The origin story of Love Monday, and why I stopped waiting for a new me.

I've loved Mondays for most of my adult life. Even through small-child motherhood, marriage struggles, a complicated relationship with alcohol, and more than a few questionable decisions.

But for someone who loved Mondays so much, I spent an awful lot of time saying, "I'll start Monday."

In this week's Love Monday, I'm going back to where it all began. From my very first newsletter in June 2024 to the 655 people who now show up in my inbox every week, I'm reflecting on why I started writing these letters, what midlife has taught me about fresh starts, and why I no longer believe I need to become a better version of myself every seven days.

Because maybe the goal isn't to spend five days waiting for two. Or to constantly reinvent ourselves.

Maybe it's to build a life we actually enjoy living.

New Monday. Same me. And I kind of like her. ❤️

Love Monday is a weekly letter (and now a podcast!) about midlife, entrepreneurship, starting over, alcohol-free living, and occasionally losing your shit.

Read or subscribe at katyripp.com.

The clocks have changed, the sun is disappearing, and the Seasonal Affective Disorder Survival Club is officially in session.

This week on Love Monday, we're talking about the difference between disliking winter and actually living with SAD, why Winter Katy doesn't need to be Summer Katy, and how I'm preparing for the darker months with happy lights, cozy blankets, fireplace remotes, crockpots, and an unreasonable number of Libby holds.

Because we don't have to love every season to take good care of ourselves through it.

Seven weeks until the winter solstice. We've got this.

Read the full survival guide: https://katyripp.com/seasonal-affective-disorder-survival-guide/

Last week, I put on a leather dress, a pair of fabulous boots, and stood in front of a room full of women to talk about spending our time, energy, money, and attention more intentionally.

I felt confident. I was nervous. I loved it. And then I proceeded to question practically everything I'd said.

This week, we're talking about building confidence by doing scary things, the inevitable self-doubt that sometimes follows, and why confidence and capacity aren't the same thing.

Plus, a little midlife hormone talk, cycle syncing, and the realization that just like Summer Katy and Winter Katy are two very different women, maybe we can learn to work with our energy instead of constantly fighting it.

Because sometimes confidence looks like taking the microphone. And sometimes it looks like taking off your fabulous boots and deciding you've done quite enough peopling for one week.

Last week, I was exhausted and giving myself permission to rest. This week, I bought domain names, created a brand identity, built a website, and started an entirely new creative project. Because apparently I cannot simply enjoy golf like a normal person. I have to give it a color palette.

This week on Love Monday, we're talking about the beautifully chaotic brains of scanners and multipassionate women, why every creative spark doesn't need to become a business, and how I've traded boxes of wine for domain names. Both questionable investments, but one comes with considerably less regret.

A little permission slip to follow your curiosity, make things just because you love making them, and stop apologizing for having approximately 47 interests.

This week, a soggy Thanksgiving cactus reminded me of something I am historically terrible at: leaving things alone. I like fixing, planning, Googling, strategizing and generally supervising the unfolding of absolutely everything. But not every problem needs another intervention. Sometimes you've done what you can do, and the next move is to give it some time, light and breathing room. Also: water softener drama, disgusting hair and a rainbow over Storybook Hill. Just another Monday. ❤️

What if wanting things to feel beautiful isn’t frivolous at all?

This week on Love Monday, I’m talking about my compulsive need to rearrange the furniture, my very Libra relationship with beauty, and why the spaces we live and work in affect how we show up in them. Plus, a homecoming moment on the staircase reminded me that while there are times to rearrange what isn’t working, there are also times to stop moving everything around long enough to realize you’re already standing inside something beautiful.

Maybe you don’t need a whole new room.

Maybe you just need to notice how much you like this one.

One perfectly normal meeting with our financial advisor sent me into a full-blown career spiral involving UW Health, cosmetology school, power washing and, naturally, cow hoof trimming.

Then two friends reminded me of something I had apparently forgotten: I’ve spent the last 20 years inventing jobs for myself, convincing people they needed me, and figuring it out as I went.

This week’s Love Monday is about money panic, old neural pathways, the strange way we discount the things we’re naturally good at, and remembering that sometimes the answer isn’t becoming something new. It’s remembering what you already know how to do.

Also, I’m still not ruling out power washing. No one talks to you. It sounds delightful.

Nobody really sold me on midlife. There were plenty of warnings about what would change, slow down, sag, disappear or require a new serum. 😂

But nobody told me there might be an upgrade.

This week I’m talking about identity, ambition, getting older, and the possibility that the work of midlife isn’t becoming someone new at all. Maybe it’s refining. Keeping what fits, releasing what doesn’t, and using decades of evidence to build a life that feels increasingly like your own.

I’m also talking about the people we allow to influence our decisions, who belongs at the head table of our lives, and a question I can’t stop thinking about: What happens when we actually gather the right women around a table and give them enough time and safety to tell the truth?

Maybe the question isn’t Who should I become next?

Maybe it’s What feels more like me from here? ❤️