I’m back like I never left:

This time away has been truly humbling and refreshing. I have had time to heal, deal and love myself. So many things have happened since I have been away. But the one that matters the most is my healing and learning to say no. I have recognized that I say yes way too much and I have stopped that. Placing boundaries on things that don’t bring me peace and happiness. Spending more time with God and in his word. I have enjoyed more family time. What I have learned is taking the time to spend with yourself can reveal some hard truths and things you need to work on. There were moments when I wanted to blog about what I was dealing with, but instead, I journaled about it. Finding time to quiet the mind and just be in the present has been so wonderful. I’m always thinking about what needs to be done and how I get everything on my to-do list done today. But stepping back and being present is so much more beneficial than I realized. There are so many things that I enjoyed doing that I stopped doing, but now I’m back to doing them. So starting today I’m in a new season and that season is called my season. We all know about the four seasons but when do you have a season? Seriously, when do you change, grow, water and plant? When do you refresh yourself to become a better version of yourself? Is it when something happens or someone dies? How about making you and your life a priority? It should be your season 365 days a year. I wish that I could go back in time and change so many things in my life, but I can’t. I can only move forward and do my best. Just know that this time away has been for the best. I’m happy to be back blogging again. I might start once a week and then gradually move up but we’ll see. I hope everyone reading this will take care of themselves and work on themselves more. Make you the best you possible. Let things go, don’t dwell on the negative, love hard but most importantly make time for yourself.

Book review: Red flags and Commitments

It has been awhile since I have decided to review anyone’s book. I had taken a time out to concentrate on myself, but I’m so glad that I said yes to reviewing this book. Have you ever felt like you were the only one feeling the way that you felt. Or maybe you thought that you were being selfish by choosing yourself instead of the other person? This book took me back to my past and had me in my feelings for sure. I had to step back and say that this was me, I felt all that she had written about. Season’s will always change but staying in the same season in any relationship is not healthy. You have to make the changes to be better and do better for yourself and not other’s. This story was personal for me because I felt every word that she wrote. This is a short story but very impactful. Please check this book out and let me know what you think.

Hey everyone:

I have been taking a much-needed break from blogging and other things. When I tell you that I feel so refreshed and renewed. I have had a lot going on in the past that I needed to take time out for. I needed to do some healing and I needed to get my life in order. There were so many things that I said I was going to do but never did. I have been taking time out for myself and creating my own space and peace. I have canceled out the noise of others and listened to myself. I have a job that I love and the environment is so peaceful. I have given so much of my peace and attention to others when I should have been giving myself those things as well. I have taken the time to work on self-care myself, to have time for myself, and to create healthy boundaries in my life. I could not continue to do things as usual and thought that I’m going to get different results. I was tired and I needed so much peace in my life. I have that now. I’m not done taking time out for myself and working on myself. I just wanted everyone to know that I’m doing well and I’m on a healthier path in life. Dealing with the death of my uncle, not being employed, and always helping others was truly wearing me down. But when you get sick and tired of being sick and tired you do something about it. And I’m doing just that. I will be back to blogging more regularly but not right now. I hope everyone understands.

Book review: The Personal Librarian

This book was amazing. My favorite book so far this year. If you want to read something that is awe inspiring then this book is it. Well written and it’s hard to put down. I wish we could know more about the lives of J.P Morgan and Belle. This is a beautiful story and a must read.

Enough is Enough:

All my life I wanted to feel like I was good enough. I had four men in my life who validated me and let me know that I was loved and cared about. But to me, that wasn’t enough. The main people that I wanted to be enough for I wasn’t. This hurt deeply because as a child you wanted to know that you are cared about. I wanted to be loved and approved of by certain men in my life growing up. And this carried into my adult life where I was seeking to be enough for them. I wanted these men to show up for me, care for me and love me. And as I got older I needed to feel enough in my relationship with men. But never did I stop to think and feel like I was enough for myself. As I was having this discussion with my husband last night he said isn’t being enough for God enough for you? He said people are flawed and we all make mistakes and that being enough shouldn’t be left up to someone else. I’m a people pleaser and all my life I wanted to be enough and matter enough to the men in my life that I deemed important. But I really had to take in the words that my husband spoke to me last night. It doesn’t matter that I’m not enough for everyone else. It matters if God feels like I’m enough. I don’t know why I worry about what others think or feel, to be honest. But I do that’s just who I am. But a change is coming trust me. I need to learn to please and love myself first and more.

