Journey: Week Thirteen

Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons.

"Relationships must be chosen wisely. It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company. There’s no need to rush. If something is meant to be, it will happen – in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason. Fall in love when you’re ready, not when you’re lonely."

I’m working on this. I really, really am. I’ve been learning how to embrace loneliness in a very healthy, fun way. And you know what? It sucks a lot. More than a lot. I’m often feeling unhappy or just plain sad being single, but I know that I need this time to find myself. Then and only then will I be able to enter into a relationship.

Life has recently thrown a wrench in my "master plan" (always has a way of doing that, huh?), but for the moment, I will continue to overcome loneliness and embrace contentment. It's only fair to myself and any person who I hope to be able to make happy in the future

If you're reading about my Journey the first time and are wondering what the heck I'm talking about, click here. :o)

P.S. Can I just give a huge shout out to the University of Louisville!? Made it to the Final Four AND are playing our arch rivals, the University of Kentucky wildcats. Unbelievable, way to go guys! Go cards!!

Journey: Week Twelve

Stop thinking you’re not ready.

"Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises. Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first."

I literally half-snarl, half-grunted when I read the title of this week’s theme. As I type this, I still haven’t read the blurb on it. Here goes nothing…..

Well, it really wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. Recently I’ve been hearing a lot of classic clichés. Clichés that sometimes make me want to gag (even though I know it’s true), like “all great things take time”. But you know what? Internally I scream “I don’t want to wait, I want my great thing and I want it now”. The typical impatient attitude, right? Come on, you know you do it too! I refuse to believe I’m the only one who operates that way. But, I digress…

I found the blurb to be refreshingly different. Instead of the well-meant “all great things take time” being shoved down my throat, this theme said “you need to step out and take chances in life when opportunity presents itself”. And, as many of you know, I love adventure. “Stepping out” might as well be my middle name. With that said, I think it’s still safe to say I’m going to continue laying low for a while. At least until I’m done with this 30-week Journey, that is.

To all of you readers that may be playing it safe and not taking a chance on an opportunity, I hope this helped you in some way. I want to encourage you because you will never make a mistake stepping out, every situation you go into will teach you something (take this from the woman who has lived through enough experiences to last a lifetime). Who knows, that opportunity may just change your life for the better. You won't know until you grab it by the horns!

Until next week…

Am I happy all the time??

A friend told me today that it encouraged them that I’m so happy all the time. I literally had to pause and re-read the message a few times--then just sat and thought about it. First, I was incredibly flattered that anybody would even say that to me. Second, I was just totally floored by their statement.

“All the time” and “happiness” in the same sentence is very extreme. And, to be honest, the first words that popped into mind were “hell no I’m not happy all the time!”. Doesn’t this person know that I get irritated, angry, annoyed, furious, depressed, and generally CERTIFIABLE on a daily basis? How could anybody think I am happy all the time??

Then, it dawned on me. For the first time in my life, I am an independent woman. Independent of any person, any place, any situation, and I am embracing life on my own terms. I think that the freedom and excitement for this chapter of my life is radiant. And, if that shine shows happiness, then fuck yes I am happy all the time!!!

You know who you are that sent me the message. Thank you for inspiring this blog post.

Journey: Week Eleven

Stop being idle.

"Don’t think too much or you’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place. Evaluate situations and take decisive action. You cannot change what you refuse to confront. Making progress involves risk. Period! You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first."

It’s getting kind of tough to be transparent with these blog posts! I wish I could say: “This isn’t a problem for me”. Unfortunately, letting thoughts run away from me and thinking too much are my two biggest nemeses right now! I probably create fifty percent of my problems because I’m simply just thinking too much…over analyzing. But, it’s what I do best, to my detriment.

I really need to work on this.

Scary Mommy Anniversary

One year ago today I started moderating at Scary Mommy. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a Mom blog which evolved into a kick ass community created by Jill Smokler. You may have seen her segment in ABC's Good Morning America, New York Times, CNN, The Huffington Post, etc.

The past year has been one hell of a ride. It all started when Jill created the confessional, a place where Moms across the world can come and vent anonymously. Then she launched a basic all anonymous message board which soon evolved to the beautiful new forums that we have today.

From the Thanksgiving Project, to Sponsor a Scary, to just the general support and love for each other, the community never ceases to amaze me. I am so honored and privileged to be so involved and am looking forward to watching the site continue to grow.

Many of you know how much Scary Mommy means to me and I just felt like it deserved it’s very own post for my one year anniversary.

Cheers to Jill and all of my fellow Scary Mommies out there.

P.S. I'm also shamelessly going to promote Jill's book Confessions of A Scary Mommy. It's release is April 3rd but if you pre-order today you can get a hand-signed, limited edition bookplate and bookmark! It'll make for an awesome Mothers Day gift. I've personally read it and it's amazing (plus, I'm in the acknowledgments people, buy this book)!

Journey: Week Ten

Stop exclusively looking to others for happiness.

"If you’re not happy with who you are on the inside, you won’t be happy in a long-term relationship with anyone else either. You have to create stability in your own life first before you can share it with someone else."

Oh boy, here we go…

This theme is what my world is revolving around right now. And to be blunt, it’s not going great. For the first time in my entire life I have the absolute control and independence to explore who I am; a chance to just be comfortable in my own skin. To explore life on my own terms, in my own way. Sounds easy enough, right?

For me this is a huge day to day struggle. Right now I am 110% submerged in the processes of figuring out who *I* am, and being comfortable with it. I feel confident that as long as I do that, all the other pieces of life will fall into place when they're supposed to.

Easier said than done, but bring it on, Life.

If you're reading about my Journey the first time and are wondering what the heck I'm talking about, click here. :o)