Tag: the struggle is real

I Stopped Stopping and Started Again

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Why do we stop ourselves?  Why do we stop doing the things that we know help us?  Do we want to stay stuck?  Or is that just me?

See, I can write a bunch of things and blame everyone else, but the truth is – I stopped.  I stopped doing my morning pages, stopped walking, stopped dancing, stopped singing, stopped getting my tarot cards out, stopped finding my joy.  I stopped being happy.  I let the circumstances, the stress, the drama, and the work get in the way of me and my happiness.  I stopped because it got too hard, too busy.  I stopped because I was too tired, too stressed out, too mad at everyone around me (okay, not everyone…but I swear, people are the worst!).  I stopped. Me, I did that.

I don’t necessarily want to stay stuck in a rut, stuck in a “mood” as it were, but once you are there it is sooooooo hard to stop, so hard to get out of that place – that comfy place of discomfort.  I know, that makes no sense, unless you’ve been there – but trust me, once you get to that place, it’s almost impossible to find your motivation again, to find the “get up and go” that you need to try again, to start again.  It’s so hard to get out of the mood and start being happy again, especially when your life is still chaotic, stressful, and murky.  (Yes, I got that word from Phoebe on Friends – come at me, bro!) I had to make a choice, I had to decide to stop. I had to start doing something else. So, I stopped stopping and started again.

Not fully…but I am writing again – in fact, the first draft of novel #2 is underway – and I’m rearranging my life to get rid of some of the stress, the drama, and the work to allow myself some space to breathe, to play, to just BE for a while.  I work hard, maybe too hard, and I push myself until I can’t push any longer, then I get sick or something happens that makes my world crash and I have to stop.  This time, I’m stopping before that happens.  I’m getting off the merry-go-round, on my own accord.

What does this mean?  I’m not sure yet. All I know is that these last few months have seen me stressed out, irritable, angry, and mad at the world.  I have literally said the words, “I hate everyone!” at least once a week (or more).  I don’t want to be that person anymore.  I don’t want to be bitter and angry.  I want to be happy and joyous.  I want to feel light and fulfilled.  I’m taking some control back in my life and giving myself permission to be happy, to do the things that make my soul sing.  Watch silly Romantic Comedies (Music and Lyrics anyone?), play Disneyland on my Xbox with my kid, dance to every silly 80s song on YouTube just because, and write and keep writing and write some more.  Because I love writing.

Have you stopped doing something that you love?  Have you stopped allowing the space and time for the things that make you happy?  A few weeks ago I talked about how we aren’t really taught how to be happy, and I think it’s so easy to give up the happy feelings and the things that make us happy for similar reasons.  Misery loves company, but I believe happiness does do – so join me below, let me know the things you love to do and the last time you allowed yourself some time to do them and let’s keep each other accountable. Happiness can be our normal, I believe it can.

 

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Under Pressure

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Stress…every adult has felt it at some point or another.  Some thrive on it, or claim to thrive on it, and others find ways to deal with it when it rears its ugly head.  Some hide away from it, ignore it, freak out about it, or deal the best they can and then burn-out.

I had a crazy, chaotic day yesterday and I thought I handled things better than I have in the past.  Not saying I was perfect, did my share of freaking out, but it was a bit more contained than normal. So I thought I would share some tips and tricks that I think might help you the next time you’re having ONE OF THOSE DAYS!

Write it Out

Write a quick to-do list, even if you normally keep everything on your phone – writing a quick list of everything on your plate might help you see your day better, maybe you can move stuff around more than you thought you could.  Or, turn on the timer for 2-3 minutes and just write out your frustrations.  Get out the annoying things that are clogging up your day.  (Tip – and this is TMI, but if you’re really strapped for time, do this while you’re already in the bathroom – you know, doing your business – I told you, it’s a bit gross, but instead of mindless playing Angry Birds, write out your stress)

Vent

Have a friend, partner, or significant other that you can vent to?  Great! Tell them you just need to talk for a few minutes and then let it rip.  That might work better for you than writing it down. Or, if you don’t have anyone to talk to – talk to yourself.  Yes, you’ll look like a crazy person, but it might help to just let the steam out…like one of those Instant Pots – you have to release the valve at the end before you open the lid.  Otherwise, the whole thing could blow. Yikes!

Don’t Beat Yourself Up

Stop blaming yourself.  I am sooooo guilty of this – even if the stress has nothing to do with me, I find a way to blame myself.  Even if you are guilty of causing the stress – oh well, placing blame isn’t going to take away the immediate stress you feel so stop, deal with your day the best you can, and then later – when it’s calm and you feel better – assess what went wrong and what you could do to avoid the situation in the future.  Stop making yourself feel worse just because it’s one of those days.

Be Kind to Yourself

To go along with that, be nice to yourself.  I was feeling crazy pressure to get a whole bunch of stuff done and laundry was on that list.  So I raced down to the laundry room in our apartment building and the machine still had 5 minutes left so I sat, and I took 5 minutes to just breathe, think through things, look over my list, and watch a cute YouTube video.  That 5-minute pause really was all I needed to get through the next few hours of Nutty Running Around.  I did it again after lunch too and then again after we got home from a meeting.  What would make you feel good even for just 2-5 minutes? Try to find or make the time.

Admit You Can’t Do It All

My son’s birthday was this past week and I had arranged a small snack-time party at school with his class.  Now I make a mean cupcake, and I could have baked up 3 dozen and frosted them all with homemade buttercream – but why?  Why would I do that to myself when I’m also trying to write a book, work, volunteer with the Parent’s Association, be a wife and mother, be a friend, be a daughter – you get it?  Why?!?!  So I went to the store and bought his favorite frosted Chocolate Donuts and he was happy, his classmates were happy, and I was happy.  That’s what I call a Triple Win Baby!  Is there anything on your list that someone else could handle?  Or even future YOU could handle?

Reward Yourself

Stressful day is over? Did you manage to get through it alive? GREAT! Grab your favorite beverage, dessert, movie, or TV show and give yourself the gift of slowing down and enjoying something.  Tell yourself that you did a great job, even if in the moment it all felt like it was going to hell in a handbasket.  You made it.  You did it!  I’m proud of you and you should be proud of yourself.

Do you feel better?  Do you feel like maybe the next time all the stress falls on your shoulders you’ll be better equipped?  No…make your own list.  What do you think MIGHT work for you? Write it down as a note in your phone and when you have ONE OF THOSE DAYS, grab your list and try something.  You never know what will help in the moment. For me, it was that 5-minute break in our laundry room to do nothing for Five Glorious Minutes…that helped me get through so much of my mile-long to-do list and gave me permission to do it again later in the day.

What do you do when you’re stressed out?  How have you managed to keep stress from causing you to tear your hair out or have you taken to wearing hats?  Let me know in the comments below.

 

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Adulting is Hard…Ugh, Cleaning

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

In my final installment of the Adulting is Hard series, I would like to talk about cleaning. I love planners and being organized with my time, but when it comes to cleaning and organizing my apartment well…I’m a bit of a hot mess.  Don’t get me wrong, the city won’t be coming by anytime soon to shut me down for being a health hazard (no bugs or other creepy crawlers) but it’s not company drop in ready. And I believe there are a few reasons for this:

Toys, toys and more toys

As most of you know, I have a little kid – to be more specific, a six-year-old boy who loves Legos, trains, empty cardboard boxes, and stuffed animals – our floors are covered in toys constantly.  We have bins and boxes and other storage for these toys, but they always wind up on the floor.  I gave up picking things up to just have them find their way back to the floor every day.  We have a lovely green rug over beautiful hardwood floors, but alas – you can’t see them.

The crap is taking over

We also just have too much crap.  I know it, my husband knows it, I think even my kid knows it but do we actually do anything about it?  No, we don’t.  We are somewhat good about getting rid of some stuff before new stuff comes in, but we still have TOO MUCH CRAP.  Some of our crap I love – CDs and DVDs are treasured items.  Certain books will always have a place on our shelves.  Board games and Xbox games, musical instruments and knick-knacks that are used and adored sit around the apartment.  Some of our crap I don’t love – papers everywhere, old greeting cards, random things picked up from Chuck E Cheese, crafts my kid was totally into one rainy Saturday.  It’s like Where’s Waldo in here some days.

