for the Soul Introduction I f there’s anything we’ve learned during this pandemic, it’s that life is unpredictable and nothing is guaranteed. You’ve got to live it with joy while you can. And you’ve got to spend as much time as possible with your favorite people while you can, devoting those hours to the people who mean the most to you and add the most value to your life. This new collection of stories focuses on how you can live your life most joyfully, by deliberately creating time for yourself — me time, time with your most important loved ones (we time) — and by taking care of yourself. Self-care, work/life balance, pursuing your passions, decluttering your home and your calendar, and treating yourself as well as you would treat a guest are all covered in these pages. They’re all things you know you want to do; we’re going to help motivate you by showing you how other people did it — and the consequences of not doing so! One of the themes that you’ll see in these pages is the importance of getting outside in nature. I know that’s what I’ve been hearing about the most from my friends and family and neighbors. Everyone’s been saying things like “Wasn’t that the most beautiful spring you ever saw?” or “Weren’t there more birds singing this year?” or “Were there more flowers on the trees this year?” Maybe the spring of 2020 was unusual, or maybe we were just noticing it because we were finally forced to be less busy. I know that the shutdown gave me time to really look at the trees on my property, and the bird nest outside my front door where I monitored a robin couple as they raised two sets of babies. I even got to watch the babies fly for the first time. Yes, I was there for that very event! And I got to watch the family of tiny birds on my rear patio, too, seeing the first flight of every single baby from that nest one summer Sunday. Then, in the fall, I was transfixed by the activity in a large hickory tree at the beginning of our driveway. One day I stood under the tree and little green bits of hickory nut shells floated down around me as if it were raining. I could actually hear dozens of squirrels gnawing the shells off the nuts up in the tree. It was truly fascinating. That was something I wouldn’t have experienced if I hadn’t been “stuck at home” instead of going to the office and returning home after dark. Getting outside means freely moving our bodies, gaining the perspective of being a tiny life inside a much larger world, and breathing the same air as the ancient trees that have seen it all and will still be standing when we’re gone. It’s the most powerful tool I know to reset your heart and soul. You’ll read a lot about the transformative effect of walking out your front door no matter the season of the year or the season of your life. This pandemic is going to leave a legacy, not just of loss and economic problems, but of renewed focus on what matters. We hope you’ll take some “me time” to enjoy the stories in this new collection and to implement some good habits of your own as you move forward in life. — Amy Newmark — November 16, 2020