Sometimes you need a swift kick in the keister to bring you back to the ground. I have had a couple of those lately.
Sometimes you wonder…. which way is up again? What did I do yesterday? What day is it? You…. AGAIN??
It’s like groundhog day… Yes- Again.
I used to work in corporate America. Was in the center of the rat race. Life shifted and so did my priorities.
I decided to hang up the suits and pick up my camera. Follow my bliss.
Be there for my loved ones. Keep my priorities center stage…
These are the kids I adore. These are the faces I am going to spoil and kiss…
These are the people I want to make sure know me. Love me. These are the cheeks I want to squeeze.
(The picture above is of my niece Lexi… those are really the color of her eyes. Seriously… Gorgeous!)
Then you know what happened…. LIFE.
It all gets so complicated. What should we do… Where should we be…. Who are we becoming??
I realized sometimes a person is happy… sometimes sad…. more often than not a combination of them both.
It’s a journey…. a really long and windy path filled with choice and uncertainty….a quest for the meaning.
Know what else I learned….you can do it alone… OR… you can surround yourself with people who love you…just for being you.
These are some of my favorite people…
Friends, family and home…. the cornerstones.
No matter where you go, I have also learned you never really leave behind where you started….
And I know that these are my priorities, my obligations…. my greatest life lessons…
Even Sam…. you can learn a lot about life and love from unconditional love like this….
I have pictures all over my house. In boxes, in bins, on walls, stuffed in books.
Recently, I was asked to send in a picture of me and the boys for a school project- guess what… no pictures of me.
I am always behind the lens…and trust me it is SO much more comfortable for me to be there than in front… but I vowed to the kids and to me to step out once in awhile.
Some day I am going to be old (okay… OLDER….) and I want to remember the person I am now.
I am alot. People tell me that often. I am going to learn to embrace that….it doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
As my friend Heather says…. I am going to work on “enlightened selfishness” – taking the time I need to be the person I want and need to be. That seems impossible when we are stretched too thin- trying to be all things to all people. Sometimes we love and lose…. sometimes we get hurt by the people we love and trust the most…it happens.
Life happens.
It’s then that you remember your people. Find them. Pull them in. Let them bring an umbrella to keep you dry. An old friend recently reminded me of a great quote…
“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” ~ Dolly Parton
And if for some reason that doesn’t work… give them what my special friend Mike calls “The Gina Face”
Live and learn……….
Many thanks to MY people- near and far. xoxo G.
by ginawade
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