Happy “Born-Again” Birthday, Betty!

Four years ago this month, I made a decision that changed Betty Wellness.

Looking back, I think it changed me, too.

After years of building Betty alongside wonderful retail and wholesale partners, I made the difficult decision to reformulate our products and pivot the business, moving away from the retail/wholesale model we had built and going entirely online, direct to consumer.

It was a gamble.

It was bittersweet.

And honestly, something had to give.

When Something Has to Give

We had just come through the brutal retail years of COVID lockdowns. I was running a business and burning the candle at both ends. My dad was in the process of being diagnosed with a significant degenerative illness, and my parents increasingly needed me.

And then there was the very best kind of disruption:

I became a grandmother for the first time.

Suddenly I had this little person in my life, and I knew exactly what kind of Gigi I wanted to be.

Active. Vibrant. Involved.

The kind who gets on the floor.

And, importantly, can get back up.

The kind who says, “Let's go!”

Not, “Gigi can't.”

The problem was, at 56, I wasn't quite that Gigi yet.

I had some digging to do.

So I Put My Money Where My Mouth Was

Betty has always been about helping women keep saying yes to the good stuff.

Eventually I realized I needed to take my own advice.

Pivoting Betty was the first step. Saying goodbye to retail partners who had helped us build this business was incredibly hard, but it gave me something I desperately needed:

Room.

Room to be a daughter.

Room to become a grandmother.

And room to start taking better care of myself.

I joined a Pilates studio with one very practical goal: I needed to be strong enough to get off the floor while holding a baby.

That baby eventually became a toddler, which—as it turns out—requires an entirely different level of conditioning.

Somewhere along the way, I had a knee replacement and finally regained the ability to walk comfortably. As I rehabbed, I kept building strength.

As part of that rehab, my husband and I started doing CrossFit together. Between the two of us, we've been rehabbing an assortment of newly replaced joints, so we jokingly refer to CrossFit as our “couples therapy.”

Nothing says romance quite like doing squats together while comparing shiny new orthopedic hardware!

But it turns out getting stronger together is pretty fun.

I worked with my healthcare providers to address the hormonal changes I was experiencing.

Some weight came off.

I got stronger.

I started feeling like myself again.

And yes, there were plenty of Betty products slathered onto hardworking body parts along the way.

Fast Forward Four Years

Last week, that first little granddaughter turned four.

And I spent four days and four nights with her as our family prepared to welcome her brand-new baby sister into the world.

Four days of four-year-old energy.

If you know, you know.

And when it was over?

I was still standing.

Actually, I felt pretty darn good.

I felt a little like an Olympic athlete who had just crossed the finish line with a personal-best gold medal.

🏅 Four days and nights with a four-year-old. Still going strong.

Four years ago, that might have flattened me.

So what changed?

I did.

Putting On My Own Oxygen Mask

My dad's illness didn't get easier.

Today, he is in memory care and on hospice. My parents need me in ways I couldn't have imagined four years ago.

But I'm better equipped to show up.

Not because life became less demanding.

Because somewhere along the way, I finally understood that taking care of myself wasn't taking something away from the people I love.

It was making more of me available to them.

That's the oxygen-mask lesson we women hear over and over—and somehow still struggle to believe applies to us.

It does.

Maybe I Am Aging Backward

I'm not actually under the illusion that I've discovered how to reverse time.

I just turned 60.

And I'm proud of it.

But since age 56, I dare say I've been aging backward in some of the ways that matter most to me.

Stronger.

More capable.

More intentional about my health.

More protective of my time.

More willing to make difficult choices when something isn't working.

And much clearer about what all of this is for.

It's not about looking younger.

It's about being able to live the life that's happening right now.

And right now, I'm a daughter whose parents need her.

I'm a business owner.

I'm a woman who still has things she wants to create, places she wants to go and adventures she wants to have.

And, as of last week, I'm Gigi to two beautiful little girls.

That's my personal gold medal.

Happy Born-Again Birthday, Betty

Four years ago, I thought I was reformulating products and pivoting a business.

I didn't realize I was also pivoting my life.

Betty got smaller in some ways. More focused. More personal. More intentional.

So did I.

And somewhere in that process, Betty Wellness became much more than the products we make.

It became the philosophy I'm trying to live:

Take care of yourself so you can keep showing up for the good stuff.

Move your body.

Get stronger.

Pay attention to your health.

Make room.

Change course when you need to.

Put your oxygen mask on first.

Then get down on the floor with the four-year-old.

Because there's another little granddaughter coming up right behind her.

Happy born-again birthday, Betty.

Four years later, I think we're both just getting started.