This week my Friday Gratitude includes 2 people that have inspired change in my life (at least for this week). I am very grateful that I was in the right place at the right time to hear and read their inspiration.
I don’t know if it is the little changes that I have made or nature’s hints that spring is right around the corner, but I am feeling lighter and brighter lately. Maybe it is because winter is ending? Maybe it is my Friday Gratitude posts? Whatever it is, I’ll take it!
Here are 5 things that had me feeling all sorts of grateful this week:
Signs of Spring
Although it is snowing today, I keep seeing signs of spring that make me oh so happy! This week we even have had a few warm days that had me setting my toes free in flip flops.
There are even a few green buds starting to pop up through the cold ground here in KC. But, this week I saw an actual flower blooming under the debris of winter. It stopped me right in my tracks and I enjoyed it’s promise of warmer days.
I was so grateful for this beautiful sight of spring.
Inspiring Change
This week I was browsing Instagram when a post from a fellow food blogger showed up. It was a long post on Instagram, which I usually pass by. This time I decided to read on.
I won’t do a ton of explaining because I could never get the point across quite as perfectly as she did!
This is exactly where I have lived for the past four years. Different versions of a high bun, low bun, messy bun, or ponytail. All that mixed with a daily outfit that didn’t really say “I am ready for the day”. It more or less shouted the message “I am headed to the gym” (even if I wasn’t headed to the gym).
Don’t get me wrong, all that fit me perfectly for the past four years. I had babies, toddlers, and kids running around the house and I was happy as a clam in my athletic wear.
But, I can feel that I am ready for a change. I am ready to make an effort… for me!
Now I don’t want to be held to some ridiculous standard of dressing to the 9’s every day… (btw where did that saying come from?? What are the 9’s?). So if you see me on a Monday afternoon in a messy bun and work out gear- no judgment, ok!?
But for right now I want to put on a pair of pants, maybe a shirt with buttons, some mascara, and wear my hair down.
This week I was so grateful for this Instagram post that inspired change in my life… at the right time. Thank you, Brooke Lark!
Musical Talent
When my daughter was 4 years old my Mom came to me and said she thought it was time for Maddie to start violin (and she wanted to pay!!). I was hesitant because- 1. I felt like Maddie was still a baby! And 2. I hated music lessons, of any kind, when I was little and didn’t want to start down that road.
However, I went ahead and accepted the offer and we found a Suzuki Violin studio for her.
She has now been playing violin for 6 years. We have come a long way since that first day of plucking and screeching on the strings!
Now she plays the most beautiful music and once in awhile I think back and remember how far she has come. It amazes me every time.
This past weekend Maddie had her solo violin recital and she could not have played more beautifully. Her piece was Hunters Chorus by Carl Maria von Weber. She played it flawlessly with perfect projection.
This week I was so proud of Maddie as she played the violin on stage. I am so grateful that she has this amazing talent.
Top Golf
This year my Dad had a big birthday. I won’t reveal the number, but it moved him into another decade. Since we don’t live close we were not able to celebrate on his exact birthday.
They were coming in town for the violin recital so we decided we would take him to Top Golf and celebrate on Sunday afternoon.
We had perfect weather, a ton of fun, and we all pretended we knew how to golf for an afternoon (except for my Dad and Brother-In-Law, who can really golf).
Kyle loved hitting golf balls. He would get so excited and say “I got it, I got it”, not accepting any help, even though he was holding the club completely backwards. He would whiff a few times and then barely hit the top of the ball. It would only roll about 25 yards out. But, he would turn and run to our table with pure excitement. It was super cute!
I think we can scratch Golf off the list of possible college scholarships, for both children!
I loved spending a Sunday afternoon with my family this week.
Not Letting “Perfect” and “Good” Get In The Way of “Doing”
I love listening to podcasts and one that gets a lot of my attention is “Happier” by Gretchen Rubin. It is a show where Gretchen and her sister discuss little things you can do to live a happier life. Such a simple and perfect concept.
On a recent episode titled “Do Something Badly” they discussed the idea of not letting the worry of doing things perfectly or even good, get in the way of just doing. This discussion really stuck with me. There are a lot of times that I let the fear of not doing something right get in the way of “doing” at all.
Of course I do not want to implement this idea into every facet of my life… like work or recipe developing. But there are a lot of times that this will help me get over the hump of “not doing” to “doing”. Like:
- Learning something new…especially if it is related to the technical side of my website. I just have to do it badly a few times before I get good or understand it at all.
- Playing or doing crafts with the kids…I just need to do it! It doesn’t have to be perfect or even good, they just want to spend time with me.
- WORKING OUT!!! I just need to go to the gym or get out the door to run. It doesn’t have to be record breaking, I just need to move my body.
This goes along perfectly with a saying that I love. It goes something like this, “Don’t be afraid of moving forward slowly, be afraid of standing still”.
I was super thankful for the little reminder this week that things do not need to be perfect or even good ALL THE TIME. It’s ok to settle for doing things badly once in a while!
What is something that inspired you recently? Let me know in the comments or drop me a line! I would love to hear what inspires you.
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