I feel very Carrie Bradshaw using a question as my title. Except that I am in Owensboro, KY, not New York, I don’t smoke, my mom jeans are not the height of fashion right now and I feel like I could vomit at any moment. I am also watching my toddler chase our dog around the living room trying to give him a kiss. So yeah, the only thing Carrie Bradshaw and I have in common is the fact that we like to write. Haha. I was always more of a Samantha anyway.
When I talk about having it all, I don’t mean driving a Bentley and being the CEO of a Fortune 500 Company while raising eight gluten- and soy-free children. I’m talking about being fulfilled in your life. You don’t have to be married or have kids or make a certain amount of money. Because we all know I don’t have a lot of material things people relate to “having it all.” But I am happy and excited by the life I lead.
Sometimes I wonder why I pull myself in so many different directions. Would my Christmas tree still be up on January 6th if I was a normal mom? Would I have had less than twelve loads of laundry to do this week if I was less involved? What would it be like to stay at home with my toddler and soon to be newborn instead of working full time?
Then I realize that I do this because I love it! I love the chaos! I love being involved. I love working and volunteering and having my babies and my husband and writing my blog and spending time with my family and friends and going to ball games and not cleaning my house enough and being embarrassed that I still have my Christmas tree up two weeks later. I do all of this because I believe as a woman and a mom and a wife and employee and sister and volunteer that WE CAN HAVE IT ALL! And I don’t feel bad about it. If you work hard, you deserve what you get in return! I am a huge believer in positive thinking and the Law of Attraction.
I know, you think I’m crazy. I am a bit crazy. Maybe a lot crazy. But I have dreams. And goals. And I think that it’s worth it to have a messy house to do something that really makes me excited to get out of bed each morning.
I love my full time job. But I also love writing this blog. It is a way to really express how I feel about life and connect to other crazy moms I might not know about without my blog.
I love doing the books for my mother-in-law’s dance studio. One, because I am a nerd, and the other because I like to have a little extra cash flow to buy things I WANT, not just need.
I love being on the Girls Incorporated and Dance Theater Board of Directors. It really gives me a sense of purpose. Because I believe that as a woman you can do anything a man can do. I believe that all girls deserve to be nurtured in a safe and loving environment. I believe that the arts are extremely important. I believe that dancing is a beautiful way to express yourself even though I am quite possibly the worst dancer of all time.
I love my adorable little family that puts up with my crazy.
And I believe that it’s okay to do things that make you happy. I think you shouldn’t have to feel bad for making money and buying things you WANT. I think that women shouldn’t have to apologize for working out of the home and letting their husband pick up the slack with the kids and the house. I think that it’s amazing my husband does all the cooking. I think it’s even better that we both have jobs that we love.
So here’s to having it all. Or striving to have it all. And realizing that having it all doesn’t mean that everything has to be perfect. It means that I will never have any what-ifs. It means that I won’t ever have to wonder what would have happened if I had gone after my goal of writing a blog. It means that I will continue to push myself to be better. And that when I fail, which is a lot, I won’t beat myself up about it. It means that I am actually going to set goals and work to reach them. And that I can have a family and a life and a career and a blog and dog and all those other things I dreamed about since I was a little girl.
Here’s to working my ass off to reach these goals and being proud of the progress I have made. Because let me tell you, I have made a TON OF MISTAKES! After college and before I met my husband my life was a bit of a free-for-all. I was a bit of a hot mess personally. But that is a story for another time.
For now, I am going to focus on the positive and learn how to turn my negatives into learning experiences. I am going to keep having it all. Because I deserve it. And so do you.
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