Blog

When was the last time you “cheers-ed” yourself?

No seriously. When?

I was raised to always take (or make) time to celebrate… Yup, yours truly extends her birthday for a full month. But this isn’t about birthdays, or major life milestones.

What about the small stuff?

The things that book once told you not to stress? Aren’t those moments worth celebrating?

(Spoiler alert: They are.)

In a world that keeps getting faster and faster by the day, especially as most of us work virtually now, what used to be large projects have now become a line item to cross off before moving on to an equally large one to cross off perhaps just as swiftly.

But take a step back…

Pause a moment.

Silence that voice in your head that says, “Oh that? Yea that wasn’t a big deal.”

You know what? Big, small, medium… many of those so-called line items are worth cheers-ing.

So go buy yourself that damned ice cream cone. Pour yourself a glass of wine, and lift your glass to YOU. Go take a lazy afternoon and soak up the sun, clouds, and fresh air. What is something that brings that delicious smirk to your face (you know the one) that says this moment feels decadent because I am celebrating me?

YOU DESERVE IT.

And if no one is saying that around you, well your new friend J (oh hello) WILL.

So inner voice who isn’t nice? Inner voice who says, “It wasn’t that special…” Inner voice who says, “Well yea, that’s simply expected.”

Shut up.

Shush.

Lift your glass (or ice cream cone) my friend and CHEERS TO YOU.

It’s time to celebrate you today.

It’s time to celebrate you everyday.

Because damn it, you’re worth it.

Cheers (literally),

J

There I was, leaning against my kitchen counter donning my PJs, eating cereal directly from the box, looking out across my new apartment to the lights outside. It was midnight. I was listening to some random music from my ALL the songs playlist (And I mean ALL the songs: We’re talking Bon Jovi to Keith Urban to Spice Girls to Billy Joel to Boys II Men and more…), while the candles flickered.

I’d never done this before. Any of this.

It almost felt a tad naughty… But who would tell me to go to bed or stop snacking straight from the box? HA!

This was my first time truly living alone.

This was my first time I was not accountable to any one.

That chapter of my life had ended. The divorce process had begun.

This was my first time donning PJs while eating cereal directly from the box, looking across my apartment full of boxes, as random music became this moment in time’s soundtrack, at midnight.

I was alone.

But, I didn’t feel alone.

That’s how I knew I would be OK.

Everything would be OK.

And this isn’t me looking back with nostalgia. Believe me, I was “scared” in the normal way everyone is when struck with a MAJOR plot twist and so many firsts that had to be accomplished on my own… But this thought crossed my mind and wrapped me in a hug. And I hugged back gosh darn it!

But, WHO would this new chapter’s protagonist be as so much was new? What will this woman be like? I needed to get to know her. (Oh, and I still am because almost right after I moved out, yea, a pandemic happened and lockdowns. SO we will be getting to meet this “new yet familiar” woman in this chapter, together.)

So clearly, we have now fast forwarded a tad which leads us to now.

Standing against my counter yesterday, eating chips directly from the bag (Note: I am not a chips girl, but hey, leftovers from one of my birthday parties!), looking across my apartment decorated à la moi, at midnight, alone.

But I didn’t feel alone.

And I got to thinking…

…What were you thinking, J?

WELP, there have been so many stories, so many plot twists, so many tales I shared with friends injecting my humor and personality that made us smile. Because there have been a number of shitty and glorious moments. Moments where I had to build that fearless and risk taking muscle and just take the leap; just GET IN THE WATER (The Notebook reference anyone?).

Taking a step back, throwing a dash of perspective on it, and laughing makes a world of a difference.

My friends’ gentle nudging of my sharing this with others led me to take another plunge and create a blog.

Because we all have been (or will be) hit by plot twists.

And you know what? Damn it, we just need to dance to them.

I’m here to be your dance partner in this adventure called life.

Get ready lovely reader because I just bought the highest pair of dance shoes at my new dance class I just joined and am ready to go. (Note: This is a true story, not a metaphor. They are bronze. I will be bejeweling them this week. Oh yes, I randomly decided to start learning Latin dance in this new chapter. But THAT is another story. I digress… This will happen. You have been warned.)

Talk to you soon,

J