6.08.2014

Exactly Where *I* Need To Be

I originally wrote and posted the entry below back in March. The funny thing is, however, that I cannot remember why I felt so compelled to write it. 

There have been some significant changes in my life the past forty-eight hours, and I took to my blog this morning in hopes to cleanse my soul of the anguish I have been feeling. I accidentily stumbled across this entry, and realized THESE were the words I needed to say and get off my chest today. 

So I present to you, a modified and edited repost of thoughts I've previously shared. Maybe these words are what you need to here today too ...
Because we all end up exactly where we need to be. 
"We never realize that replacing what’s not broken won’t fix what is. We never realize that a relationship will not save us. We never realize thatwhen we arrive at the juncture of whether to try harder or move on, it almost always means it’s time to let go. And we grapple with it because we never realize what letting go means: simply that we, at no point, are actually permitting anything to leave. We’re just permitting ourselves to come to terms with the truth that it’s already gone." (Brianna Wiest) 
The time has come for me to encounter another set of crossroads. And at this very moment, I am sitting in the center of them. Literally sitting ... debating which direction I should walk (if not run) in and asking rhetorical questions to which no one is giving me the response I would like to hear.  
I have never been good at saying goodbye. Yet I've said goodbye more times than I would have liked. And even though I have managed to utter the words goodbye several times over the years, I continue to stumble with letting go.  
So I sit at "the juncture of whether to try harder or move on." I sit here reflecting on my thoughts, my actions and my words because goodbyes do not hurt until you realize how much has changed. They do not hurt until you realize how much of the events preceding the goodbye were your fault.  
I sit here with my head in my hands. Warm, salty tears streaming down my sweat stained cheeks. I thought I could run to escape the pain. But instead running lead me directly to it. So I weep, sitting in the middle of the road at this juncture. I weep for what was and for what is to be. I weep because I cannont turn to you. And even if I did, you cannot even help me utter those fateful words. You cannot help me decide which road I should now travel on.  
Peering out into the horizon at each road ... I wipe away the tears with the back of my hand and exhale. I stretch out my legs and direct my eyes up towards the sky.  The words "...when we arrive at the juncture of whether to try harder or move on, it almost always means it’s time to let go..." cloud my mind. And I know deep within my heart that the truth is ... you are already gone. Whoever that you is ... you are already gone 
I stand and lift up prayers to the sky. Seasons change and as time would have it, THIS season is ending. It may in fact be time to say goodbye. If life would have it ... our paths ... our roads WILL cross again. So I start to walk. Slowly but surely, I start to walk because I AM capable of doing this. More capable than I may think. 
"We tie ourselves up with our anxieties when at the end of the day we always look back and realize the path was paved for us. We just had to stop questioning what we already knew to be true. We are always compelled to act when we’re meant to. The tides usually turn us on their own. We don’t always have to swim. The real art of being is learning to float." (Brianna Wiest) 
The tide is turning me on it's own ... and I am just going to float and trust that things will fall into place as they should, in the end.  
Because I will end up exactly where I need to be. 

6.02.2014

how big I'm blessed

"In the middle of my little mess, I forget how big I'm blessed..."


My life is generally rush, rush, rush ... stress, stress, stress. So much so that I often forget to stop and give thanks for all of the blessings I have in my life. I have had a smile on my face all day long, thinking about the big blessings I have had in my life recently. So I'd like to take a moment each day to count my blessings ...

JUNE FIRST
Snap chats and text messages with Kat K every day. There are NO words to describe how grateful I am for my friendship with this girl. She is my person, my other half and I value any time spent with her ... whether it be in person or via snap chat. I hope that we continue to snap and text every day for a lifetime ... it's the best part of every day.


JUNE SECOND
Growing closer to my sister, Michelle, and my cousin, Nicole. We are all so very different, but we have a bond that cannot be described. Perhaps being double cousins has something to do with that ... or maybe it's that we are so close in age? Regardless, I thank group text messaging first and foremost for truly bringing us closer together. We are always connected via the chats, which then leads to us being connected at a local bar for happy hour or one another's house for a weekend chill sesh. I cherish every cousin moment spent with them.


I want to take a moment each day this month to reflect on the good in my life. Despite the trials that life sometimes throws my way, life has been great overall lately and I am realizing that I no longer want to take my blessings for granted.

5.29.2014

Tony is a High School Graduate!






SVHS C/O 2014
Congratulations Baby Brother! 

For Good.

These lyrics resonated with my soul tonight ...

I've heard it said,
That people come into our lives
For a reason
Bringing something we must learn.
And we are lead to those
Who help us most to grow if we let them.
And we help them in return.
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you.

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun,
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood.
Who can say if I've been changed for the better
But because I knew you.
I have been changed for good.

It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime.
So, let me say before we part:
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you.
You'll be with me
Like a hand print on my heart.
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you'll have rewritten mine
By being my friend.


[dedicated <3]

5.14.2014

My Weekend in Photos
































Ten days until Alison gets married! Let the official countdown begin :o)
Alantic City was a FUN time and a picture is worth a thousand words (and memories). 

5.01.2014

being thankful

The month of May has finally dawned, and the countdown to summer break officially begins. I find myself looking at calendar jam packed with commitments and plans and due dates. I know for sure that this month will be nothing short of busy and challenging. As my life would have it, I hit a rough patch this week emotionally. And living in an apartment by yourself, with no one to talk to, leaves you to do one of two things. I either sit on the couch and watch TV/surf the Internet mindlessly for hours or I sit on the couch and think. This week, I sat. And I thought. And I sat and thought some more. And I am perfectly content with admitting that that is one of the worst things I could do. Idle time is certainly the devil's play thing.

I have spent more time this week over analyzing all of the things that are not right with my life ... then counting the blessings of all the good things God has done for me. Reading through a few of my fellow blogger friend's posts led me to this conclusion: when I take to my blog this month ... I need to count my blessings. When I wake up in the morning, I need to count my blessings. When I go to sleep at night, I need to count my blessings. I want to turn around my perspective and my mindset. There is so much going for me right now ... and I need to acknowledge and celebrate it.

So I am starting today. As I sit here <naturally listening to sevendust on repeat> I realize I am thankful for:

  • surviving the week with no money. 
    • yet I had food on the table and gas in my car tank.
  • sessions with my two boys ... they are great young men.
  • my students - teaching each and every one of them brings me great joy!
  • being named team leader of our special education team for the 2014-2015 school year.
  • the start of my last eight week graduate course for the year.
    • my cohort is fantastic and I can tell I am going to learn/grow a lot this course. 
  • a mother who consistently listens without judging and gives without asking for anything in return. 
Here's to challenging myself to see the good in every day, everyday for the month of May. 


exactly what I needed to hear ... exactly at this moment

"The defining times in life are those that test your character, push you to the end of you rope. Those moments that will either make or break us, build us up or tear us down. The choice is yours. Stop dwelling on the past and live in the here and now.

I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it."

-Let It Go.