Lock and Load - An Introduction

I am:
A woman – by design
A wife – by choice
A mom – by blessing

I have:
A lot of degrees – which took forever
A business – that I love
A dog – that is growing on me

I want:
Health - in every area
Significance - through my relationships and my example
Growth - as an intentional discipline

I read:
Daily – like an addiction
Personal Development – always improving
To learn – for a lifetime

I speak:
To teach – I have value to bring
To connect – we need each other
To comfort – my words matter

Welcome to my brain. It’s full – ALWAYS. I’m working on that. The work that chose me occupies most of my time in this season. My office is my address and the job description wouldn’t fit on this page so I won’t even try. Being a mom is my most important work. It’s not always my favorite, but it is my most important. I’m obsessed with raising capable, insightful, and above all else KIND humans. Some days this happens as naturally as breathing. Other days, I drag a freight train through my living room and collapse over the 7pm finish line with one hand on the remote and the other on a bottle of cabernet. It’s hard work – but I don’t have to tell you that. You get it. I’m illogically proud of my kids and I try to tell them that at least 300 times a day. Second only to kisses – I shoot for 1000 of those on the daily.

The work I’ve chosen is entrepreneurship. It’s not always my favorite work, but it has ruined me for anything else. Stats tell a story of pure insanity about us entrepreneurs. We have a crazy amount of stress, we have to work a lot harder at our relationships, we spend most of our “free time” on our work and yet we are more satisfied than our 9-5’er counterparts. By a lot. Somebody recently said that entrepreneurs are the only people who will work 80 hours a week so they don’t have to work 40. We are not right in the head but we can’t think any other way. I proudly land in this camp.

I am slowly coming around to being proud of being a chick. For the longest time, I believed the odds were stacked against us and that aside from writing a cookbook or organizing church potlucks, we didn’t have much of an audience outside the home. I’m not sure why I thought that – no one ever said it to me. But it was a message I picked up on somewhere. Except for the crazy ones who burned their undies and hated men – they had an audience but theirs wasn’t a stage I wanted to share. Undies are expensive and men don’t usually bother me. I’m leaving that garbage, simplistic thinking behind one day at a time. I have seen too many women move too many mountains to believe we are weak. I’ve seen too many women move too many hearts to believe our voices don’t call purpose out of chaos. I’ve seen too many women move too many cultural norms to believe ordinary chicks can’t love people to greatness. No burning or hating needed. I’m owning it. I’m committed to loving every part of how I was designed, first for my own sake, then for the little princess who watches my every move. I owe it to her to show her how to love herself madly and completely. This is a stretch goal for me, but it’s on the table and I’m going for it.

My interests are varied, so this blog will be too. We’ll talk about mom stuff, family stuff, building a business, leadership, personal development, health, money, oils, learning new things and appreciating old things. I’m just crazy enough to believe that I’m not unique in what I’m into. I know there are a lot of champion women out there on a mission to raise an amazing family while building a business that can’t be ignored. Who are constantly working to improve while being intentional about rest and restoration for themselves and their families. Who are discovering their voice and message while learning to speak more kindly to the little [and big] hearts in their world. I think there are a lot of us, actually. And I’m writing about it because it’s the only way I know how to be. I believe it will resonate because that’s what being vulnerable does. Let’s do this.