Happy things Archives - Page 15 of 35 -

New Life

March 14, 2012 by Farewell Stranger ·

When I chose my one word for 2012 – VIBRANT – I had a moment where I wondered if perhaps it might come to mean more than just joyously living life. It was wishful thinking at the time – a what if and not a when.

Now it’s a when.

Somewhat to my surprise (but certainly not unwelcome) I’m pregnant.

My reaction to this, and the roller coaster of emotion over the last several weeks, could potentially fill this blog from now to my due date. (But don’t worry – I won’t subject you to quite that much navel gazing.) I will share one story about a reaction that was most unexpected given that this is something wanted and hoped for, but mostly I’m hoping to move on in a much more positive frame of mind than I’ve been in of late.

If you read my post yesterday, you’ll probably wonder what on earth had me so worked up. I wonder that a bit myself, actually, as I knew I would once I got past that milestone. You see, I started a new job in the middle of December, which puts me not quite at the three-month mark. Total newbie. And I’m replacing someone who was away on mat leave for a year and then returned, on a part-time basis, only to resign a couple of months later to stay at home with her son. The team I’m leading has had a rough time with having a manager over the last couple of years (or not having one, as the case may be).

I know, this is more important. And people will understand. And what are you going to do, anyway?

I know all that.

But somehow over the last six weeks I’ve managed to work myself up into a state of guilt and unbridled angst over this. “Screw you” is not a life philosophy I subscribe to. (Not that anyone who leaves a job for any amount of time due to pregnancy or parenting does…) I’m not even past my probation period – not that I had any concern about being fired as a result of this announcement, but it’s all just so…new.

So instead of continuing to add to my already ever-present nausea with a stomach in knots, I decided to come clean. Better to have it in the open than stuck in my head, I figure. And besides, given how fast I’m already expanding it wouldn’t have been a secret for long.

In any case, it went well. I’ve told them and now I’ve told you.

And now, joyously, all those words that have been walled up inside me can be set free.

Coming on or around October 13, 2012 to a blog near you.

Image credit: SanShoot on Flickr

Filed Under: Happy things, Pregnancy · Tagged With: anxiety, family, going public, hope, living life

Spreading Beauty

March 7, 2012 by Farewell Stranger ·

Today on Just.Be.Enough I’m sharing a video I came across that left me feeling inspired and hopeful. Come and visit – I hope it will leave you feeling that way too.

Compliments for Strangers

Filed Under: Better world, Happy things ·

Bring on the SITS Girls

March 6, 2012 by Farewell Stranger ·

We interrupt the previously scheduled suckage to report that today is my SITS day! Any non-bloggers who read this may not know what a SITS day is, so if you want to skip past this I won’t hold it against you. But since I know my mother will ask, I’ll provide this link to the SITS Girls about page that talks about their mission and what they do with featured bloggers.

So with that out of the way, welcome!

Here’s the Coles notes version of this blog:

I started blogging in January 2011 as a way to deal with the lingering effects of postpartum depression.
I blogged about my worst day, how I fired my psychiatrist, and how I almost lost my marriage to postpartum rage.
I did a TEDx talk about it.
(If you want the whole year in review, you can get it in this short(ish) photo post.)
I got better eventually and, because life’s not challenging enough, decided it was time to make a change I’d long resisted and moved with my family to a new city 600 miles away from where I grew up (and where my parents still live).
At first it was awesome.
But right now it’s kind of hard.

I haven’t written much about all the stuff that’s going on, but I will, and hopefully soon. So stick around, will ya?

And just for fun – some random stuff about me:

I kind of like birds. (See: header. Icons.)
My one word for 2012 is “vibrant.”
I’m proud to be a contributor to Just.Be.Enough and Postpartum Progress and an anytime, anywhere support to PPD to Joy.
Blogging directly led to my getting published. (Twice, actually!)
I’m thrilled to be speaking at Bloggy Boot Camp in Dallas. (Here’s my video submission.)
I have a life list.

So that’s me. It’s so nice to have you here – please help yourself to milk and cookies. (What? I have a 3-year-old.)

If you’d like to leave me a hostess gift, I’d love it if you’d leave a link in the comments to your most honest post. I love it when bloggers put themselves out there (I did a SITS guest post about it) and, frankly, I could use a little inspiration.

Thanks for coming by!

Filed Under: Happy things · Tagged With: community, gratitude, Life list

Blissdom Bound

February 22, 2012 by Farewell Stranger ·

I’m all set. Packed. As ready as I’m ever going to be. (Which is not very, but I’m all about winging things these days.)

A few months ago I bought a ticket to Blissdom. This is a conference I’ve known of for a while and I always thought it sounded like a fun one to go to, especially because of the name. Bliss? Count me in.

But then I realized a bunch of my blog friends—some I have already met and love dearly and some I’m dying to hug—will be there, and I jumped. A big motivating factor is that Natalie (aka Mama Track) is going to be there with her new baby girl (aka Baby Track). And Jessica and Angela are trying to fight me for who gets to hold Baby Track first. (I’m going to win.) And Kimberly and her pregnant belly are going to be there. And there are so many others.

So I bought a ticket and hoped it would work out. And then of course we moved and I got a new job and I started to wonder if perhaps it wasn’t meant to be. But my new boss is great and doesn’t seem to care that the newest member of the team is taking a couple of days off and my husband doesn’t seem to mind that I’m ditching him, so here I go.

This feels much different than when I was leaving for BlogHer last year. I’m still excited, but less nervous. It feels less life-altering, though it could be equally so. Mostly I’m just tired and dreading the travel, just a little bit.

But I’m going anyway, for how else to pursue the life I want than to take the opportunities that come my way? I just ask that if you spot a sleeping blogger in the Phoenix airport that you give her a nudge and send her on her way to Nashville.

While I’m travelling on Thursday, I leave you with a post at Just.Be.Enough. It’s about being a working mom with a stay-at-home-dad husband, an arrangement I’m grateful for, but one that has included some unexpected perspective on what that means for my own mom identity. Please come and visit!

Filed Under: Happy things, Hello, Inspiration · Tagged With: blogging, community, firsts, gratitude, living life, travel

Valentines Revisited

February 8, 2012 by Farewell Stranger ·

This is something I wrote last year and re-posting it feels like a bit of a cheat. But in my defence:

Mama Kat told us to write a poem for our valentines.
My blog was quite new at the time, and it seems reasonable to bring it back to see the light of day.
I like it.

It’s one of my favourite posts, and one I don’t think I could better, so here you go:

In the eyes of the boy, I am everything. I know everything. Can do everything (except build snowmen). My kisses heal wounds. My breath in the night scares away the darkness. My hugs bring him home.

I carried him then, gave him life. Nourished his body with mine. Carry him still.

To me he can say, “I love you, too” even when I haven’t said it first, because sometimes love is unspoken.

In the eyes of the boy I am perfect.

In the eyes of the man, I am the other half. The other half of one whole.

I offer what I can and he takes it, adds to it and makes it more.

If I need help I can ask for it and he gives it. Sometimes I can’t ask for it and he gives it anyway.

I have said, “I’m sorry.” And he has said, “There are no conditions.”

In the eyes of the man I am perfect in my imperfection.

To me, the boy is life and light and lilting laughter. He is me and he is the man: he is the poignancy of potential. He’s also his own person and don’t you dare mess with that.

He is perfect.

To me, the man is the source of much of the best of the boy. He is more – much more – than I knew when I met him. He is my patience and my strength. He is rational when I’m not. He laughs when I can’t.

He is love, and love is perfect.

I’m lucky to have them, these two. My two.

Valentines.