Hope your season is turning out to be “merry and bright.” Ours certainly was, a lifelong dream was realized (our six year old) which made everything else just seem like a small bump in the road of life. Things just kept getting better not only personally, but professionally. I fully intended to scale back on projects, I let my Blog slowly dwindle down to maybe one post a month, because in life you have to prioritize, and my number one was the obvious…So I enjoyed the summer months, lazing by the pool with my daughter, spending quality time bonding, and hopefully opening up her world to all the possibilities that life has to offer. I took her to “the moon and back,” including museums, The Atlanta Botanical Gardens, long nature walks, the beach, and mountains…just like my parents did for us. We traveled…and went to places that my husband and I promised each other we would if we ever had a child.
So the design world took a back seat (sort of) until ” the one” project came along, the once in a life time, the “Big Kahuna”. I said “No” initially, but boy were they persistent, (I was secretly flattered), then when our 6 year old started school, and with some harmless prodding from Mr. B., I finally said yes. I will never regret it, it was a life-long dream to have a clean slate, where your clients give you a very “short list of likes and dislikes” which was fine with me (no paisley, oversize florals etc…), and actually say “We trust your judgement.” She was a little bit transitional, and he was a little bit traditional. But, it was a marriage that in the end was a success. It also renewed my passion in design, because like so many of us we struggle from time to time with wanting to throw in the towel. Our job can be just so incredibly difficult, and the stress level rivals that on Superbowl Sunday. I’m not kidding. In fact, a good friend is struggling with that right now, she is “uber” talented, and her work is just off the charts amazing (published many times over), yet like so many of us she got to the point of “Is this really worth it?” I hope she decides that it is, because if she chose another career path, the design world would sadly lose one of it’s rising stars.
This year, I also had the incredible honour of meeting and spending time with a group of women who just inspire me to be a better person. In fact, we met last week for lunch and had a philosophical discussion about life…and I wanted to share the highlights with you…
1) Never, ever lower your standards. In fact make others rise up to meet them, because if they can’t then they aren’t worth the time.
2) Spend time with people that matter…time is short. If your priorities are family, true friends and helping others then you’re on the right track. (I learned that from my mother, and it holds true today).
3) Believe in yourself, don’t rely on constant approval from others to feed your soul.
4) Do not create a life of smoke and mirrors. Never portray yourself to be anything other than your “authentic self” because eventually people will see the real you. (Wasn’t that so Oprah-ish?).
5) Surround yourself with supportive people. Individuals that are truly happy for your successes. I have had to re-think that one, and I’m fortunate to have found a group of truly supportive women, who are going to be my “go-to” girls in 2013 and beyond. We share the same family values, the same business ethic and the same goals. We have given ourselves the distinguished title of the “Design Chicks of Six,” and plan to meet every other week into infinity and beyond. You’ll get to know them in future posts…they are incredibly talented women with hearts the size of Texas.
6) Re-think FACEBOOK. It drives me crazy sometimes…in fact I now have a rule. If you live in a community/subdivision do not “Friend” your neighbors. Life in Suburbia: Rule #1-You can be assured that if you know the business of others, they are surely going to know yours. I learned a hard lesson over the summer (think “Mean Girls” x 10), and currently live a life that rivals someone in the “Witness Protection Program”. At my age, the only drama I need to see anymore is at the theatre. I now use Face-book for business, and keeping in touch with close friends, people that I don’t get to see much, (and yes a few favorite neighbors).
Yup, totally re-thinking life in suburbia, in fact after all that happened this year Mr. B. is totally on board, so I see a move in our future. Time for a change…