The couch is so comfy

I’m lazy.  I’m always busy – writing sessions, day job, going to my son’s school for meetings, making and eating food, getting in some exercise, and reading – but when it comes to down time well….I just don’t want to spend time cleaning.  I’d rather watch The Handmaid’s Tale, Superstore, or an old episode of Psych than dust, sweep, or organize a bookshelf.   We don’t have a dishwasher so I do those pretty much every day (although I’m pretty lazy about that too and take off at least once a week) but once I’m done with dishes, I just don’t feel like doing anything else – because I’m lazy like that.

The hot mess is just too overwhelming

And the final reason, I don’t know where to start…seriously, when your apartment looks like a tornado went through a toy factory it’s just all too much to take in.  I was organizing one thing and one thing only but we went out of town for a week back in April and I just never picked that habit back up…probably because I got overwhelmed with which ONE thing to pick.  I’m a complete mess people.

How do you manage cleaning?  How do you start organizing when it’s all just too much? Like I said, I love planners and organizing my time for maximum productivity but cleaning is hard for me.  For now, I’ll go drink another cup of coffee, write another chapter in my book, and forget it about….again, that’s how I’ve been handling this problem because Adulting is Hard!

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Adulting Is Hard – Meal Planning: Do People Actually Do This?

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

For today in Adulting is Hard I thought I would write about Meal Planning.  Now, I love (LOVE) paper planners (yes, I know everyone and their Mom carries a smartphone nowadays) but I seriously love planning my week and daily to-do’s in a colorful paper planner – bonus points if I get to use stickers and colorful pens/markers/highlighters – but Meal Planning…I just don’t get it.

Do people really figure out their breakfasts, lunches, and dinners a whole week in advance?  I normally eat the same general thing for breakfast so as long as we have eggs, cheese, veggies, ham, and veggie sausage patties I can make eggs in a variety of styles for breakfast.  I basically eat the same thing for lunches as well – deli meat, cheese, veggies, fruit, and maybe some crackers.  I also like to have soup on hand as well as chicken sausages.  Easy things I can throw together for a healthy, quick meal.

Yes, Chef   

I’ll be honest here, I don’t do the majority of cooking in this house – my husband does, but I do help with prep or when we’re cooking in the crockpot (or he needs to work late, of course).  I guess he decides weekly what to buy from Fresh Direct, our online grocery store, but I honestly don’t know if he has a day by day plan for cooking dinner.  We text on his way home from work about what he needs to pick up at the market and that’s when I usually find out what’s for dinner -unless we already talked about the crockpot or any sides I’m helping with.

So…I guess we have a small idea, but we don’t write anything down or decide anything a few days in advance.  Do people (not on YouTube) actually do this?  And if you do, help me out – how?  I tend to follow an Intuitive Eating plan from my nutritionist – I keep things on hand that I like to eat for breakfast and lunch and snacks and then eat what I feel like eating when the time comes up.  I let the one that does the cooking plan the meals for the most part, with my help on Saturday when we order food – like, I sometimes say – this week let’s make this – but that’s pretty rare.

Buttered Noodles, Please

Maybe I would meal plan more if my kid ate what we did?  My son tends to eat one of like six things so we always cook his stuff separately – chicken nuggets, Amy’s pizza rolls, buttered noodles, etc.   And sometimes he gets hungry even before my husband gets home from dinner, so I cook his dinner early. I’m not going to starve a six-year-old.

Do you meal plan? On paper or just in your head?  Do you sit down weekly and decide for the whole week or do you shop twice (or more) a week?  We tend to order a large batch of food from Fresh Direct on Saturday (delivered on Sunday) then we hit up the Fruit/Veggie market or smaller grocery store a few times a week to buy produce and things we either forgot or that Fresh Direct didn’t have.  We don’t do Costco or the like because we have a tiny apartment, even tinier kitchen, and no pantry to speak of – so we don’t have room to store giant gallons of anything.  How do you shop and deal with meal planning?

 

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Adulting is hard…how do you make friends as an adult?

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Next up on the Adulting is Hard playlist – making friends as an adult.  Now, I want to start this piece by saying I have some amazing friends – people I’ve known since grade school, amazing women from college – but none of them live where I live – they are all back home in MO.  I have a really close friend here in NYC that I met doing acting classes at HB Studios when I first got to the city and we are tight, but she lives in Manhattan still, is a teacher, and has her own life – we see each other as often as we can, but it’s rare.

