Recently in my life, I have had reminders over and over that we only see through our own lenses. For one, many of us are running through life at the unsafe speed of 180 mph. We can barely see more than the blur as we zoom by. Am I right?
Me Too
Last week, my husband asked me if I had been following the Nassar trial. “No. I can’t. Too close to home.” And that was that. Not another word was spoken about it by me, or him.
Today, as I saw the sentencing headline, I thought about my own daughters. I thought about the “Me Too” campaign. My heart coils at the possibility of them, too, suffering in this way.
Feeling Free
I miss my husband. I miss my babies. And yet, part of my excitement to return is knowing that when I do they will get a better version of me than the one that departed three days ago.
This trip, this time, these moments -- a dream come true.
About 6 months ago, during a rare text exchange with Leslie, I said, "Can we just have a night at Conference? Or South Beach? I don't care which." (These are bars we frequented in college. A lot of dancing. A lot of memories. A lot of fun. No stress.) We giggled. Obviously, this wasn't going to happen.
Life is hard. It is stressful. So. Much. Stress. But I wanted time -- time with my friend to talk and share and just love. When in the world would we get that time? Would we ever? We have demands, responsibilities, families, and distance.
Instead of dismissing my desire (aren't we all guilty of that?), I held on to it and kept hope that there would be an opportunity. It will happen, I thought. And, there was an opportunity. No more than a month later I saw that someone I had really been wanting to hear speak would be sitting on a panel and doing a keynote speech in Dallas. Instead of making excuses (the kids have swimming, we have to work, I can't leave the kids, Tyler has a demanding schedule ... there are a lot), I talked to Tyler. We decided I would book a flight to Dallas. I put on Facebook that I would be in town and quickly received a message from my very first college roommate that she wanted to get together. Wow, what an unforeseen blessing. And, I called my friend Lyndsay, "I am coming to town and I want to see you." Flight was booked, plans were made, bags were packed ... dreams were coming true.
Leslie and I spent a morning together. It was almost spiritual as we gathered around her perfectly set table. I thought I could cry. I couldn't believe I was there. The two of us, our Moms, one of her babies, our memories, our shared experiences. Our love for one another. It was all there.
Lunch with Linsey brought back memories I had forgotten, rekindled a friendship from more than a decade ago, and presented opportunities to get together in the future. Our lives have changed, but we were there for each other in special seasons of life and this time it won't be 13 years before we see each other again.
My sleepover at Lyndsay's, our conversations, and my time playing with her kids on the floor provided the comfort and assurance that the geographical distance between us wouldn't create the space I had allowed with Leslie and Linsey.
Four days. Three friends. Two-day health event with amazing speakers. One big 'ole dream come true. I am bursting. And, I am so thankful. My husband, my kids, my friends, my job ... all so incredibly special and important. I have enough to give, to share, to offer. I am enough. My cup is full. And, I have the power to make my dreams come true. That, my friends, is more than comforting. It is freeing.
What is your dream?
You Have Permission to Be True to You
Why Don't We Share?
This past weekend was all about sharing and caring. Perfect strangers gathered around my living room sharing what was on their heart, their challenges, their personal stories. More strangers gathered around my kitchen island doing the same. Even more enjoyed the chaos of kids running, babies crawling, lots of talking and, you guessed it, more sharing. I think the only thing in more abundance than sharing was caring.
One friend shared something so personal and then immediately said through tears, "I'm sorry." And you know, everyone else felt blessed by her. There was no need to apologize. There was only appreciation and care.
On Friday, a friend mentioned this post from Glennon Doyle and I can't help but think of it now. Why on earth do we not share? Our stories, our situations, our perspectives, our voices ... they are so incredibly valuable. You never know who might benefit from what you have to share. So I challenge you: speak up, share yourself, share your story, use your voice! And, when others are brave enough and bold enough to share with you, care. Sharing and caring really makes the world a better place. At least it sure makes my world a better place.
Doing it all, on vacation.
We packed up that morning because we had plans the night before we were supposed to leave. As I felt the beginning stages of stress, I reminded myself that we were leaving for vacation with nowhere to be at any certain time. WE had set our planned departure time. Leaving an hour and a half later was inconsequential. And so, we calmly packed and gathered our bags. We solved (what I call) the Pack the Car Puzzle, and it only took two attempts.
On the way up, Abby just wanted to hold my hand. And so we rode, a large portion of the way, holding hands, from front seat to back seat with me twisted to reach her. I hope she knows I'll ALWAYS hold her hand.
Our week was full of everything, and nothing. We did everything we wanted, and there were no expectations. We had an absolute blast. South Haven, MI exceeded all expectations.
We had locally made ice cream three times, once just for lunch!
We watched fireworks overlooking the lake.
We rode bikes, took long walks and took long wagon rides. I can’t help but smile thinking about how much the girls enjoyed their bike trailer and wagon rides.
We visited the Farmers Market. We made smores. We ate local berries and tried local beers.
We rode the Sand Dunes with our hands in the air as we squealed. We walked up and ran down the dunes, too.
We went to the 4th of July parade, waved flags and clapped.
We rented a kayak and a paddle board. We played in the sand and the lake for hours. Sand castle attempts weren’t so productive, but we dug and piled and dug and piled and crashed into our piles over and over.
We took a sunset cruise out on the lake.
We listened to live music at Admiral Jacks.
We rode/walked/drove past houses time and time again just to admire their landscaping. (Maybe that was just me.) But seriously, the landscaping took my breath away.
I clipped fresh hydrangea and lavender bouquets for our house.
We splashed in the kiddie pool, laid in the hammock (As Ava would say, “Let’s hammock together, Mommy") and we chased after the dogs when they stole our pool toys. (Abby calls Yogi "YoiYoi" and I giggle when I picture her running around the yard yelling, “No, YoiYoi!”).
We laughed. We loved. We cuddled. We did it all.
"All the things."
In November of 2014, I made my first significant career change. After almost seven years at one of the largest and most successful advertising and public relations agencies in Indianapolis, I made a decision to consider other options. And, it wasn't easy. You see, my agency was home. It was friends and fun, hard work and growth. It was family -- and a huge part of my life. But, like a high-school graduate leaving the nest, I needed to test myself and see what I was made of. I needed a change.
My second agency brought more family -- people I instantly loved (and people that instantly shared their love with me.) One of those very special people, Sue, would say, "all the things." It's a term I now use often. So many of us try to do "all the things."
My passion for personal growth means I want to help others grow in their lives and careers. My interest in Tower Gardening means I want to build an appreciation among society for those who grow what we need to survive. I want to contribute in some meaningful way to a healthier society.
I want to share what I know and learn from others who want to also share what they have learned. And, along the way, I want to focus on "all the things" that relate to living, loving and growing.
Cheers, to each and every one of you. Let's live, love and grow with one another.
