You can’t do it all…

June 28, 2026

As you’re reading this, I’m on family vacation. Hopefully having a great time. 🤣

I’m embarrassed to admit, I’ve written about 10 versions of this blog to you already. This blog was a hard one to write.

I had too much to say and not enough space to say it.

Which is actually the whole point.

June always starts the same way for me.

The excitement and anticipation of a long awaited summer. Memorial Day weekend marks the promise of slower days and longer evenings and perhaps a chance to slow down and exhale.

And then, BAM, real life kicks in.

Because with June and summer, comes celebrations. And with celebration comes all the things that hold it all together.

This June that looked like in my world:

My youngest daughter, Ashley turned 22 — This year I was reminded of everything her birth cracked open in me about fear, love and who I’ve become through mothering her. She, and our relationship have been one of my greatest teachers. [I share more about it here.]

My husband’s birthday — He is very low maintenance and requires very little. However, even when it’s just burgers and brats on the grill. there is still, the planning, the preparing, the holding it all in place. 

Father’s Day — another day to gather, prep, plan, celebrate and honor. Fathers day has me thinking about what our dads taught us (and what our husbands learned from their fathers) about family, relationships, love & conflict and the ripple effect it has on each one of us. [That blog] inspired some honest conversations. Let me know what it stirred up in you.

We said goodbye to our beloved cat Midnight — eighteen years old. While he was truly my daughter’s first love he has been a gift to us all. He helped me raise my kids through the hardest seasons of single motherhood. I didn’t know how much his loss would hit my heart. I learned a lot more about grief and grieving. Stay tuned for my thoughts on it all in July.

Our sweet dog, Maggie, needed surgery — the very next morning after we put our beloved Midnight to rest — because, well, of course she did.

Family vacation prep for ten people coming from four different states — the logistics alone could be their own blog post. And as I write this, the plans continue to change!

That has just been the first ½ of the month.

The past 17 days have been FULL.

A lot of holding this month. 

A lot of tending. A lot of managing. A lot of showing up for everyone and everything.

And as I sat down to write this to you this morning, my body just stopped.

FULL STOP.

My body refused to cooperate with my very long to-do list.

And for the first time in a long time, I didn’t resist it.

Mostly, because the pressure in my chest and the pit in my stomach was unbearable.

I needed to grieve, feel my feelings and make space for what wanted to move through me.

I sat listening to the morning rain and let myself feel what wanted to emerge. I stopped pushing.

And slowly but surely, in the stillness, my body began releasing all that I have been holding.

One gentle layer at a time.

I didn’t want to pause. I had things I needed to do for goodness sake and a schedule to follow.  “There was no time to waste.” was the thought playing on repeat in my crowded mind.

But I know better.

When that internal ache emerges, it is asking for my attention. And I knew it was time to tend to myself.

Because I know that as women, as mothers, we are so skilled at holding everyone else.

The grief. The celebrations. The logistics. The emotions. All the things.

But the question I needed to ask in that moment was:

Who’s holding me?

The answer, I’ve come to learn, is me.

Not only me. Of course, I need to be held by others and so do you.

But ultimately, I must make space for myself.

To allow my emotions to move through me.

So the most important thing I can do — for myself and for everyone I love — is make time to tend to myself, not just the to do list and everyone else.

Because if I do not make space for myself, I will not have room for anyone else.

This summer, wherever you are in your season of life, I want to invite you to remember one thing:

Spaciousness is not a luxury.

It’s how you build the capacity to hold it all.

Remember to make space for yourself this summer,  despite the busyness, despite the celebrations, despite the endless doing.

That’s what this June has reminded me of.

I’ll be back in July with more to share. There’s so much coming that I am excited about, including some exciting events in late August I can’t wait to tell you about.

For now, I am going to do my best to BE on vacation.

What’s June been like for you? Comment below and let me know. I am curious what you are moving through too. 🤍

in trust and gratitude,

Annmarie Chereso
Author, Speaker, Coach, & Meditation Teacher