As Seen on TV

The thing is…TV shows and movies show women having these amazing friendships – girls that drop everything to gab and gossip, drink mimosas with, help with heartbreaks, etc. And my friends would all be there, on the phone or FaceTime if something major happened and have been, but it can get lonely as an adult far away from friends back home.  I sometimes wonder if I’m weird for not having a ton of friends, tons of outings and events to go to – but making friends as an adult is hard, people.

When you’re in school, it’s so easy – you see these girls (and boys) day in and day out – I mean, it’s hard to get away from some people – am I right? But it’s also easy to form friendships and bonds over things like failed tests, hard teachers, crazy lunchroom antics, and the like – when you’re adult, you don’t have those instant areas to form friendships.  Now, the nice thing – I’m about to join my son’s school’s Parent’s Association executive board – this will give me some opportunities to be around other parents, mostly Moms, and get me out of my little apartment bubble at least a few times a month.

You Like Me, You Really Like Me

This is both good and bad – this brings up feelings of, “will they like me?” or “will I fit in with them?” or “what if I’m just not interesting?” or “what if I don’t like them?” – because let’s face it – I don’t like everyone and not everyone likes me.  That’s life.  As far as I can tell, they seem like amazing moms and people in their own right and I’m not overly worried about me not liking them, but me fitting in – yes.  That feeling never goes away kids.

So…if you’re out of High School, how do you make friends? And if you’re like me, you know – old – how do you make adult friendships?

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Adulting is Hard: What do I do with my hair?!?

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

I thought I would kick off my “Adulting is Hard” series with my #1 issue – I have no clue what to do with my hair!  Like, seriously, how do women (and I guess men?) learn how to do their hair?  Do they have Moms that teach them? Do they all just watch YouTube videos? Or are they just magic?

I adore my Mother, she’s amazing and taught me many, many lessons…but doing hair was not one of them.  When I was a kid she had a perm (just typing that word brought back the home perm smell – anyone else?) and now she keeps her hair pretty short so….not much help in the hair department.  My older sister wasn’t much better, also did the perm thing and then she used to cut her own hair – being “girlie” wasn’t big on her list – which is cool, but…I liked being girlie and could never figure out what to do with my own very thick, very heavy, very straight hair.

Hair History

As a kid, I had the bowl haircut and bangs that my Mom used tape on to cut straight.  Then in college, it was longish and I used to pull half of it back into a ponytail.  Then I moved to NYC and started auditioning for things and pretty much had to keep my hair looking like my headshot – layers.  And I would wash it, dry it, and use a large round brush-looking dryer to flip the ends either under or out and that’s it.  Here’s the thing – I like my hair – even now, that I stopped dying it and it’s getting quite silver – it’s healthy and shiny.  But it can also be boring to do the same old, same old all the time.

I tried crimping my hair….once! My sister-in-law bought me one with I was about 12 maybe and helped me crimp it, which took HOURS…and didn’t really look like what I thought it would and didn’t last very long.  I had friends in college try various curling devices with equal results – very little.  When I was in shows and needed “different” hair I would wear wigs, or beg others to help me – which worked – I’m cute and can be quite persuasive!

Current Hair

Ponytails aren’t really my thing either because pulling my hair back causes headaches…and my head is very tiny compared to the rest of my plus-size body.  This is why I always said God gave me lots and lots of hair, to balance my tiny head (seriously, I can wear kid sized hats…it’s weird) – so when I pull my hair back I just feel…off, somehow.

My hair is very straight and the layers do help give me movement but does anyone out there know – is there anything I can do?  Would YouTube be helpful? If so….what would I search for?  Seriously…help a lady out!  Thank you…because, Adulting is Hard!

P.S. – The Art of Lying is now available on Amazon!

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Do You Feel Your Age?

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Funny story…I don’t feel like an adult half the time.  I mean – I have a day job, I pay bills, I have a kid! But most days I still feel about 25 years old (which, okay, some of you might say, 25 – that’s still an adult) but when I was 25 I was moving to New York City, auditioning for Broadway and Off-Broadway (and let’s be honest Off-Off-Broadway) shows, taking acting and singing and dancing lessons – I wasn’t really doing the adult thing.

Here comes some huge truth bombs…I’m 41 years old (turning 42 this year), but I still feel like that 25-year-old. I still have a hard time contemplating that the 1990s were 30 years ago and that I moved to NYC 17 years ago.  My Mom and I were talking when I was home for my son’s Spring Break and she mentioned that she always felt 40, even as a kid (she’s in her 80s now) and I thought that was interesting.  Do we ever feel the age we are?  

