03 October 2009

Confession

Maybe it's time for a little confessional.

Will this make me appear self-serving in your eyes?

Maybe.

But I'm going to risk it.

I once wrote that I blogged to gain perspective on my days and my life in general. To remember to laugh at the mundane or pull extraordinary from what feels ordinary.

That is still true.

But more than one thing can be true at the same time- right?

I also write this blog because, well, because I really like your comments. Really like them.

As in, I check my e-mail in the morning just to see if anyone had anything to say and I get happy when I see the little numbers go up on the comment section and when I read the facebook responses. Really happy.

Thus far, I have found motherhood to be funny and inspiring and humbling and joyous but also isolated, lonely and discouraging.

There isn't exactly a lot of encouragement in my chosen field of work.

There is no annual job review where your boss gives you the old cr*p sandwich. (In my house - cr*p is still a cuss word - okay?) The talk where you get to hear one good thing, one bad thing and one good thing. Like a sandwich.

Customers don't send e-mails back to my manager to talk about what a great impression I made on a client.

After I speak people aren't lined up to thank me for bringing a good word or revealing some new truth.

And no one is paying me by the hour as a consultation fee.

So I get pretty giddy when I see the super kind comments and words of love and encouragement that you guys leave from time to time.

It is not exaggerating to say that my heart gets pretty full and frankly I am humbled that you click on this link and read this stuff.

There just isn't enough encouragement in our day to day lives is there?

We're pretty stingy with our kindness.

We women.

My mom used to always say, as her mom used to always say, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."

I want to tell my kids often, "If you can't be kind, just be quiet."

As teenage girls we learn to stop being encouragers I think. We become competitors or rivals or something.

And then we spend most of our adult lives trying to quiet those voices we let rule us in the halls and the locker rooms of our adolescence.

Maybe we think saying kind words threatens us in some way. I'm not really sure. Women can be so jealous of other women.

(Because we love to compare. But that's a topic for another day.)

So all this is to say, thank you for your amazingly kind words. For reading these blogs filled with ramblings and sentence fragments.

Thank you for encouragement that makes me smile every time a new comment appears. For filling a void in a sometimes discouraging job.

And take that kindness to the streets. To the Wal-Mart check out line. (Those cashiers - now they need some kind words spoken their way.)

Whose day would not be made better if she knew you liked her shirt or blue was her color or her hairstyle was flattering?

When you think something nice, speak it.

We all need encouragement.

10 comments:

  1. yay! I get to be the first to comment on this post!!!!!! (hee hee)

    I know you didn't write this to fish for encouragement, but I will say that I recommend your blog to lots of my friends because it is filled with so much stuff that is funny, insightful and creative. Your writings are very inspirational, and they provide some sort of connectivity with people like me, who are struggling/dealing with the same kinds of issues.

    That said, I can totally relate to being happy about comments. I, too, get excited when I see that folks have commented on my posts!

    Keep it up!
    Amy

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  2. yeah - and I am the second! :-)

    Lacey, I do have to confess!
    I don't know if I have mentioned it before - but as you are checking facebook and this blog for any comments every morning - I also check it but for another reason: in the morning I also check my mails but finals are always your blog and it is such a good start to read a new entry, have a look at some new adorable pictures and - mostly - get inspired of the day.

    It is a little bit like the book you open once a day to read inspiring lines - a special moment of quietness, laughter or satisfaction.

    Thank you for taking your time to fill this page up with thoughts and stories of your daily life and for sharing it with us!

    Love

    Marie from G

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  3. Lacey,

    Despite what you think about me, I think that you rock as a mom. I admire your attitude towards your kids, your desire to teach and raise them in Pure, Holy and respectful ways. Your blog is reflection of just that. I appreciate and Love reading your posts which very obviously come from the heart.

    Thanks and keep it up!

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  4. That's one of the things I enjoyed about being around homeschooled kids; their personal expressions of fashion and that their Moms allowed that freedom. We are way too caught up in "what will people think?"! "Be not CONFORMED to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind!"

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  5. Ditto to everything above. I definitely scan fb to see if you have a new post up. You write very well and have wonderful stories and pictures to share. Even when I disagree with your perspective on something I love reading about it.

    - terry

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  6. You know I love reading your blogs and I agree with everything all of the people before me said! I also share your blogs ! One of my favorite expressions for people that don't compliment others or that may ridicule someone else is " you don't have to blow out my candle to make yours shine"....
    Keep up the blogs and we will keep up the compliments!! Love you

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  7. Dear Lacey,
    From a 63-year-old new Grandmom, I am thankful to read such insightful, wise, and Christ-like views of motherhood, children and life in general. You are atuned to the deeper things that count in this life. You see things through God-gifted eyes and are able to express those views that others may enjoy and learn from your experiences. You appear to be open to learn from both the successes and failures of life--willing to admit them. Thank you for allowing God to shine through you to those precious children and husband. You have and are performing the greatest task on earth--training children. I pray you will be blessed in the mundane as well as the lofty activities of home and motherhood. Keep writing.

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  8. It goes both ways, Lacey. I like to read here and find out there's someone else out there that thinks like I do and challenges me and loves her kids and loves to laugh at her kids so she doesn't go crazy. : ) this blog encourages ME . . . every time you post!

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  9. I love you Lacey and all that you are. I love to read this blog and learn so many things from you, even though I never tell you. So I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for sharing about days that are crazy, days that make you want to cry, and days that touch you at your core. Because when you share, I learn. You encourage me to keep being a teacher through your everyday struggles of being a parent. So thank you mam for that!

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  10. Hi from Arizona! I just came to your blog after reading the latest issue of Family Fun magazine that just came in the mail today. Did you know you have a mention in it? I came here not expecting much and have been pleasantly surprised. I'm a very visual person and love me a foo-foo flashy kind of blog design. Yours is very simple, but the content, the words you write is what has kept me here for over an hour reading through your archives.

    You are inspirational and humbling. I'm a newish SAHM and a lot of what you have to say has really hit home. I quit my job to stay at home with my boys over 6 months ago and have been dealing with depression, anger, apathy, and loneliness. I have to admit, I'm also not incredibly religious and can sometimes be turned off by overtly religious blogs. However, even as I was reading some of your more christian posts, I thought to myself that there was a reason why I decided to check out your blog. I was directed here. Divine intervention.

    I look forward to reading you daily and hope that your strength and wisdom can inspire/coach me to be a better mother to my own two children. I have a lot of growing to do.

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