Do you ever just look around and think about everything it took to get you HERE? To this place in your life? For me, the path to this point in my life has been so much about following my heart and listening to my instincts. Some of the time I have asked God to point me in the right direction and other times I have taken a nose dive off of my own self-serving cliff. Every little (and big) decision I’ve made has led me here to this life, this marriage, this family, this home, this career, these friends. I’ve made mistakes and those have led me here, too. I’ve had to ask for forgiveness and I’ve had to give it. I’ve held grudges and I’ve let them go. And I wouldn’t change those lessons learned. Though I will always wish I could take away the pain of the things I’ve done that have hurt other people, I recognize the growth in all of it. Human connection is weird and messy and beautiful. Some of us trust each other easily and get burned a lot and some of us build walls that almost no one can scale but feel alone in our safety. And all of it serves a purpose.
I’m thankful. I’m thankful for every single good and bad thing that has happened to me. It brought me here. And “here” isn’t perfect but it’s where I want to be. Here with my husband who is chasing his dreams, here with my little miracle boy who I can’t believe is almost THREE, here with my mom who I can’t believe I get to see every day, here with the greatest support system. If you’re in the middle of something that feels stressful or hard – keep your head up. Get some perspective. Reach out to people. Have honest conversations with people. Let go of the past. And then cut yourself some slack when you fail. Ask for forgiveness and move on when someone can’t give it to you. I get one life and I choose to see what is good and accept what isn’t as a reminder to appreciate what is.