Time out:

Like season we all have to change. I have been trying to heal from the death of my great uncle. But more than that I feel like I’m in a place where I like to be alone. I’m tired of reaching out to others in their time of need. I’m focused on myself and what I need right now. There seem to be so many couples getting a divorce and this has been heavy on my heart because I don’t ever want to go through that. But my heart is heavy because no matter how much I try people will always try to bring me down. I have to let some people go in this season because I just can’t be in a place where it’s okay for them to have an opinion of my life. I’m tired of being the person that I use to be. I’m about to be the person that I need to be in this season of my life. It hurts when you can’t grieve and people don’t understand why you need to. I don’t understand why people feel like you have to have it all together all the time. I don’t and I probably won’t for a while. I won’t be blogging as much because I need to heal and get myself together.

Realization:

Going back home taught me lessons and showed me blessings. I didn’t know what to feel when I get back home. It hurt losing my great uncle. But I didn’t know realized the void that I felt. The hurt is massive but I just felt lost without him. He was a big part of my life. But when you mix in grief and family well that combination isn’t always the best. You see the worst in people come out. People forget that we are here to celebrate life and not fight over things! People start talking about one another like we are not family. I felt so many emotions while being home but most of my emotions were hurt. Being home showed me why my circle is so small. It also showed me who cares about me. So many times we talk about what was and not what is. Sadly, death can bring more than just the pain of losing someone. It can bring the realization that the people you care about the most don’t care about you as much as you thought. Sadly, it took someone’s death for me to realize this.

Update:

Well, a lot has happened since the last time that I blogged. I celebrated my 12th wedding anniversary. I can’t believe it has been 12 years already. I went back home last week to attend my uncle’s funeral. It seems so surreal to me that he is gone. I walked into his house and was expecting to see him and call me by my nickname. I got to see family that I haven’t seen in years. It was a good but sad time. My daughter was sick and needed to have a procedure done during the trip. I got to see my two grandbabies. I’m tired, to say the least. I have so many mixed emotions right now. I have thought a lot about life and what I need to do. I appreciate more than ever my family and those who have always had my back. Death and life teach you may lessons. I hope everyone has a great week.

Grief:

I still haven’t completely healed from my grandpa passing away. And now my great uncle who was like a second dad to me has passed away. His death hit me so hard that I didn’t have any more tears left that day. I know that everyone has lost someone that they truly care about, but how to heal from the grief is hard. I have lost people in my family that this grief didn’t hit as hard, but when you are close to someone it makes it that much harder. This pain that I’m feeling is a different kind of pain that I felt with my grandpa. I felt like I was getting to a point where I was okay and now this has happened. I feel like maybe I don’t know how to deal with grief. Maybe I just stuff my emotions down and deal with them when I’m ready. I know that going to his funeral is going to be hard. I have cried and screamed but the pain of losing someone hurts like crazy. I know that he isn’t in any pain anymore and it would have been selfish of me to want him to stay around a little longer. But I know going back home and not being able to see him is going to hurt. Going to his house is going to probably bring me to my knees. It’s been a year since I have been back home and that’s the last time that I saw my great uncle. I’m thankful that we talked all the time and he knew how much I cared about him. I pray that I will find a healthy way to deal with my grief. Keeping busy doesn’t always work but it does take my mind off of it for a while. It’s always hard saying goodbye to the people that you love the most.

Book review: The Ex

I love author Alafair Burke her books always keep me on the edge of my seat. This book was no exception, to be honest, I thought that I had this book figured out. But boy was I wrong, I didn’t realize who did it until the very end. So let me get you a brief review of this book. The book the Ex is about Olivia Randall used to date a guy back in college who was just too nice. And then ended up getting engaged but she didn’t want to be married to him. So she decided to cheat on him and not with just anyone but his brother. When he found the watch in their bed he know exactly whose watch it was. That night Jack Harris left Olivia and never looked back. But years later Jack gets arrested and his daughter calls Olivia to help her dad get out of jail. How did nice Jack Harris end up in jail? And why did his daughter call Olivia to help him? Oh, the many twists and turns that this book has will keep you on your feet.