Superhero School

With the help of some great people, including my Super Mom, Liam had one heck of a birthday party last weekend.  Here are some of the sweet, silly, beautiful moments:

Looking forward to getting back to posting soon.

Kindly~

Meghan

Journey Forward: Roadblocks

If life were an Olympic sport, I would be a hurdler.  For sure.  I might even be a good one.  But that did not come without practice.

In yesterdays post, I talked about my biggest ambition: getting my degree.  

It is so close I can almost feel the tassel brushing up against my cheek.  

It has not been an easy journey by any means.  Roadblocks, detours, dead ends, etc.  You name it, I faced it.  This process has really taught me a lot about resilience; it has really shown me how to apply myself despite unfavorable odds.  That's the thing about hard times: they tend to build your fortitude if you'll let them.

On my journey through living kindly, there are challenges I face on a daily basis.  

We live in a world where being critical is encouraged; a society where cynicism and sarcasm are built into our very language(s).  This is by far one of my biggest confusions while I try to put kindness and love at the forefront of my actions.  My intentions are true and pure and good, but translating that into constant kindness is way, Way, WAY easier said than done.  I find myself having a negative thought sometimes, and I really have to catch myself (if I can) before it flies out of my mouth.  I have to almost reprimand myself:
"Oh man... that's not nice, I shouldn't.  Woosah, Meg.  Woosah."

I seriously do that.  

By far, my arch-rival on the kindness-mission is traffic.  This may sound really silly, again, but I become a different person behind the wheel of my car. 
My blood pressure rises up to the tippy-top of my ear lobes and
I can literally feel a panic attack waiting in the wings of my soul. 

I have a real problem with how inconsiderate, or neglectful,  or unaware, or RECKLESS other drivers are, and my anxiety levels shoot through the roof. 
When this happens, kindness flies out my passenger side window.

It is something I am working on, but it is also something I think I need help with.
A driver's therapist?  A certain type of music?  A different route?
(Yeah right.  In Northern, Va. all routes are awful).

As I said before... challenges are a good thing.  They are healthy.  The teach you.  The build character.

But only if you let them.  

Linking up (a day late) with Chelsea from Life is a Sunset.  Check her out!!  

Kindly~

Meghan

Relentless

What is the one thing in your life that you will stop at nothing to get/be/do?  

That one thing that you will never stop striving to have.  

That one thing that would fulfill a part of your soul that nothing else could.  

That one thing you stay up and think about at night.

 That one thing that you talk to yourself about.

That one thing for me is my degree.

It may sounds silly, but it is totally true and I'll tell you why:

I graduated from high school in 2000 (yep, I'm almost AM the big three zero).  

And what year is it again... 2012?  

I went straight to college and lasted (not even) a full semester.  It was a confusing experience, and one I am not extremely proud of.  Sure, I didn't do what I set out to do, and blah blah blah.  But what mattered to me in the years to follow was that I let down some of the people that supported me.  It was a horrible feeling, and one that I was not equipped to handle on an emotionally mature level at that point in my life.

So what did I do?
I rebelled.  I partied, and I partied hard. (something I did almost none of in grade school).
I came out of the proverbial cage like a bat out of hell, and I avoided responsibility like the plague.

For almost four years I worked in and out of ordinary restaurants, had a few near death experiences, drank WAY too much, and gave my parents a few extra (thousand) gray hairs.

Finally, in 2004, tired of running myself ragged and having nothing to show for it, I made a serious decision to go back to school.  With the help of my family, I stared at a community college where I would spend the next two years busting my ass before transferring to a university with a 3.8 GPA.  Yeah... I was serious about  it this time.

After 3 successful semesters at George Mason University, Bren and I found out we were expecting a baby.   Needless to say, this put an immediate halt on the ol' education.  I took two full semesters off of school.  I cannot tell you how upset I was about having to stop taking classes.  I was thrilled about having a baby, but depressed about the changes it was going to force me to make.  (I have to laugh at that now... "changes."  Yeah... a baby changes EVERYTHING). I swore that I would go back as soon as I could.  Bren promised to do everything in his power to help me do so.

About 3 months after I had Liam, I landed a full time gig at George Mason University (how convenient you say!), and began taking classes again soon after.  Luckily for me, GMU offers its employees tuition benefits.  This allowed me to take 2 courses per semester (which was all I could handle anyway having a newborn at home and all...). 

 Four years and two kids later (Liam and Collin), here I am: On the cusp of my last semester.  About to graduate in about 7 months.  Working full time.  Planning crazy birthday parties last minute.  Trying to do this blogging thing (which I love and wish I had more time and energy for).  

I cannot begin to tell you what getting my degree signifies for me.  

Strength.  Support.  Faith.  Determination.  Focus.  Creativity.  Passion.  Hope.  Drive.  Comfort.  Relief.  Relentlessness.    

Most of all, I know, that if I can do THIS... I can do anything.

Never give up on that one thing.  It will be yours sooner than you expect!

Kindly~

Meghan