From the Kitchen...

Lea · May 13

Dear Olympians,

I wanted to take a few moments of my Mother’s Day to remind all of you that you are important, that you are allowed to have good and bad moments/days, and that mistakes are okay to make. No one gets through life without experiencing these things. As one of the few moms and even fewer (if not only) grandmothers who play Olympus I have had the exclusive pleasure of getting to know so many of you, listening to your stories, and handing out life advice when asked. Some of you may already know that I have made a complete career change recently and it really made me look at my past interactions with everyone. So, for my Mother’s Day, all I want is for you to know that you are valued and appreciated for the weirdos you can sometimes be.

May is mental health awareness month and I want to be sure that everyone knows there are places to reach out if you are having your worst day ever™. Crisis chat and hotlines are not just there for someone who is having suicidal thoughts, but for everyone who is having a crisis. Reaching out to them does not mean the police or EMS will be involved, in fact, that is only ever used as an absolute last resort to keep someone safe. In the United States we have 988 available nationally as well as many local to you programs. A quick Google search of 988 brings up information for many other countries as well.

I strongly encourage you to reach out to them if you need to. I’m always here too, but sometimes it’s a lot easier to chat with a complete stranger and remain anonymous.

Be well and don’t forget to give yourself some slack when you are struggling, its quite common.

And if all else fails, eat a cupcake =)

-Lea