Happy Wednesday my friends! Long time no holler at! I am so happy you are here today! So sorry to keep you hanging…
What happened?
Earlier this Summer I was merrily on my way, creating, writing, dreaming and planning. Then, suddenly, some very jarring news threw me off my track in a monumental way. I tried to carry on as usual, but it quickly became clear that that just wasn’t going to happen. Somehow my heart was in another place and no matter what I did, the flame had gone out.
I generally welcome a challenge as well as the lessons that come with it. After all, life is rarely ever a series of smooth and easy stretches! But try though I might, I just could not recapture my previous momentum. I thought I could somehow “pretend” my way onto the right track. Pretend to be happy, organized, successful… Ha!
Not only did I not succeed, that approach backfired by making me feel like a fraud, my voice anything but authentic. So that trip to “Pretendland” was definitely a dead end. Meanwhile, my emotional downward spiral continued, so with my brother’s month long visit from Germany imminent, I decided it was probably best to step back, concentrate on him and enjoy our time together without the pressures of creating and writing and instagramming and face booking.
It was like being back to square one, the bottom of a mountain, that needed to be climbed.
Our family went camping in Kentucky, West Virginia and back here in the beautiful State of Ohio for two glorious weeks. We saw amazing caves, zip-lined, hiked, white water rafted, pontoon boated, hiked some more, went canoeing and spent a lot of time around the camp fire. Most importantly, we unplugged. No matter what they might advertise, rural campgrounds do not have any WIFI signal worth crowing about. And that’s okay. No TV, no WIFI, what better excuse to spend quality time actually talking to each other?
I also ate copious amounts of gluten and other “forbidden” foods. And I drank beer. My brother is a Bavarian to the core and we consider beer food, not drink. And while it seemed like a good idea at the time, it reaffirmed the fact that I shouldn’t be eating gluten nor was it wise for me to imbibe in liquid, alcohol form – but that is another story for another day.
Now that everyone has returned to their respective places and routines, I am able to once again formulate ideas, focus on what I couldn’t focus on before. My dining room chairs even sold to a wonderful couple who plans to make them over with chalk paint! And I met a lovely Mom who tragically lost her son and is keeping his legacy alive by finding and donating bikes to foster and other kids in need. What a wonderful inspiration! Suddenly I could sense a wave of positive energy around me.
And I know that no matter what, I am not looking at climbing the mountain alone, because I have this guy:
and this dude:)
and you, my faithful friends and readers!
All of this is spurning me on, motivating me to move forward at last. Gone is the perception of being tied up in a struggle that can’t be won. Now I look forward to what’s ahead and have begun work on some projects I’ve been eyeing for some time! I hope you’ll join me here on the blog as they are revealed. You can also follow along on my Instagram feed to see what I am up to every day.
Keep it simple:)
P.S.: I had planned on including some beautiful pics of our trip for you with this post, but my cordless mouse and I got into fisticuffs, then my photo editing program had to get involved as well…
In the spirit of going with the flow and not allowing my feathers to be ruffled I thought it best to forgo the pics for now:)
And if you know of a solid, well working cordless mouse model – I’m in the market…
Hmmm. Thought provoking. ❤️❤️
Sometimes life gets in the way of our plans. One of my goals this year is to “be present.” You did the right thing by taking a step back and enjoying your family time! Welcome back!
Thank you Barbara! It’s good to be back:)