We could all use a little encouragement every now and then!
This post is for my new friends joining me in Hope*Writers. If that’s not you or if you have no interest in writing, you can probably skip over this post. I just needed a place to save these tips to send my new writer friends. If you’re interested in Hope*Writers though, go here for more info and reach out to me directly with any questions you have!
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I’m about to have another birthday. I have a fun post planned for my actual birthday and for now, I want to talk about my expectations of where I thought I’d be at 34 years old.
There are so many things I thought I’d have done by now. I always thought I’d have kids by 32. There was no special reason for that number, just a subconscious thought I had. I thought I’d be more settled. I thought everything in my work would be systematic. I thought I’d have a hefty retirement account. I thought I’d not accidentally overdraw my bank account anymore. (Simple mistake…stop judging.) I thought people would respect me and I’d have clear boundaries. I thought I’d have stopped people-pleasing. I thought I’d shop for whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I thought I’d have a big, pretty house full of people.
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I didn’t intend to be a spokesperson for simple living this holiday season. It just sort of happened. I often share my own journey and discoveries online with my community and this year, as I settled in to a simpler way of doing things, I accidentally encouraged other women to do the same.
It wasn’t an easy transition. It was intentional. When I felt the holiday stress and anxiety bubbling up inside, I forcefully pushed it away. It was an intentional decision everyday to just be present in the moment and to do my best for that day.
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One of the main concepts that I’ve thought back on from the Hope*Writers Conference, came from co-founder Gary Morland. He told the story of baking a wonderful dinner for your friends and pulling it from the oven. The smell fills the room and you’re so proud of the masterpiece that you’ve created in your kitchen. Then, you look around and wonder where your friends are. Why aren’t they here to eat your magnificent dinner? They’re not here, because you didn’t invite them.
I stumbled across this photo of Olivia and Travis from last Christmas and as they say — all the feels. This photo was taken on Christmas morning at my beautiful #wfwhitehouse. My caption on Instagram referenced how this very morning brought all my ideas of what this house would be together. From day one, I envisioned the gathering of people in this home. I envisioned Christmas mornings and the family that would eventually fill its rooms. I remember being so happy and so content on this Christmas morning.
In 2009, I was fresh from college, working as the Technology Marketing Director at the Monroe-West Monroe Convention & Visitors Bureau. I was juggling this full time job and launching my store on Antique Alley in my spare time. When I think about how much has went down in these 10 years, I’m blown away. I also love how much of this is chronicled here in this online space.
I’m home from my first writing conference and I’ve had several people say that they can’t wait to see what came of it. Me too, guys. Me too.
At first I felt a little disappointed that I didn’t come home with some big announcement or revelation. (A little about that here.) I’d secretly hoped that I’d develop a vision of what’s next at this conference, even if it was just a tiny glimpse into the future. I didn’t think I’d announce the title of my first book, though I did intend to have at least an idea of what the next project might be. If I’m honest with you all, I still don’t know what’s next.
I open up my laptop at my little writing desk for the first time. I set up this little corner of my living room shortly after joining Hope*Writers, over a month ago. One of their first tips was to create a space where you write, and though I’ve heard that for years, I haven’t ever followed the advice. The couch is simply much more comfortable and required very little effort on my part. As I think more about this, the couch was also less threatening. If I wrote from the couch and nothing ever came of it, that wouldn’t be a failure. I don’t have to say “I’m a writer” from the couch. Creating a space for writing meant there was more at stake.
I’ve had so many conversations about goals and dreams and what’s next lately. I’ve had a harder time answering some of these questions than I’d like. One of the things that I’ve realized is that I’ve done a lot of waiting. Waiting on ideas. Waiting on the right time. Waiting on guidance or inspiration. When I look at some of the big things I want to do with my life, I quickly realize that there’s no reason that I couldn’t be doing some of those things right now.
A few weeks ago, I put out some words on how I’ve chosen to finally give attention and time to my writing. For years, I only spent time on it in the spare moments and I have very little to show from that strategy. It’s been just two weeks since this commitment, and I’ve already seen results from the small change. So here’s another dream of mine that I’m choosing to put out into the world. Let’s see what happens.
Someone popped into my office to say hello and out of nowhere, a perfectly normal, casual conversation turned into what could be a life changing moment. Amidst the usual pleasantries, he dropped a bomb.
“Are you enjoying life?,” he said.