I don’t think I always felt 25…and sometimes I don’t act 25 (I can be a moody teenager some days, or a tantrum-y tree year old) – but I think I felt more ME then.  Or maybe that’s when I felt most like ME – I knew who I was.  I think I got stuck there, mentally.  My Mom worked with her parents and siblings picking cotton from the time she was old enough to hold the large cotton bag (true story) so she always felt responsible and grown-up.  She didn’t get to be a kid like I did.  She always felt like an adult, whereas I never really did.  Like I said, I paid bills and was fairly responsible with my actions, but mentally – I’m this care-free teenager.  Which is probably why I love to read and write Young Adult books and watch TV shows like Riverdale (I mean it’s Dawson’s Creek meets Twin Peaks…what’s not to love?)

I sometimes resent having responsibilities and chores and laundry and dishes (we don’t have a dishwasher) because in my mind 25 year me didn’t have those – but I did, I had laundry and dishes and a day job and all that other stuff….so I don’t know why my mind makes me think that time was so much better.  It was fun, but having a family and a cute little kid is fun in a different way.  And I have a much better handle on what I want to do with the rest of my life and that’s exciting. So, why can’t I remember I’m 40? Why do I have to stop and think about how old I am when someone asks – I’m taking doctors, not randos on the street (that would be weird).

I think the other thing that makes it hard to feel 40, I find typical “adult” things hard – like doing my hair, meal planning, and making friends. See my mantra has always been: Just because you’re an adult, doesn’t men you don’t have to grow up…but the thing is, doing some “adult” things would make life easier – like having a cleaning routine or being able to do my hair in other ways (seriously – I wash it, dry it, and move on) So that’s why I decided to write a whole series of articles this month around the theme of “I don’t know how to Adult” –  stay tuned.

So, what do you think?  Do you feel your age? Or do you feel older or young and why?  I’m curious.  Thank you and if you have any issues you can’t figure out that you assume all other adults have figured out, let me know in the comments and I’ll put them on the list.  Because Adulting is Hard!

 

PS – The Art of Lying is Available now on Amazon…check it out!

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Consistent Inconsistency

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

I have a bad habit of inconsistency.  I start projects or goals with so much gusto, so much energy but usually, I fall off in a matter of weeks. I’m very consistent in my inconsistency too as I’ve had this bad habit for years (decades really).   Here are a few examples: I started meditating daily a few months ago.  I was doing great, hitting streaks in my meditation app and feeling calm, centered, and positive.  Then something happened (who knows what it was – but I was probably sick or missed a night) and bam, the streak was broken and I was out of sync. Now, a normal person would probably just start back, but this is a hard concept for me to grasp so instead I just quit meditating altogether.  I haven’t even opened that app since.

Exercise is another one that I do this with ALL THE TIME.  I will start with a routine or a plan, and I’ll get – maybe 3-4 weeks and then something will happen and I’ll miss a day, or I’ll get sick, or go on vacation or…you get the idea…and I’m off track and out of sync and I just can NOT get back into it.  I have a mental block that keeps me from just jumping back in without panic, without overly worrying, without breaking down.  It’s annoying and I’ve realized it needs to stop.

Problem Meet Solution

Okay…so I’ve admitted my problem, that’s the first step, right? Next comes the plan – it’s called the Respawn.  Yes, that’s based on video games where when your character dies you can come back to life at a checkpoint, the last place you finished or leveled up.  I got this idea from Nerd Fitness, the group I’m a part of online for Health and Wellness and all things Geeky, but I never really took the idea to heart or thought much about it…because at the time I heard about it I was IN IT, I was on track and things were going GREAT!  Now they are not.

So, I’m going back to when things were ON for various things I want to get back to including exercise, meditation, some self-care stuff I let slide, and nutrition (eating my veggies mostly). I’m looking at where I was and what was working.  Using the meditation app and a timer, for instance.  Or using my 8 Minutes in the Morning book (which has a plan for exercise with moves and a journal). Or using my cuticle balm and hand cream while watching Jessica Jones before bed.  Or cutting up veggies and keeping them in a baggie or Tupperware in the fridge so they’re ready for a quick grab and go lunch or snack.

