I Was Jealous of How Calm My Friend Seemed At School Drop Off

One Monday morning at school drop-off, Katie ran into a woman she knew who seemed... different. She looked peaceful. Calm. Refreshed. She was giving off good energy.

"I was like 'What is this and how do I get that?'"

Her friend told her about Rise Gatherings. Katie went home, looked at the website, talked to her friend about the retreat, and eventually made a decision that felt both simple and enormous:

I'm going to do this.

She was supposed to go with her friend, but life changed. The plans fell through. Katie went anyway. Alone. She drove three hours to the retreat without really knowing what she was walking into.

“I think that at some point in your life, you either can take a leap like that or not,” she says. “And for me, it was one of the best leaps to take.”

When Katie arrived at Rise for the first time, she was carrying grief. The years surrounding COVID had been difficult, and she had lost her sister-in-law. She came hoping for some space to process what she was carrying.

But through that journey she met women she still keeps in touch with years later. One small yoga workshop turned into friendships that continued long after everyone went home. And Katie walked away realizing that there were things she needed that she hadn't known to ask for.

That's one of the strange things about giving yourself time away from your normal life. Sometimes you don't discover the thing you thought you were looking for, you discover the thing underneath it.

Katie has since recommended Rise to plenty of friends. And she's noticed something interesting. Sometimes she'll hear someone say that a friend “went to a retreat,” only to discover they mean a spa weekend with massages and mimosas. Rise is something different.

“This is like a deep dive if you want it to be,” Katie says.

And that's the important part:

If you want it to be. 

You don't have to spend three days examining your childhood.

You don't have to meditate until you achieve enlightenment.

You don't have to hug a tree.

You can go deep.

Or you can not go deep.

You can take a workshop, lie on the grass, go for a walk, talk to someone over dinner, or simply enjoy having nobody ask you what's for dinner. You're in charge of your time. There are experiences designed to pique your interest. What you do with them is up to you. After coming to Rise year after year, Katie has found herself returning for something that is difficult to create in everyday life. Zero distraction. Just a few days where the usual demands aren't constantly pulling at you.

And over the years, the things she's taken home with her have changed. The first year, she was thinking about soccer uniforms and everything that needed to be done at home. Now, she's learned to give herself more grace. She's learned to say no. She's learned to say yes. She's learned that she can't do everything — and that she doesn't have to. Most importantly, she's learned that if she never does anything for herself, she's not going to be okay. Those aren't necessarily lessons you learn in a single weekend. They're things you can return to over and over again.

That's ultimately what Katie says she has found at Rise. Not a permanent state of being “recharged.” A new rhythm. A way of coming back to herself. A reminder that she is allowed to have experiences that aren't about being a mother, a partner, an employee, a caretaker, or the person who remembers whether the soccer uniforms are ready. She's allowed to simply be Katie and that's why she keeps coming back. Because Rise isn't something you finish, it's something you return to.

You may arrive one year carrying grief. Another year, you may arrive exhausted. Another year, you may arrive perfectly happy and simply want a weekend to yourself. You don't have to know what you're going to get out of it. You just have to make the space to find out. And sometimes, it starts with seeing another woman at school drop-off looking a little more peaceful than you feel and thinking:

'I want that.'