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  • November 30, 1999

Archives For November 30, 1999

Blissfully aware

September 5, 2012

It’s good to recognize what makes you happy. Happy people experience lows in life just like everyone else; they just don’t remain in the valleys for too long. To steal a quote from the Brave Girls Club, “Life is absolutely meant to be enjoyed, not just endured.”

We all must endure hardship…such is life. We must also recognize when life is good and soak up every ounce of it.

I am sitting at one of my son’s baseball practices and it’s an absolutely beautiful evening. There’s no time like the present to start a new series about how I am blissfully aware of so much good around and inside of me. So here’s my first installment of what contributes to my happiness:

1. My dog rocks. She’s a crazy ol’ lady whose sole purpose in life is to make me smile.

2. My husband is a good coach and mentor to our boys and their friends. I have known my husband since high school and I remember how much fun it was to watch him play basketball. Now I get to see him transfer his love of the game to his sons.

3. I love to learn. Starting a new job earlier this summer reminded me that I am happiest when I am challenged and introduced to new people and new ideas.

4. As much as I love meeting new people, I value my tried and true friends even more. One of the best perks of every week is getting to sit next to my BFF and pretend we’re legit radio personalities on the Pat&JT Show. Total strangers are actually starting to recognize my voice outside of the studio and that’s awesome.

5. Freaking Panera. I don’t know if there’s a more perfect place on earth.

6. The joy I experience when I feel like I am making a positive impact on others. I hope my actions speak as loudly as my words when it comes to parenting my kids. I hope I always treat people the way they should be treated…not because I am being judged by others, but because I judge myself.

7. The feeling I get after a great workout is second to none. (Well, technically, eating super bad food feels pretty damn amazing too. Not gonna lie.)

8. I love this quote: “Don’t wait for inspiration or passion to find you. Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air, and behold the view. Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you.” – Taken from You Are Not Special Commencement by David McCullough Jr. 

OK, your turn. What are you blissfully aware of these days?

In Awareness, Family, Friendship, Inspiration, Just for Fun, Reflection, Running, Strength , , , , ,
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Seven facts about myself

August 19, 2012

Taking a cue from one of my favorite bloggers, Kate from 365til30.com, I’ve accepted the challenge, “share seven unknown facts about yourself.” Enjoy the randomness of my bean spilling below and then repay me by sharing your list.

1. I am a borderline trypophobic. No idea what trypophobia is? Neither did I until I searched “pattern phobia” on Google and viewed pictures that made my skin crawl. My cousins and I have talked about our shared squeamishness for clustered patterns. An image of bees crawling out of honeycomb gives us the dry heaves. Then there’s crap like this…

…I can’t explain it. If you can look at this photo and have absolutely no reaction, then congratulations for not being a freak. If the above image deeply disturbs you, well, welcome to my world.

2. I check my purse at least twice before I lock my van. Even when I am absolutely positive I have my keys in there, I still feel compelled to double-check. I have only locked my keys in the inside of an automobile once in my life. I also unbuckle my seat belt before coming to a complete stop when parking my car. If I’m lucky, that saves me two seconds in my day. Weird, right?

3. I get teary eyed every time I see a baby being born or any athlete (at any age) making a huge play.

4. I often trap flies in my house and then take them outside to release them.

5. I don’t miss my children being babies one bit. I secretly feel like that makes me an awful mom. But I don’t care. Parenting is a lot easier when children can sleep through the night and control their bowel movements.

6. I have grown to distrust the medical community. My grandmother passed away in a nursing home due to negligence. I had a botched c-section by a trusted OB-GYN. And my son just had his “waterproof” cast removed, revealing his bone had healed but his skin was severely blistered and irritated.

7. I love sleep over almost anything else in life.

In Awareness, Brain dump, Crazy, Just for Fun, Reflection , ,
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Personal and professional identity

July 15, 2012

So…about that new job. It’s going pretty great actually. I know you’ve all been losing sleep over not knowing whether or not I like it.

I still don’t know everything I need to know (tomorrow will be the start of my fourth week), but I’m not lost like I feared I would be after leaving a place where I knew my role like the back of my hand.

It’s Sunday evening and I’m not feeling any how-many-hours-do-I-have-left-to-my-weekend anxiety. I no longer dread Monday mornings. Strike that…I don’t dread returning to work on Mondays. I always dread mornings, no matter what the day.

Most importantly, I am starting to embrace my professional identity. I am now in a position where my success will be measured by how much better I make other people’s lives. It recently dawned on me that it is a role completely synonymous to what it means to be a mom.

Maybe that’s why I am excited for each new day? Or maybe I’m still simply in the honeymoon phase? Or maaaaybe…I don’t need to try and rationalize why I feel the way I do? I keep telling myself to simply live in the moment and soak up new opportunities as they arise.

I believe I have identified the x-factor when it comes to determining job satisfaction: To be happy with what you do for a living, you must share a personal desire with those who surround you.

Some people want to be known for having the greatest material wealth or influence, so they surround themselves with others who seek out similar status. Some people want to change the world so that it is better for future generations, so they forgo immediate gratification to pursue something bigger than themselves. Some are happy simply existing, knowing they have a support system in place who can remind them of their greatest strengths when they’ve forgotten. Some people want to laugh everyday and see the good in others, so they embrace similar thinkers and doers in the hopes of finding solutions instead of harping on problems.

After all, the world is a beautiful place and we only have but one life to live. It’s not easy to stay positive, but I’m going to embrace this period for as long as possible.

Even Monday mornings are worth celebrating my friends.

In Awareness, Inspiration, Passion, Reflection , , , , , , , ,
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