No longer the doormat

Ok, so today is not starting off the way I had hoped.  In fact, that has been the "story" of my life for the past few years.  However, today is the day that I change that story and rewrite it to the one that I want it to be.

I was recently reading the blog of a fellow Heritage Maker and was so inspired by how she was writing about living life out loud!  With my birthday fast approaching, I think that I am ready to make some changes and do the same!  I think that I have been doing a great job of living the kind of life that those around me want, but it is my turn to live the life that I want to live as well!  

I think that as a mom, a wife, a teacher, a woman, we get stuck in the ruts of life that leave us drained from all that we do to make sure that others are taken care of.  I love to do things for others.  As a matter of fact, nothing makes me happier!  However, the part about being true to myself is where I need a little bit of work!  Why is it so hard to let those who have "walked all over you" know?  

So, here is to New Year's Resolutions a bit early!  Today is a new day and it is going to be a great one!  I look forward to rewriting my story and being so proud of it in the end!!

What is my legacy?

In the hustle and bustle of my life, I have to always be reminded to stop and "smell the roses".  I will admit, if they had a rehab for people who take on too much, I would be the first to sign up!  I don't know why I do it to myself, but I have.

In the process of taking on three businesses, a full time job, being mother of two, and wife to a man who also takes on too much, I have started to realize that it is or will take a toll on my family.  I had one of those "aha" moments as Oprah likes to call them the other morning as I was feverishly trying to get everything into book bags and comb a 3 year olds snarly hair.  What are my kids really going to remember of me?  What legacy am I leaving for them?

Now maybe you are reading this thinking that I am crazy because legacies are not something that we think about until we are older.  However, I really believe that I want to start thinking about that now while I have something to say about it!   So, I have started to think about what I want to leave as my legacy for my kids.  Do I really want them to think of me as the stressed out mommy who was running from meeting to meeting or do I want them to remember a happy mommy who was fulfilled and made time for them and for herself?  It is a hard balancing act to play, but one that I know I must work on.

In the meantime, I am going to help my ancestors leave their legacies with my kids.  I was stuck the other day when I was telling my son a story about my paternal grandfather and he said to me, "Mommy, you had a grandfather?"  Have I really failed to mention all of the great times that I had growing up with this man?  Had I really forgotten to tell my kids that I got my blond hair and blue eyes from this man?  That he one of the greatest men to ever walk this earth?  

So, while I work on the legacy that I am building, I am also going to work on telling and recording more of the stories that make me who I am and ultimately, who my children are as well.  I believe strongly in the power of story and feel that it will help my children be more connected to me and those great people that I had the pleasure of growing up with as well!