A year ago, right around this time, I was putting together a birthday celebration for Lisa that would take place at another location and shared with a group of people. Our Bodacious Biscuit Love event calendar was booked almost solid. We were tentatively planning our Fall Bodacious Biscuit Love Yard & Bake Sale. I was baking almost every day of the week whether biscuits for raffle baskets or cookies and cupcakes for this or that. We declined many invites from one of our neighbor friends, who has become family, to swim in her pool. Not once did Lisa fire up our grill. We didn't take timeouts to enjoy the company of our neighbor friends. I was catering to many people who, eventually, would drop us like hot potatoes once we stood our ground, they had no use for us or when I hinted that relationships were 2-ways streets. The list goes on.
Today, I posted this on my personal Facebook page...
My word, motto, and mind-frame this week is...evolution. It will be the same next week too. And, quite possibly, the week after that. The universe did a lil' shimmy shake. We did a sloppy tango. Because. For the past month, I realized my world, my goodness, my family, my friends, and the best people on earth are right here in my 'hood. My tribe. And, textbooks aren't so bad. Clarity. Reading between the lines. Not judging the struggles. Dippin' and sippin' in the pool. Wabi Sabi, crooked mailboxes. Lobster. Amazon jungles. Dancing on the porch at 2 a.m. while singing the Daisy sour cream jingle. Fruity drinks in gutted out watermelons. Ninja moves because a moth touched me. Funky nail polish. Pink flip flops. Gigantic marshmallows. Polishing my nails for the first time in almost 3 years. People who adore our fur-kids. Zucchini bread made from the largest zucchini ever. At times, I've drifted away, but it's clear now. It's all right here. Life. Is. Good.
Evolution.
You live. You learn.
I'm always evolving. We're always evolving.
Over the past year we've made changes. Lots of changes. Some big. Some small.
Our Bodacious Biscuit Love calendar is blank. We're okay with that. I've had more time to focus on this blog, DIY Dog Mom Projects, our homemade dog treat recipes, and more. In a lot of ways, this has inspired us to make some changes.
So far this summer, we've fired up the grill at least twice a week, we've been swimming with our neighbor half a dozen times, and we've spent a lot of time with the people who surround us in our 'hood.
Our kids are happy and healthy. And, they're enjoying all the extra playtime and family time and snuggles because we're not so busy with the other stuff.
Some of the people who we spent a great deal of time with last year...well, we haven't seen much of them this year. In fact, two of those people we haven't seen in almost a year.
In the next week or so, and after much discussion, we're going to be making some changes on the biscuit love end of things. We've already started the process. We're excited about this and, after almost 3 years, we feel this is the right direction.
Although my work load is still the same, that has shifted as well. My stress level is lower. I've taken more charge of who I do work for, who I write for, and what I write. After a decade of writing for companies, arrogant entrepreneurs, and those who treat me like I'm a dime a dozen, I'm done.
In the past year, I've also broken my vicious cycle of doing things for people who only show their face when they need a favor. Those days are over.
I've learned that going through the famous midlife crisis isn't such a bad thing nor is it an actual crisis.
Yep, evolution.
One of the biggest lessons I've learned, in the past year, is that no matter how much I do, or how often I bend over backwards for someone, it won't be impressive, or enough, and they still won't like me or include us.
I also learned that when you stand your ground or have an opinion that is different from the majority, it's often met with hostility, retaliation, and people will go to great lengths to make you look bad.
I've also learned this speaks worlds more about their character than mine.
Carry on.
And, again, the list goes on.
Evolution.
It's a beautiful thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment