Live Out Loud

I was going to write a review on a restaurant I visited while in Atlanta this week, but I decided to shelve that for another day (coming soon though, promise!).  I wanted to get some more important words down here first.  Now.  For you.  For me.  I wanted to capture the energy I felt from the conference I just came back from.  To give you some of what was given to me.

The conference had 12 attendees.  All women.  Strong personalities.  Confident.  Passionate.  Joyful.  There were many other executives from BlogHer, Coca-Cola and the PR firm in addition to the twelve of us, maybe thirty or so at any given time.  99% women.  All with a common thread.  Everyone lived out loud.

When it comes to assembling a group of women, it’s anybody’s guess as to how well everyone will gel together.  Big personalities can quickly overshadow wallflowers.  Divas can rule the room.  Sarcasm can turn into meanness.  But this group?  Amazing.  Purely and simply amazing.  Somehow the personalities all worked magically together.  Camraderie was born.  Friendships were formed.  Inspiration was plentiful.  Quite possibly magical.

I consider myself a reasonably confident and outgoing person.  But I’ve changed a lot over the past few years.  I say yes.  To a lot.  A lot more than I used to.  Particularly to that which scares me. After The Ex left, I made one very quick decision.  Quite possibly the most important one.  I wasn’t going to let his decision dominate the rest of my life.  Nor my kids. Let me explain.

There are a lot of challenges when it comes to being a single mom.  Challenges regular moms have, but exacerbated ten-fold.  I’ve talked about this before.  It was ultimately most important to me that my kids (and I) not miss out on anything because of the new shift in our family dynamic.  Certain tasks and adventures will be harder, but I will not say no.  We will not miss out.  We will live out loud.

I will say yes. To journeys that make me squirm.  To things that may be hard.  To the path less traveled.  Because we all deserve more yesses.  Going down the shore for the weekend with the kids and Eli in the car presents many challenges.  The biggest one of which is what happens when we need to make a pit stop?  I can’t leave the dog in the car with the temps soaring past 100 degrees.  I can’t leave him outside.  It might seem like a tiny thing, but these are examples that we sometimes take for granted when we have partners.  But I didn’t want to miss out on our weekends down the shore.  So we figure it out.  I say yes.

A few years ago, I likely would have said no to attending a conference like the one I just got back from.  I won’t know anyone.  I don’t want to speak in front of strangers.  I hate flying.  Just ask anyone who has ever flown with me.  I could easily come up with a hundred excuses if given the chance.  But I would have missed out.  I say yes.

I purposely put myself in situations I would normally have wriggled out of a few years back.  I live out loud. For me.  And more importantly, for my kids.  I endeavor to raise kids that are passionate and intentional.  That live out loud (and Madeline has more than grasped that lesson).  But more importantly, kids who grab life by the horns and take it for everything its got.  And how can I expect them to do that if I don’t do it myself?

I lead by example.  Some days it’s easier than others.  But we say yes.  And work our way through it after.

The conference was filled with women who said yes. Single moms.  Divorced moms.  Women who blog passionately about race.  Weight.  Slow-cookers.  Kids.  Bedroom decor.  Pets.

I came back fully recharged, refreshed and ready to roll up my sleeves and continue to say yes with even more joy.  Talking with my fellow attendees and the presenters served to reaffirm the message I continue to work on delivering to my kids.  And to myself.

Matthew 5:15 says it in a way that we are all familiar with, “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.”

Who are we to hide our light?  How dare we.  Do that thing that makes you slightly uncomfortable.  Step out of your comfort zone just a bit.  Dip your toe in the shallow end of the pool.  Let your damn light shine.  We have but one wild and crazy life, and it’s our job to live it.

P.S.  Thank you for all your wonderful comments on my post last Friday.  I love each and every one of you for it.  There will be more posts coming about the conference, the other women bloggers, and heaps of positivity, so stay tuned.

P.P.S  The above image comes courtesy of Pinterest (but specifically originated from here).  For more fun stuff, you can follow my boards right here.  If you need an invite to start your own Pinterest boards, drop me a line.

June 15, 2011 – Bonus Photo

Took the kids to see this movie tonight. Usually non-animated kids’ movies are pretty decent (High School Musical anyone?), but this wasn’t one of them. The kids loved it. The adults not so much. Heather Graham has not done her career any favors with this flick, not that she was on the Oscar path to begin with.