Riley Recommends: Listening to Your Body (and Your Mommy)

Riley recommends that you listen to Mommy , because this week, Mommy really hurt herself and learned a big lesson she wants to share with you.

She ripped her toenail off. The whole thing.

It was gross. And it hurt. A lot.

But more than anything, it forced her to stop, sit down, and listen, not just to her toe, but to life itself.

Cleaning Through Chaos: Showing Up When Life Gets Messy

I Didn’t Plan to Rip My Toenail Off… But Maybe Life Did

I didn’t plan to rip my toenail off. That wasn’t on the to-do list. But it happened — and just like that, I was stopped in my tracks.

It’s funny how pain always seems to show up right when everything already feels like a lot. I had a full schedule. Homes to clean. Blogs to write. A hundred little things to handle. But instead, I found myself stuck on the couch, toe throbbing, completely sidelined. And in that stillness — once I stopped fighting the fact that I couldn’t do everything — I started listening.

Maybe I wasn’t supposed to power through.

Maybe I was supposed to pause.

Not as a punishment, but as a message. A firm but loving reminder from life: “Slow down. You’re not in this alone.”

And that’s where this blog post begins — not in a planner or a marketing calendar — but in that moment on the couch, where I had to surrender and ask myself:
What can I do from here?
How can I keep showing up for my clients, my daughter, my team — for myself — even if I’m not physically able to get up and do it all today?

The answer came quietly but clearly: Lean on your people.

This business, My Maid Pinellas, was never meant to be built alone. It may have started with my hands, my energy, my vision — but it's always been held up by the incredible women around me. Women like Christina, my best friend since we were 19, who has stood beside me through every version of myself: the mess, the rebuild, the dreamer, the doer.

She’s not just a friend. She’s not just someone I “bring along” to help with cleans. She’s a vital part of the heartbeat behind this business. She’s our Chief Coordinating Officer, trained to my highest standards, and she carries our shared mission into every job. Honestly, I’m not even sure what to call her sometimes — friend, partner, sister, ride-or-die — none of those quite sum it up. But she shows up, no matter what. And this week, when I couldn’t, she did.

That’s the kind of energy this business was built on.

I started My Maid Pinellas because I wanted to create something rooted in real care, real trust, and real-life flexibility — the kind I never saw in traditional work. But I’ll admit, somewhere along the way, the backend stuff — the posts, the updates, the “keep-up-or-fall-behind” pressure — started to feel heavy. Like I had to force myself to perform just to stay visible.

But today?
Today I’m not forcing anything.
This post isn’t “content.” It’s a reflection. A realization. A release.

Sitting here — grounded, healing, and deeply aware of what matters — I feel more aligned than I have in months. And I’m reminded:
This business is more than scrubbing and sweeping.
It’s about holding space for people when life throws them off track. Whether it’s a client recovering from surgery or a mom who just needs a break. Whether it’s me, nursing a broken toe — or Christina, stepping in with grace and grit.

This is about support, not just service.

It’s about creating breathing room for people who need it — including ourselves.

So if your house feels like it’s falling apart, if life feels too loud, too full, too fast — I see you. We see you. And we’ve got you.

At My Maid Pinellas, we’re not just here to clean your space — we’re here to bring a little peace into it.
Because sometimes the mess isn’t just dishes or dust.
Sometimes, it’s life.

Let us help carry the weight.