Check Out My Store!

Just a quick little post today to let you know that I have new items up in my jewelry and accessories shop Ruby & Zoe. Like this great piece to help celebrate St. Patrick's Day:

Also, the hubs said that if I come up with enough money, we can take a family trip to Walt Disney World. I am in love with that place. It's definitely my happy place and nothing could make me happier than being able to share it with Ruby for the first time (even though she'll be like a year old. Whatever. The trip would definitely be more about me but there's nothing wrong with that! Indulge the mommy!). So buying my jewelry and scarves will help us get there. Or, if you don't want to posses any of my lovely items (I don't know why you wouldn't...) then you can just donate to help us get there at our Go Fund Me page.

Not that I'm trying to solicit you awesome readers for money, but remember that charity is a virtue!

In other news, there is nothing going on and I am a lazy blogger. Nothing has changed. I have a few ideas for some posts, so maybe I'll get around to making a real post later this week. Time will tell.

The Biggness of My Littleness

Sometimes I get so wrapped up in being a part of something bigger than myself that I forget to be just me. It is good to buy TOMS shoes (I own three pairs) and donate to and start charities. We are part of something bigger than our own here and now, but big, meaningful endeavors are not started by people who lose sight of who they are.

My tendency is to so impersonally be a part of an endeavor or charity that in my personal life I feel lost and without mission or purpose. This is not how I was created to feel! Every moment of my life is meant to be jam-packed with purpose, whether I'm writing a book, starting something big, writing an email to a friend who is struggling, or spending time with my friends and family.

Life is about the small, everyday things we do creating ripples that get bigger and bigger. Don't get lost in the impact of a tidal wave that makes the world better. Be the unique pebble you are and create your own ripples.

Simple Reminder

Tonight I discovered what love is again.

I've been in Philadelphia spending the New Year with my family-- my mom's younger sister and family. My 13 year old cousin and I are very close; in a very real way she is the sister I always dreamed of. Tonight is my last night here as tomorrow the kids go back to school, my aunt goes back to work, and I fly home. K started trying to convince me to stay longer and when I said I couldn't, she made up ways that I would be forced to-- flight delays or cancellations, etc. We sat on her bed and she looked at me with her big, bright blue eyes. She melts my heart when I look into her eyes because she wears her love on her face, there is no way to miss it, and she loves me very dearly. We talked about how we will be able to spend much more time together after this summer because her family will be relocating to the west coast, as will I. She still tried to make me stay, and though not satisfied with waiting, she smiled and I knew that she understood.

K loves me so much she hates spending time apart from me, and vice versa, and cannot wait for the day when we do not have to be apart. But until that day, she is content to love me as fiercely as she can, no matter the distance. It's such a comforting thought to me when I worry about my dad and how hurt he feels when I mention moving away, especially now that Mommabear is no longer here. But K reminds me of Mommabear and something she said to me when I first started talking about moving away. Mommabear looked at me in the car that day and said, "Of course I want you to stay near me and get a job and raise a family, but more than that, I want you to be happy and to not miss any opportunities. We will always be a family no matter how far apart we are."

This is love-- so fierce that they want you to stay with them forever, but so encompassing that they let you go.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May this year be one of holding on, letting go, and loving fiercely.