strength – Hoodies and High Heels

Wind Beneath My Wings

A few weeks ago, I received some really good news at work – a promotion and some wonderful perks that come along with one. It was a pretty low-key big deal and definitely welcome news. It’s always a risk when you move halfway across the country for a job and the promise of more – but I have to say it’s always worked out for me so far.

A new job in a new place is a little more to get used to than I like to admit, but it is always an adventure. The really awesome thing is that God always places someone in my life to help me figure things out.

Since it’s International Women’s Day and it’s all about women lifting others up, I’d like to thank my friend Nicole for being the one lifting me up so many times this past year.

Don’t know anyone around town? No problem. Want to check out some local restaurants? She’s there. You’re moving all by yourself? She was there armed with sandwiches, Sonic ice (I now understand how important this is!) and helped me unpack 6838376368 boxes. You love Christmas? She introduced me to one of the most incredible Christmas bazaars I’ve ever seen.

This woman has been there for me countless times in so many ways and for so many reasons. She’s taught me so much about how to just love on people – any people, anywhere, anytime. She’s so quick to give a compliment or thanks or just to smile at people.

So when I called to tell her my good news, she was so happy for me. And was uplifting even though I could tell it wasn’t her best day. And guess what arrived the very next morning at work? These flowers with this note. I was floored and moved to tears. But her note was the best of all – a woman celebrating another in their moment.

Nicole – thank you for being true to your very core. I’ve “known” you for years but I had no idea how incredible of a human you really are. I’m so thankful we got to meet in person, and that we’ve only grown our friendship since that day. I think you may have an idea, but I’m not really sure how well I would’ve gotten through this past year if I wasn’t for you. Seriously. You are a gem!

There are so many wonderful women in my life and I’m so thankful for the opportunities I’ve had to meet them. I’m not a girlie girl and didn’t always trust women or their intentions – it was always easier to be friends with the guys. But I’ve been thinking about something for awhile now and it has to do with taking chances and meeting people and seeing what cool female friendships develop from them. Some of my greatest friends came from random meetings and I’d love to talk more about it. Watch for more posts about this in the upcoming weeks.

Until then – lift up those women around you. You may never understand how much they needed you under their wings.

Gone Country

Do you guys remember a blog post I did earlier this year about feeling unsettled and not sure what was next? (If not, you can read it here…Visibility) Well, that feeling morphed and changed throughout 2021, but it just wouldn’t go away. I just thought it meant different things. As in – I thought I was going to take on a different job within my current company, then I thought that would only be part of it, that I would be growing and be doing a few different things within my job. Or something that would look like that.

When fall came around, I realized I was pretty unhappy with the way things were going in my life and I kept feeling this pull to get away by myself for a few days and do some soul searching . The feeling became so strong that I finally booked a few days at one of my favorite places in Estes Park over Thanksgiving weekend. I wanted to take advantage of the time I had there so I prepared people – like a total nerd! I shut down social media, I packed food and drinks, and I created entire lists in OneNote of things I wanted to think about and work out.

And guess what? I went up there with a purpose and I held on to it with all that I was. I read through my journal I kept for the year, reviewed notes and ideas and got to work. The list of things I wanted to accomplish over the next five years, my lifetime and some things I’d just really like to have it in my life – all of those things got fleshed out and written down. (Honestly, I was pretty proud of myself.)

Of course, I took a few breaks to go to RMNP and into town. I even ate takeout from a really good Italian pizza joint by Lake Estes one night. I had a blast – even though I was by myself for four days. Soaking up the mountains and smelling the evergreens was definitely on the list and was definitely attained! I even stalked a few elk who tried staying at the resorts. Pretty sure I’ll always remember that weekend.

It was a God thing that whole weekend even happened and now I understand why. The events and conversations of the next few days after I came back set in motion something I didn’t see coming right away. Something big. I sure didn’t see it back when I wrote that blog in May. Or even when I did some soul searching in Pagosa over Labor Day Weekend. But life is funny like that. Sometimes things happen in small doses so we can handle it once it comes – or otherwise we’d be freaking the hell out when it does.

I’m not gonna lie – I did a lot of freaking the hell out over the next few weeks because I was scared to death of what was happening and what it was going to mean. And thanks to those of you who were there for me through those days- you kept me sane in a time I needed some help figuring out what to do.

