Burnout to Bubbles

By Carrie Speed

I had reached the point where helping people started to feel like helping everyone but myself. I worked in social services in the child welfare field, loved the mission, but the emotional weight was a lot. I was exhausted, stretched thin, and wondering how I could keep doing meaningful work without completely losing my spark (or my sanity).

What I realized was that I didn’t actually want to stop helping children. I just wanted to do it in a way that felt light, fun, and a little more like me. So instead of paperwork and crisis calls, I traded it for bubbles, music, and yoga mats.

That’s how PlayMotion Kids came to life, a children’s enrichment program that combines music, movement, and mindfulness for toddlers and preschoolers. Basically, we help little ones move, play, and breathe, and hopefully remind the grown-ups in the room to do the same.

Starting a business was not exactly a walk in the park. There were moments I thought, “Wow, this might be the worst idea I’ve ever had,” right before something amazing would happen, like a child saying, “That was so much fun,” after class. That’s when I knew I was onto something.

What I love most about PlayMotion is that it’s play at work. We end every class with a simple gratitude ritual: hands over hearts saying, “Thank you, body, breath, and mind.” It’s sweet, a little chaotic, and somehow deeply grounding. Kids start repeating it during lunch or nap time, and teachers tell me it changes the whole energy of their classroom. That’s the kind of ripple effect I want to be part of.

Reinvention, I’ve learned, isn’t about throwing away who you were before. It’s about finding a new way to use what you already have, your skills, your heart, your experience, in a way that fits the life you actually want. Mine just happens to include a lot more singing, stretching, and pretending to be animals.

If you’re feeling stuck or burned out, sometimes the answer isn’t to work harder or push through. Sometimes it’s to get quiet, reflect, and ask, “What would feel lighter?”

For me, that question led to creating a business that makes me smile every single day, one that helps kids build confidence, calm, and kindness through play. 

It’s still hard work (and yes, there are plenty of random egg shakers and colorful scarves in my car), but it’s the good kind of tired, the kind that comes from doing something that fills you up instead of drains you.

So if you’re in your own season of reflection, maybe this is your reminder that it’s okay to start over, go sideways, or in a completely different direction. You don’t need permission to reinvent yourself. You just need a little courage, a lot of curiosity, and maybe a reminder to have fun when it's gets hard.

  Because sometimes resilience isn’t about powering through. It’s about remembering what lights you up and letting that be enough to guide the next step. 

Connect With Carrie

www.playmotionkids.com