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There are times when you just want to quit and no doubt, for many of us this year, there were probably plenty of those times.

Luckily, we have the privilege of watching our two year old grandson a few times throughout each month and I am reminded about a few things when he is here~ unconditional love, grace and forgiveness.

There are three things he says that relate to the unconditional love, grace and forgiveness that all little people have until, I believe, school age. Those three statements are : I did it!, It’s “hby” and I alright.

I have reflected on those things over the past couple of weeks in relation to how I have felt in finally feeling ready to make my website, my business, go live! I have subconsciously stalled because it wasn’t “perfect”, even though there isn’t such a thing. After I made it live, I made myself sick thinking all the negatives, such as, my FB and Google Business pages weren’t done, and when they were done, were any of my friend connections on FB actually going to “like” my page, and how long is it going to take to get established, if that even happens at all? And, even though I have tested my site and payment system a gazillion times, what if customers can’t place an order, and heaven forbid, what will they post on those social media pages??

So, in simple terms, this is where my two year old grandson comes into play:

“I did it!” ~ I took a dream and turned it into a reality all by myself. I learned how to build a website, how to do marketing, how to be a photographer, how to deal with legal terms and accounting. There is no CEO or marketing team telling me how to do it, it’s all me. So as he would say so enthusiastically, ” I DID IT!!”.

“It’s hby (aka “heavy”) ~ for him, this means helping Nana getting laundry or to carry & move a lot of things, that are heavy. For me, my “Hby” was the work it took to put this all together. I had to give myself grace many days to keep moving forward. I am not a developer by any means and there were days I literally was ready to throw the laptop!

“I alright”~ this happens usually right after he has been cruising around the furniture a bit to fast and takes a tumble. He jumps up, rubs whatever he has hit (head, arm) and says “I alright”. We just don’t make a big deal unless it’s really a big deal!

And yes, “I alright” ~ I learned to give myself grace when I just couldn’t figure something out. I learned to forgive myself when I couldn’t make the deadlines I had made and then didn’t keep. I learned to give myself unconditional love for taking the challenge to turn a dream into a reality having no guarantee that any of this will work.

Until next time~

Hearts & Love

When I was a little girl, I dreamed about doing and having more than what I had when I was young. It wasn’t that we weren’t provided for. It just seemed it was a struggle to make ends meet as I quickly learned the old saying, “Rob Peter to pay Paul” , often wondering where that saying even came from.

I went to college and earned my teaching degree. I LOVED teaching elementary school students! I met my husband in college and we married a couple of years after I graduated. Eventually, we became parents and as we started to raise them, I dreamed of providing them with a good home, food, clothing and other items without having to hear “Rob Peter to pay Paul” but to also understand wants and needs and the value of a dollar. I also dreamed they would be the kind of siblings that would always have each others backs, in case no one else in the world did.

It was all A LOT of work- I think most call it the “blood, sweat and tears” – lots of tears! Along the way, as they grew up, there were many lessons about persistence, doing the best you could, not giving up, being a part of the team even when it didn’t feel like a “team”, not quitting and no excuses. The dream became a reality because of the hard work we all put in. They are all young successful adults and we, we are an empty nest.

After 35 years of teaching and being a school/district administrator, I retired. That fall, we welcomed our grandson and I was provided the gift of being able to watch him as his mom finished her Master’s degree. I soon began to think about the dream that I thought I would never see come to be a reality. I started creating again~ a card here, a card there. Then, my mind couldn’t shut down, it was like the flood gates had opened. I suddenly became SO excited about the real possibility of making this dream become a reality as well.

The doubts crept in however, the thoughts and excitement just kept flowing. I knew I had to do the work again. As it was building the business my husband and I run together, it ebbs and flows because there are roadblocks~ there are technical things I just don’t have a clue about, so I need to do my research. Some days, I just don’t have a creative bone in my body so those usually become chore or baking days:) And, when I do something, I can’t just do it “half-ass backwards” as my father would say, I have to do it as if my life depended on it.

And so, I am here. Another dream, another adventure~ who only knows where this will lead me to next 🙂

What dreams will you follow?

Hearts & Love,

Kathi