So, what happened Kim? Why were you freaking out? Well, I have some news! I’m moving again. Yes, leaving my beloved “life in a postcard” Colorado for an opportunity in a new state. Think…Elvis. Music City. Smokey Mountains. Y’all – I’m moving to Tennessee! Yep. I’m taking my guitar and my dreams and faded jeans and moving to Nashville! Sike. I don’t own a guitar. You guys know that. But thankfully my musical skills were not part of my interview so I landed a pretty cool job that I’m really excited about.

The other cool thing? I’ll be in driving distance to all my family so I’m pretty stoked about that. Bob will be the closest to me so he’s thrilled that “we’re practically neighbors”. Nashville will sure be a lot closer to Charlotte than Denver!

However, I am once again moving somewhere where I know no one and not much about where I’m going. I’m less anxious about this than when I moved out West, but it’s still gonna be a thing to meet people and get connected again. So if anyone knows anyone and wants to send me some info, I’d really appreciate it.

Otherwise, if anyone wants to come visit or send me notes, please do! I’m excited at the chance to make a difference at a new company and to see where this one leads. I can’t wait to get out and explore the area and post more cool pictures for you guys to enjoy. Mostly, I’m really looking forward to learning and understanding why this was my “next”. I wrote a lot of cool things down during that week in Estes you guys – can’t wait to see what happens!

And just for the record, I had no idea during that weekend that in a few weeks I would be….Gone Country 😉

Clarity

It’s so funny how life goes round…and things we couldn’t understand before make their way back around and suddenly we see clearly what we couldn’t see before. Usually because the light is shining just a little bit differently.

All of the events of the past few months have entwined themselves into something that I couldn’t see before. Changes are just that – changes. If we could see them coming, they’d be just…events. Things. Stuff. Changes are hard. But if we don’t roll with the punches, we could end up limiting our own growth.

I’m not sure if things will be better or worse, but I can tell you I’m going to learn. And I’m going to grow. Because the other other option is to remain stagnant and I’m just not interested in that. Life is meant to be experienced – and if what we’re going to experience is going to be through a different lens than we had planned, the only option we have is to refocus.

We’re not always going to know what is ahead and we’re not always going to see what’s coming. But if you are confident and secure in your abilities, you’re going to adapt. And you’re gonna be just fine.

Sometimes I’m glad I don’t see what’s up ahead – the less time I have to think about something, the less I’m going to overthink it. And with everything that’s changed in the past eight weeks, I was able to take yet another change in stride. It’s going to be different and it’s going to be challenging, but I’m not afraid.

So at this point, if you have something new coming at you, roll with it. Just see what happens. Prepared or unprepared, you’re going to learn something about life and more importantly, yourself, through it. And you might just be surprised with how well you handle it.

Where Gratitude Outshines Vulnerability

I’m pretty sure I never put gratitude and vulnerability in the same sentence before, but it’s been popping up over the last few weeks so I’m thinking they just may be related. Or I need to learn something about it. Maybe. Probably.

A month or so ago, I had a blog draft I was working on called Vulnerability. I didn’t get very far on it because I wasn’t sure where I was going with it. It was also coming across…..well, vulnerable. And as expressive as I am at times, putting full blown vulnerability out there was not something I was willing to do. So, I scrapped that idea and threw it in the trash. There. No more vulnerability.

Except….yep. It came up again. A few times. So I guessed there was something going on. And then on Sunday, it all kinda clicked. In church, the pastor gave the obligatory message about gratitude right before Thanksgiving. But he promised it was going to be a bit different. And it was. At least for me.

He spoke a lot about gratitude and how it changes our lives when we express it. And how our relationships with others change based on the amount of gratitude we give. Or receive. And honestly, I didn’t really think about that part before because I usually try and make a point to thank people for what they do. Especially at work. But here’s the thing I didn’t realize before – I do get irritated at people when they don’t say thank you to me. Really. I often say “you’re welcome” just to make a point. I think it’s the Philly in me, so I guess I’m making the hometown proud. But while I’m trying to “raise awareness”, I’m essentially being just as rude as they are.

So while I’m working on how I really feel about that smack in the face, let me tell you about the other thing I learned over the weekend. The pastor was talking about how we sometimes have obstacles in the way of expressing gratitude. Especially in relation to God. But think about it – sometimes we do this to people around us as well. It can be pride, or a guilt complex or a comparison situation where we don’t want to look like we’re putting ourselves out there in order to admit that someone did something nice for us. This usually happens when we’re mad at that person, not very close to them or maybe, we just simply don’t like them. (Gasp! Yeah right. Like that’s never happened to you! Haha) I’ve begrudgingly expressed thanks to people I didn’t particularly care for, even worse – people who repaid my bad attitude with kindness. Nothing like self-reflection and embarrassment all rolled into one to make you learn a lesson real quick!

