Funny girl

Hello, gorgeous friends!

First of all, thank you so much for being a part of this journey with me!  I am overwhelmed to know how many people are reading the blog, feeling similar feelings, and offering wisdom and support.  I really appreciate all of you, and feel like we are part of a community--one of change, of growth and of self-love.  A special shout out to my sweet husband who also reads the blog and is so supportive of everything I do.

Thursday was a bit of a roller coaster for me.  Coming off of feeling so wretched Wednesday night, I knew I had a long day ahead of me, with lots of public speaking, and work at 2 of my jobs.  At my first job I was training one of our new employees, a beautiful young woman in her mid-twenties.  As she spoke to the class, I was struck by how engaged and entranced the students were by her, not only because of her intelligence and humor, but because of her youth, cool factor, and loveliness  I  realized that since I started in my job nearly 7 years ago, I have worked hard to infuse my teaching with as much humor as possible.  I love being funny, but now I feel more pressure than ever to rope young people in with my hilarity, and I wonder if this is perhaps because subconsciously, I no longer feel that my looks will help keep anyone's attention.  It made me feel sad, thinking maybe I had passed the "sell by" date.
Later that afternoon, I had a meeting with a friend, a woman who I greatly respect and admire for the work she tirelessly does to improve the lives of kids in her community.  We were talking about this and that, and then she told me that I was on her short list of "people that truly have an impact in the lives of others. Not just a fleeting impact, but a life-long touch."  Even though I don't know if the "list" is really that short, to have someone who I so look up to say those words about me was a really big self-confidence boost.  An interesting juxtaposition between feeling past my prime in one situation, and full of limitless potential in another.

More later.  Part of feeling pretty means taking care of oneself, and that means getting sleep.  So I will be turning in.  I have lots of thoughts in my head to share with all of you, so I will publish again tomorrow!

"A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks"--Andy Rooney

Smiling for free!,
Nina