"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." -John F. Kennedy
Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching and I must admit, I'm not excited. For most, Thanksgiving is a time to be with their families and reflect on how much you mean to one another. For myself and most of the my friends, it's a time for us to stress over how we're going to fit a large meal and time with family in between work shifts. Or more importantly, calling around to find out which grocery stores will be open and fully stocked with caffeine. Thanksgiving has become more of a challenge than a holiday for me. How do you juggle approximately 5 hours of cooking, 2 hours of cleaning, and 15 hours of working along with entertaining friends and family? Oh, and heaven forbid and extra guest show up and you don't have enough matching plates to accommodate the unexpected addition. Sounds like a game show to me!
Cooking the Thanksgiving turkey is my thing. I've done it every year since Jordan and I have been together. This is partly because Jordan's mom isn't a huge fan of cooking and partly because it's difficult to tote a 15 pound bird 4 hours up a mountain. So every year, I cook the turkey and our families make the drive to Asheville.
Time is something that I'm always running short on, but especially this time of year. This is the time that I forget to slow down and enjoy the holiday. I think part of this is because I'm in retail. For me, this is the busiest time of the year. Everyone is shopping and everyone is rushing. Usually the people I'm interacting with aren't concerned with what I have planned for the holidays...they're busy thinking about the to-do list that never seems to end. From Thanksgiving to Christmas, the lives of other people cease to matter. That's the part of the holiday that makes me sad. We remember our own families and we're so excited to give gifts and eat turkey, but we forget to love on the people that don't get the time to spend with their families. My job is as accommodating as they can be around the holidays, but at the end of the day, they still have a business to run. My point is, while you're running around this season trying to finish up your to-do list, don't forget about the people who are providing a service to you rather than spending time with their own families. Smile at us and give us your patience because we're most certainly trying our best to make your holidays wonderful. And at the end of the day, just know that Thanksgiving and Christmas are really just about love... everything else is extra. So if the plates on the table don't all match or a bulb on the Christmas tree goes out, just smile and remember that imperfections keep life interesting.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Powerful Words
You are powerful. You are strong. You are beautiful.
I had a woman tell me on Sunday that I was changing her life. My customers have really reached out to me lately. I've had a lot of emotional connections with women that I've spent less than an hour with and it's been a crazy time for me. I've had so many people make specific comments that touched me deeply. I know the client I was with on Sunday thought that I was changing her life, but really, she was changing mine.
I didn't want to be at work on Sunday. I was tired from a long week and had the next two and half days off and I was ready for the relaxation to start. But I care about my job and I care about my customers, so I put on my smile and went to work. Once I got there, the day started off slow. I was struggling just to stay awake and my nerves were on edge. The first person that stopped by Estee Lauder that morning knew exactly what she wanted and didn't want to chat along the way, which I was perfectly okay with. The next five customers all had difficult situations that were a struggle to resolve. Then a client (who will remain nameless) walked up and said "You are so beautiful." What? I'm sorry. Did she just say I was beautiful? Is she joking or just blind? Beautiful? Now, I am a lot of things, but beautiful is not one that I get often. Interesting. Smart. Determined. Kind. Funny. Those are all things I hear. But beautiful? No. I stopped for a second to analyze her angle and then responded with the dumbest thing I could have said, "really?" She looked at me like I needed to take a course on how to properly accept a compliment. This client asked if I had time to help her pick out a concealer and, of course, I did. While we were picking out a concealer, it came up that she had a date that night and I asked if she wanted me to do her makeup for it. She said yes and got in the chair. I worked and she talked. She began to talk about some pretty deep things that were going on in her life and I just listened. When she was finished I said "wow. It's amazing that you were able to share that." She said "oh my gosh...I didn't even realize I was dumping on you!" She wasn't dumping on me. I loved hearing her story. She had an incredible story to tell. I didn't know how to say that to her at work so I just exchanged the words she greeted me with, "You are so beautiful." My client cried. Then she told me I was patient. I didn't feel patient that day...I actually was the opposite of patient. I was ready to go home. I was ready to be with my family. But I think I was supposed to be there, in that moment, to tell someone that her story mattered.
I used to walk through life very closed off. My mental health journey has really allowed me to open myself up and allow things to come into my life. I've opened myself up to a lot of hurt and pain, but all of that has been matched by even more love and beauty. Sometimes we need to share our struggles. Sometimes we need to just say what we think. You are beautiful - That's okay to say. Our words change people.
Our words are powerful. We have to use them.
I had a woman tell me on Sunday that I was changing her life. My customers have really reached out to me lately. I've had a lot of emotional connections with women that I've spent less than an hour with and it's been a crazy time for me. I've had so many people make specific comments that touched me deeply. I know the client I was with on Sunday thought that I was changing her life, but really, she was changing mine.
I didn't want to be at work on Sunday. I was tired from a long week and had the next two and half days off and I was ready for the relaxation to start. But I care about my job and I care about my customers, so I put on my smile and went to work. Once I got there, the day started off slow. I was struggling just to stay awake and my nerves were on edge. The first person that stopped by Estee Lauder that morning knew exactly what she wanted and didn't want to chat along the way, which I was perfectly okay with. The next five customers all had difficult situations that were a struggle to resolve. Then a client (who will remain nameless) walked up and said "You are so beautiful." What? I'm sorry. Did she just say I was beautiful? Is she joking or just blind? Beautiful? Now, I am a lot of things, but beautiful is not one that I get often. Interesting. Smart. Determined. Kind. Funny. Those are all things I hear. But beautiful? No. I stopped for a second to analyze her angle and then responded with the dumbest thing I could have said, "really?" She looked at me like I needed to take a course on how to properly accept a compliment. This client asked if I had time to help her pick out a concealer and, of course, I did. While we were picking out a concealer, it came up that she had a date that night and I asked if she wanted me to do her makeup for it. She said yes and got in the chair. I worked and she talked. She began to talk about some pretty deep things that were going on in her life and I just listened. When she was finished I said "wow. It's amazing that you were able to share that." She said "oh my gosh...I didn't even realize I was dumping on you!" She wasn't dumping on me. I loved hearing her story. She had an incredible story to tell. I didn't know how to say that to her at work so I just exchanged the words she greeted me with, "You are so beautiful." My client cried. Then she told me I was patient. I didn't feel patient that day...I actually was the opposite of patient. I was ready to go home. I was ready to be with my family. But I think I was supposed to be there, in that moment, to tell someone that her story mattered.
I used to walk through life very closed off. My mental health journey has really allowed me to open myself up and allow things to come into my life. I've opened myself up to a lot of hurt and pain, but all of that has been matched by even more love and beauty. Sometimes we need to share our struggles. Sometimes we need to just say what we think. You are beautiful - That's okay to say. Our words change people.
Our words are powerful. We have to use them.
I'm Back!
I've been neglecting this space for a while, but for a good reason. Sometimes I get so caught up in my to-do list that I forget "self care." So, to take care of myself, I took a month off from "unnecessary tasks." I love to blog. It helps figure out myself, in a strange way. It helps me to get things out of my head. I love to hear from other people who are reading my blog. I love to hear your stories -- your joy and pain. I care about the people who read my blog. But it can also be draining. So it made the list of things to take a break from for a month. However, I'm back and feeling very rejuvenated. Thanks to everyone who's stuck with me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)