The one other obstacle that got me was vulnerability. It actually stemmed from the fear of joy. How does that work? Well, think about it. If we express gratitude for something that happened and we feel joy, we ultimately have this idea in the back of our minds that it’s not going to last. Joy can be fleeting. It can come out of that one thing we’ve been waiting for or working towards, only to have something ruin it at the end. At least that’s what we think. We’re afraid to feel that joy and express that gratitude because we’re so scared it’s going to be taken away from us or that it won’t last long. What we end up doing is building defenses and not letting ourselves feel that joy. Because what’s the point of feeling it only to have it go away?

That’s the point of living people! We live for the moments of joy and gratitude in our lives. (Honestly, sometimes it makes you feel more alive). I hate feeling vulnerable because it makes me feel unprotected. Unsafe. I never thought about being afraid of joy, but there was something that resonated with me on that one. Maybe I am and I’ll have to figure that one out. Not that I’m looking forward to that. Those types of lessons should really come with a warning label.

So how does this factor into gratitude and Thanksgiving? My main point to this one is that I thought I had this gratitude thing down and I didn’t know as much as I thought I did. Whether it’s with family, friends or God, practicing gratitude is something I need to do even when it makes me feel vulnerable. Or uncomfortable. Even when I would just rather not.

Our challenge is to take a look and see how much we give thanks or express gratitude to those around us. Even when it hurts. Even when we’re fighting battles. Even when it’s the first – or yet another – holiday without a beloved one. It’s not always easy and it may make you feel guilt or vulnerability or even pride, but I’m willing to bet you won’t be sorry that you did. Not only will you feel better, but your family member, friend or coworker will be glad that you did as well. I’m not pretending that your life is rosy and you’re not the best of friends with your significant other or kids or friends or your Great Aunt Sally. Not everyone’s life is easy or plainly defined. Or even happy. I get that. It can get dark sometimes. And the last thing we think of when we’re in that dark place is to be thankful.

Call me optimistic, but I believe every little thanks brings another ray of light into that place. We just have to lift our heads up and open ourselves up to the vulnerability of thanking others for something they took the time out to do for us. If theory proves correctly, it will further connect us with those we’re thanking. Especially if they’re the ones who remind us to bring stretchy pants to Thanksgiving dinner.

Enjoy everyone – Happy Thanksgiving!

You’re You. Stop Trying to be Someone Else.

Do you ever stop and wonder – what would it be like to have “their” life? To look like “they” do? To have the family “they” do?

Guess what? You’re killing yourself. Stop it. Now.

We as a society tend to put labels on everything. “She’s had a great career. She has the cutest kids. This girl has the best boyfriend. This one has the best taste in fashion”..etc etc

There is nothing wrong with admiring good traits and/or the successes of others. Everyone is unique and has different things to offer as far as personality and friendship and life lessons (the good. the bad. And the ugly!) We need to appreciate those traits in others around us.

But our biggest downfall? Ourselves. Thinking we’re not as good as those other people. That we’re not as attractive. We’re not as successful. And on and on and on. (And I’ve learned it’s not just us women who do this!)

I recognize this because I’ve done it myself – for years. Time and time again.

But here’s the cool thing – I’m my own person. And I’m awesome. Because I do my thing. That works for me. Even if it’s not “your” thing.

It’s taken me forever but I finally came to the realization that my life may not have turned out the way I thought it would ten or fifteen years ago. And want to know the best part? I. Am. Perfectly. Okay. With. That.

Why? Well. A lot of my personal desires have changed. Some because of situations and some because I simply grew up. As you develop as a person, you kinda get to know yourself. Crazy, right?

I was promoted. I learned a new job. Bought a house. Worked on wellness and personal boundaries. Made new friends. Nurtured relationships. Learned relationships change. Some get deeper and more intimate. And some tend to completely change or even end. Friends move on. Some stay around. Then, just to make things even more interesting, I moved my fine self across the country to try it all over again. That’s life my friends.

But here’s what’s bugging me tonight. How much I used to compare myself to others and how easy it is to fall back into it when things get hard. How what you knew is not what you know now. How (if you get your head out of your ass) you realize you’ve already past that and learned your lesson.

So try this: stop thinking you don’t have this or don’t have that. Start thinking about what you do have and what you’re awesome because of it. Recognize your beauty and personal accomplishments. Strength comes in all type of forms. But like everything else, you need to exercise it to maintain it.

Be strong my friends. And stay strong.