FOMO, the Struggle is Real

I live in a world where parties are abundant and events are weekly.  It's not uncommon to hear almost daily that a blogger is throwing a get together, or people you know are having a photo shoot, and more times than not...I'm not invited.  I wish I could say that I'm not the type of person who gets their feelings hurt or throws a pity party when I'm not on the guest list but...I'm human, I have emotions and feelings, and well, I DO feel left out.  These days it's called FOMO or Fear Of Missing Out.  And for me it's not so much the fear of it all but the feeling.  I simply just Feel Left Out.  FLO isn't the best acronym cause we all know what first comes to mind...so I'll just stick to FOMO.

Last night a huge event was held just a few cities away from where I live and seriously everyone and their dog was invited...except for me obviously. And ironically enough, earlier that day my 5 year old came to me crying because she got left out of going to the park with her friends.  How do you teach your child about not getting their feelings hurt when you yourself struggle with the same thing?  I did my best to not care about all the pictures I know I'd see later, or the giant swag bags of free goodies from all the brands that went.  I instead, sat in my bed with my cross stitches and my family and watched Harry Potter. But soon enough the snapchats came rolling in and I couldn't help but let my heart sink a little and feelings of missing out on all the fun came boiling up.

It got me thinking about the big picture of it all.  Sometimes in life we miss out on things.  That's just life.  Imagine if EVERYONE was invited to EVERYTHING.  That wouldn't make much sense right? There would never be feelings of sadness or missing out and all would be hunky dory.  But the truth is this, sadness helps us to grow.  It teaches us what's really important.  While last night I felt like the best thing for me would have been to be at that party and mingle with the local blogger celebrities and brands, what was really important was being with my family and learning to be a big girl and not get my panties in a wad.

Today I scrolled through all the pictures my friends took from the party and I was so happy that they had such great opportunities presented to them.  I may have missed out but they, I'm sure, made connections with so many brands and bloggers that will help them to grow their businesses and blogs.  That right there makes my heart leap for them.  Finding joy in their joy and knowing that their time to shine was last night, while mine might be a bit later in life.

I came across a quote a while ago that I've tried to keep in the forefront of my mind in times like these.

"I choose to surround myself around phenomenal people who are confident and secure enough to know that there is room for all of us to make it to the finish line."

If we could only see past the little parties and invites and view the bigger picture of what life would present to us I think we all would be a bit more accepting that not every event and every photo shoot was meant for us...and that's OK.  Our invites will come and our time to shine will be the perfect time for us to grow and flourish. It's that stick-to-itiveness attitude that will move us to where we want to be, not the wallowing and self pity.

Just Keep Swimming

A year ago you would have seen my little Remee in a pool screaming for dear life.  Her insecurities got the best of her and she just couldn't relax and learn how to swim in the pool.  Her poor swim teachers were so patient with her and really tried over and over again to convince her they weren't going to let her sink to the bottom of the blue deep.  So the other night when she willingly got in the pool with her swim teacher without tears and without complaints I was beaming from ear to ear.  It got me thinking about fear, courage, and pushing forward.

Ironically I kept thinking about Dori's little song from Finding Nemo...'Just keep swimming, just keep swimming'.  What a beautiful message to implement in our daily lives.  I'll be the first to admit that fear and doubt get the best of me...almost daily.  All those insecurities weigh me down and instead of jumping forward in my goals and aspirations, I hide and become complacent...because that's what's comfortable and familiar.

Last year I came across this quote and it basically smacked me in the face.
"If you aren't doing something everyday that puts a lump in your throat or a pit in your stomach, you are becoming complacent."
Now, I don't know about you but according to that quote I'm more complacent than I'd like to admit.  Fear is always what holds us back.  It's not because of lack of knowledge...we can learn.  It's not because of money...that can be obtained through time.  It's not because we aren't good enough...we are all good enough.  It's the basic and fundamental truth that we are all a bunch of wimps.  Ok maybe I'm just the wimp. But to be brave and courageous seems impossible sometimes.  We stand at the edge of the pool with the want to jump in and yet the doubts bubble up and we begin to think that once we jump in we won't be able to swim to the surface.

Watching my tiny Remee get in the water and face her fear not only made me one proud momma but it also filled me with the courage to step out of my comfort zone and to 'just keep swimming' to the goals I so deeply hope to obtain and accomplish.  If a 5 year old can do what scares her the most, I certainly can get on board and face my fears too.  Funny how often our kids teach us such meaningful lessons in life.  They sure can be stinkers but they are worth all the hard days and hard work.

Why the wait?

I realize it's been a long time since I've written on this here blog.  I'm also pretty sure I've said that about a thousand times on this blog, but whatever.  I really can only think of one reason I haven't updated for a while and that's this...is anyone even reading this thing? 

Years ago I started this blog as a way of staying in touch with my family.  I updated with photos and goings on with the family.  I never intended for this blog to be a big hit or anything...it was just meant to be within the close knit people in my life.  Now, I feel as though it's more of a journal (which I'm a horrible journal writer...so what am I thinking?).  I love that I'm able to write about whatever I feel like and not get backlash from anyone. 

With that said, though, I'm starting to feel like what's the point?  Maybe I WANT people to actually comment and give a crap about what I'm sharing and pouring out.  Maybe I do want to write about things I love and awesome recipes and great advice.  Let's be honest we all want people to care about what we are doing. Ha Ha!! Ok seriously, I just don't want this blog to go to waste.  I feel like I've spent years making this blog feel authentic(because it is) and hopefully feeling connected to what it is that I'm writing.  But, I need to just be better about it. 

One of my favorite movies is Julie and Julia.  In the movie, Julie's friend has a successful blog, and Julie (who's a writer) is talking to her husband about her frustration with feeling unsuccessful as a writer and replies to this blog mumbo jumbo with "I HAVE THOUGHTS!"  Well, I'm feeling just like Julie!  I have things to say, things to review, and of course loads of pictures of my adorable children.  So it's time to get real.  I'm revving' up the blogging juices...get ready...whoever you are that reads this!