Second Chances

Have you ever given someone a second chance? Shoot, I gave my ex-husband multiple ‘second’ chances…more than I care to admit. I’ve given friendships a second chance and I’m glad I did. Yes, I have given my boyfriend a second chance…and I’m glad I did.

I’m sure some of you read what I write and make up your own conclusions and have your opinions. I mean, of course you do – I put it all out there. Do I share every little personal detail, of course not. I chose to dive into this blog world to be raw, honest and authentic with all of you. My mission from the beginning remains the same – if one person can not feel alone or relate to what I share, I’m accomplishing my mission. Look, we all have messy lives and if you think your life is excluded from chaos and imperfections…you might want to look in the mirror and be honest with YOU. Guess what – messy is OK. Imperfection is OK (what is perfect anyway?). It’s OK and perfectly healthy to not have everything go your way all the time. That is when we learn and grow. Think about it, if we had no mountains to climb…how would we ever know how to climb them?

I’ve learned SO much over the last few years. I’ve learned what I will and won’t tolerate. I’ve learned to view things from other perspectives, my way isn’t the only way. I’ve learned to conquer fears. I’ve learned that life can truly be peaceful and beautiful with the right people around you.

Communication can make or break ANY relationship. You need TWO willing parties that actually WANT to communicate and understand each other. It wasn’t the 48-hour breakup that mattered, it was the conversation that happened after. I mean, it did at the time – I was a mess…but what happened after truly mattered the most. Sometimes it isn’t the game you lose or the mess you make, it’s how you clean it up. It’s saying you are sorry and actually meaning it. It is the effort made. It is the honest tough conversations of fear and how we got to where we are today. I’ve realized through this process that some really beautiful open conversations can be on the other side of a really crappy situation. I’ve also come to the realization that we ALL have a story (I just blogged about this not too long ago). We all react differently to things, we all have different triggers and traumas from our many years of life…but it’s how you talk about and fix the wrong doing. It’s how you make it right.

Do you ever put the shoe on the other foot – I mean really try and understand where someone else is coming from? You know how sometimes you can hang on a comment or brief remark someone makes (and perhaps they didn’t have any meaning behind it)…you know, they can do the same thing. Do you really listen to what YOU say and how you say it. Perspective was the perfect word for me this year. I’m a sponge and want to continue to learn and grow into the best human I can possibly be. I’m still a work in progress, but gosh am I enjoying the hell out of the journey. I’m truly blessed to have had this man walk into my life (he’s pretty dang lucky too).

As always, thank you for being on this journey with me – together we can make a difference. Cheers!