Come Into the Light—But What If I'm Not Ready?!

Guest Post by the Flucking Fabulous, Eva Lydon

Eva Lydon

. The woman I ended up talking to for nearly two and a half hours on our first zoom call! Someone who makes me laugh, snort, and weep, all at the same time. Writer, poet, editor, mother of two, and avid people watcher.

She’s a lover of crisps, recovering cheese addict and expert procrastinator. Eva is passionate about self-healing and nurturing, and she does it with a good dose of deprecation and humour. She is an advocate for healthy parenting, emotional wellbeing, travel and good food! Sometimes not in that order.

Eva has two glorious publications,

Great Little Services

, where she showcases her editing and proofreading services, as well as graphic design services (such as lovely banners and clickable cool promo thingies for your Substack, for example). Her Second publication,

Great Little Insights

, is an honest, funny, vulnerable publication where she has a “rant” section, poetry, books, and a member’s hub. You can also find her website here and she’s even on Instagram. (How did I not know this?!)

Read. Laugh. Enjoy.

Eva Lydon

, Queenagers…

Is it just me or does anyone else feel this enormous pressure right now, as we hurtle through March towards April, to propel forth into the light of spring!? Like we’re supposed to have ourselves and everything around us ready to launch into this picture-perfect time of year. Where only princesses and fairies of the most beautiful, young complexion are allowed to exist.

I’m thinking of Snow White and her seven (whatever we’re allowed to call them now😉) “friends”… and birds waking you up gently, with tuneful singsong, and flying daintily through your window, to slowly peel back the layers of your wintering “shell” and reveal the most perfect spring ready YOU!

Noooooooooooooo!! WAIT!!!!! I’m NOT ready!!

I’m still feeling a strong need for winter (as much as I actually love Spring). My winter self can wear baggy clothes to hide my wobbly belly and long jeans/joggers that blissfully cover my un-shaven legs! – What a lucky guy my fella is! 🤣 I can have ‘guilt free’ days in bed/on the sofa, without my mum’s voice ringing in my head saying, “It’s such a beautiful day, you MUST get outside today, how could waste a day like this?!” Oh, fuck off mum! 🙄

Note: My days in bed are due to an autoimmune condition, but I would just like to say, days of doing absolutely ‘fuck all’ ARE also perfectly OK, even if you’re not ill!!!

Does anyone else feel like we (women) must transform into this slim, clean shaven, shorts ready, floaty, smooth skinned, wavy haired, glossy-magazine-cover-version of ourselves before we DARE step out into Spring? Or is it just me?

It’s not just the outward appearance stuff… I also feel like there’s an added pressure to suddenly have all your work/life stuff sorted too. New Year’s resolutions long forgotten? I know, lets dump a fresh steaming pile of self-hatred shit all over ourselves, as we’re reminded of all the life goals we haven’t yet achieved whilst sliding reluctantly into the 2^nd quarter of the year! ALREADY? How?! 😲

Please don’t get me wrong, this is not said in a bid to bring everyone else down with me into a pit of self-loathing. It’s more to show empathy and solidarity with anyone feeling remotely similar to me at this time. It can’t just be me… Do let me know in the comments if you can relate to any of this.

On a ‘Lighter’ Note

As is so often the case here on Substack—just as I was hurtling towards a potentially dark place…the most beautiful words of acceptance, love, light and empathy landed in my path. Not only from the FABULOUS

Lisa Bolin

, who I am so honoured to call my friend, but from a whole host of other glorious women too.

I’ve been touched by wonderful poetry from

Alicia Joyful

, reminded of the simple beauty of Spring by

Debbie Meredith

, Pep-talked by

Selina Barker

into accepting things the way they are and lifted by the hilarious words of Lauren Bravo here, by Fiona Gibson here and by Sara here, to name just a few.

Always a delightful reminder to not take life too seriously.😊

Thank you for reading.💛

Ways to Work With Lisa:

🌟 Book a Spark Session where you & I sit down, chat, and ignite a spark. Burn away some crap that no longer serves. Shine a spotlight onto one thing lying in the dark. You go away with a fresh perspective and something to take action on.

🌟 Buy a course. Mini-courses to get you in touch with your flesh suit, your emotions, or just dive into your creative wellspring.

🌟 Leave a tip—a one off thanks