The Sting of Life [+ Jellyfish]

My family and I are fresh off a 9-day vacation to our favorite spot on Hilton Head Island.

The beaches are vast, the crowds are small and the pools are heavenly! Some years we fly down, this year we drove. My husband and I love a good road trip, but having a 5 and 6 year old in the back takes the adventure to new levels of excitement! ;)

We’re beach people. We get our base camp set up and plan on spending a full day of fun in the sun. We’ve got it down to a science: what to bring, how to wheel it there, how to braid the girls’ hair, stages of sunscreen application, systems for setup and tear down, and all the food and bevs we could want. 

On one of our last days, I took our daughter down to the water to cool off. It was one of the hotter days we were there, the water was so warm it barely felt refreshing. As we kept going deeper, smiling and enjoying the waves, she quickly jumped, screamed, and grabbed her leg. “IT'S BURNING!! IT STINGS!!” 

Jellyfish. 

I carried her out of the water, she was crying and terrified thinking she was bit by a shark. As any mother of a crying toddler would, I went into Momma Bear mode… immediately searching for a solution. I left her with my husband and walked as fast as I could to the nearest lifeguard (who wasn’t so near). When I was about 10 feet away from him he looked up, smiled, and nodded. Before I could even finish my sentence… “My daughter was just…” with a gentle smile he calmly said, “Pack wet sand on it. The sting will go away and it will resolve to an itch tonight. Cortisone cream or Benadryl cream will help.”

That’s when I noticed, no one was in the water.

Everyone was on the beach. In that moment of panic, I thought poor Olivia was the only one who had gotten stung by a jellyfish on the whole beach. But after speaking with others at the resort next to ours, someone from every family there had been stung that day.

The sting wasn’t bad, she was fine by the time I had gotten back. But I sat there thinking to myself how every single one of us goes through this ALL THE TIME: We hit a moment of panic, blinders go up, our thinking narrows and our [perceived*] negative circumstance is the only thing we notice. It’s all we can think about. And if we’re not paying attention to what’s going on in our mind the negative spiral gets worse pulling in other negative thoughts that cloud your mind and add heaviness to your heart knocking you right off track. 

We think we’re the only ones going through it. 

We feel more alone than ever. 

We feel sorry for ourselves.

We withdraw.

We forget we’re not the only ones feeling imposter syndrome, perfectionism, or fear of failure and judgment. 

We’re not the only ones letting our emotions get the better of our relationships.

We’re not the only ones allowing procrastination and overwhelm set us back. 

We’re not the only ones giving our power away to situations beyond our control.

We weren’t the first to go through this and we certainly won’t be the last. 

That truth might sting, especially if you’re in the middle of swirl right now. But the sting can fade when you make the decision to take your power back. To Momma Bear your thoughts—to be intentional with your actions instead of thoughtlessly re-acting.

The sting also fades when you have someone to show you exactly what’s going on beneath the surface of your tidal wave of emotions. Someone to calm the waters and ease the burn. Someone to make you feel seen, heard, and like you’re the only one going through what you’re going through.

Vacation is a state of mind.

I’m setting an intention to stay there as long as possible. To say no to things that don’t make me feel warm inside. To say yes to things that do. And to soak up joy and pleasure in all areas of my life.

Will you join me?

What’s one way you can adapt vacation vibes in your everyday life? And what’s one thing you can remember to do the next time life gives you a sting?

*Perceived negative circumstances: Situations are neither good nor bad, only the meaning you give them. That meaning is a choice we get to make.