Solution = Plan

Next…actually plan these things back into my week slowly.  Pick one I want to add back in, add it to my online To-Do app or write it in my daily planner and just start.  Then pick another one and do the same thing.  But here’s where it gets tricky, for me, I get worried because I fall off so many times – I was serious when I said the only thing I’m consistent with is my inconsistency – it’s true, I fall off and I stay off.  That’s why I’m implementing a Respawn policy: It’s okay to fall off as long as you come back, always and as many times as you need to, just remember to keep track of where you level up or hit a checkpoint so you don’t start over at Level 1.

Here’s the truth – you never truly have to start all the way over from Square One – because you know things now, you have the experience (even if it was only 1-2 weeks or heck, even a few days you know things now – maybe you know what didn’t work and that’s good information too!).  If I can remember that and keep that in mind when I start then I don’t overwhelm myself because I will fall off, it’s just in my nature – I get derailed over little things and instead of fighting that, I will try to work with it.

How About You?

Do you need to Respawn with anything?  Do you need to start over with a goal or habit that you dropped off or out of? Let me know in the comments and we can help each other, I could even help you brainstorm some ways to get back on track – or tell me where you Leveled Up or what “checkpoint” you’ve already hit and let’s see what we can do to get things back in the groove!

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The Process of Learning as an Adult

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

I’m learning how to play the guitar!  My brother gifted me one of his old guitars – a Fender Squier Acousto-Electric – with a lesson book and DVD, some new picks (red, of course), and a really nice soft-sided case.

The first day back home with my new instrument, I held it in my hands and strummed some with both my fingers and the pick.  Tim, my brother, had tuned it for me so it sounded good but I did not.  Then I popped in the DVD and started, very slowly, working through the first lessons about how to hold the guitar and how to play certain notes using the strings.  Within 10 minutes my usual negative self-talk started – it said things like, “You are too old for this, why did you think this would be fun?” and “Wow, you suck – you’ll never learn this!”  I can be really mean to myself, but I’ve been working on this kind of negative self-talk with both my nutritionist and my therapist over the past year so I knew it for what it was – resistance, fear, and nervousness.

So, I took a break – for one thing, my poor left-hand fingers were getting sore – and put the guitar away, but here’s the thing, and this was huge for me, I picked it back up the next day!  I tried again. I didn’t let those voices get to me.  At least for one day, but they kept getting stronger and I kept feeling more and more stupid and old.  I have 4 decades of being on this planet and countless times where I had no idea what I was doing and needed to learn something and I always want to run away first and I always have to push myself through to get to the wonderful other side.

This time, my 6-year-old son is helping me with this process.  He works so hard going to school, learning new things – I mean, he is in first grade and is learning spelling words, has math tests, and just finished a report – he amazes me every day.  He also is a huge cheerleader for me.  When I play and I hit a wonky note and make a face, he giggles and tells me to try again or gives me a thumbs up or dances around the apartment while I plink out my new notes.  When I’m working out on the weekend and can’t do another set and I’m groaning, he runs into the bedroom and says, “Mommy you can do it!  Keep going!” and then when I’m done he gives me a huge hug.  When he’s at school and I’m doing the hard things, I remember his words and keep going.

Also, I see him struggle and want to give up and run away and I realize this has been the way I have dealt with new things for a while.  When I started singing Cabaret, just me and a piano in a small room in NYC, it was scary – I felt naked up on stage, exposed and raw – and I would finish a song and cry for what felt like hours, but I kept going back because I loved performing and singing for others.  It was hard and I wanted to run away, but I didn’t.  When I started working on my novel and things got hard or scary – I wanted to run away and hide and throw the whole thing in the trash, but I didn’t because I love writing and want my book to find it’s readers.

So I want to change how I deal with things so I can teach him that it’s okay to try, to fail, to fall down and get back up and try again, to keep going just because it’s fun, or you want to learn, without any other reason.  Yes, he has to go to school because it’s the law – but I want him to learn to love the process of learning and to do that I have to learn the process of learning.  For today, that means picking up the guitar even if I feel silly, even if I have fear and want to run away, even if I’m afraid it will never be “perfect” – because screw that! I want to have fun!!

What new things are you learning? Or do you run away from newness and learning and that horrible feeling of not perfect?  What do you want to learn?  Maybe we can help each other out – maybe we can be cheerleaders for each other and keep us on the “we’re doing this because it’s fun” path!

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