Playing Catch Up: June (Plumb Family Vaca)

Dealing with Life’s Lemons!

Man, I’m falling behind on this whole blog thing! Yikes! I better get my butt in gear. Anyways, I’ve been thinking about a lot of things lately. So disclaimer, this post may be fairly long…but it may also help someone out. I know it definitely helps me to write it all down.

Everyone has heard the old saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade…” Well, sometimes I don’t want freaking lemonade! Sometimes I just want to chuck the lemons back at life haha. Harsh, I know. But it’s the truth. Sometimes all I want is to vent, blow off steam, or punch a hole in the wall haha! I can’t be the only one who feels this way. I’m sure we’ve all had our moments. And by moments I mean weeks. This was just one of those weeks for me. I won’t bore you with the details, but let’s just say things have been snowballing for awhile and this week I burst. It takes a lot to make me cry and get upset over things, but the other night I did. I told Shawn everything that was on my mind and asked his advice about how to handle it all. My husband is such a trooper. He suggested what I now refer to as “The Three B’s”: 

          1. Business

          2. Books

          3. Bettering Myself

First, he told me to push myself and make my business a bigger success. To put all of my frustrations into creating new ideas and products. Working from home is not always all it’s cracked up to be. It’s easy to get distracted, to sleep in, or to find other things to do around the house. Shawn suggested that I treat my Etsy business like a real job. Get up around 8:00 and put a few hours in. Take an hour or so lunch break. Then get back to work in the afternoon until around 5:00. I feel like having structure will be so beneficial and help me focus on being creative and having a successful business. And it will keep my mind off of those “lemons”!

Next, he proposed that I read more books. Books about finances, cooking, science fiction, fantasy, romance, drama, mystery…anything to help me get out of my mind and relax for awhile. So I cruised on over to my local library and got myself a brand-spankin’-new library card :) I spent about an hour looking for some good books and came home with five! I don’t think I can read all of those in three weeks so I may have to do some renewing. I’ve been wanting to create a better budget and savings plan, learn more about finances, and figure out how we’ll pay off our school loans in the future so I grabbed four books about money that looked promising. And knowing myself, I had to get a fun reading book to give my brain a break from all the dollar signs! So I grabbed the second book in the “Mortal Instruments” series. It always amazes me how lost someone can get in a story, especially me. My mind is always running a million miles an hour, so for me to sit down and forget about my “lemons” for an hour or two is wonderful! 

Lastly, Shawn told me to focus on myself. I feel like we lose ourselves in the hustle and bustle of every day life. We forget how important we are. How special we are. How loved we are. How unique we are. Too often we give the world power to tell us who we should be, what we should look like, or how we should act. I am 100% convinced that these feelings are what drag us down and make us feel inferior and worthless. We’ve all been there, we’ve all felt heartache, we’ve all had those “lemons” in our lives. I’ve come to learn that isn’t going to change. It’s called life. There’s going to be heartbreak, sorrow, tragedy, pain, suffering, and affliction. But with that comes love, happiness, joy, friendship, affection, adoration, courage and hope. Don’t compare yourself to others or let their happiness dictate your own. I know it’s easier said than done. But speaking from experience, comparing yourself to others is never beneficial! There is only one you in this world. Do everyone a favor and let them know you! No one can determine our happiness. No one. It is something we choose for ourselves. So instead of focusing on those pesky “lemons”, focus on you! Become a person that you are proud of. Become a person that loves life. Become the person that no one else can be…YOU!