getting REAL...

 

        I am amazed to come on here and realize that this little blog that I wanted to get going hasn't been touched in a couple YEARS! It is crazy how time flies and how we so often push out goals to the back burner. I feel it more now that I am juggling a household, with kids, a career, friendships, relationships. We can all relate. Especially the women around me. The whole concept behind "getting real" was that we could say all the things, feel all the feels and not be worried about being judged. I want to talk about my passion of real estate, with real talk, and real life adventures. 

      We all go through some type of struggle at one point or another. We wish for the things we currently have even when we are currently overwhelmed and we need to remind ourselves of that. I am surrounded by women who are doing all of the things and trying to do all the things in the way that social media is telling us. And if we don't post about it, forget it, it didn't even happen. When did this become the norm? I know that I am surrounded by powerhouse women when we are all trying to do the same thing- make the next PTO meeting, have a dinner that's Gordan Ramsey worthy and holiday decor that Martha Stewart could feature in her magazine, close the next biggest transaction and hit that sales goal that we set at the beginning of the year, have time for a girls night out because all we need is our besties and a cosmo! 

    No one told us all of the things we dream of are going to be REALLY hard. No one warned us that making memories will be exhausting. That you will spend 90% of the adventure with the kids arguing or crying because they want a hot cider or $20 light saber that they are going to break over their sisters head on the car ride home, all to get that Instagram worthy photo and the 10% of happiness achieved. I know I am not alone. The state of this whole world makes me feel now more than ever that we need to go back to basics. Back to the easier times when there weren't phone calls or text messages to distract us around the dinner table. When we didn't try to be in 15 places at once because we didn't want to disappoint someone. When we truly did put our own oxygen masks on first and we didn't care what that looked like.   

       I love the summer nights. I love being at the ocean. I love the sand in my toes and my kids giggling as we watch the sun set. And just as much as I love all of that, I love the fall. I love the crisp air and the smell of apples and leaves. I love that it is a reminder that there is beauty in death. I would hate to live in a world without Octobers. I love the idea that we can shed layers and start new, no matter how old we are. I constantly feel like I am changing and I have often looked at that as a bad thing. Just be happy and content. But I have realized that I always want to push myself. 

    After seeing Inside Out 2 (and if you haven't seen it I highly recommend), my family joked that I was the character Anxiety. All over doing all the things all the time. It almost seemed like it was a bad thing. And then my amazing broker and friend, Jenn, said "that's absolutely crazy, you are JOY, you bring joy to everyone you encounter, you might make yourself anxious in the quest to bring the joy, but you are 1000% bringing the joy". It was like a lightbulb went off in my head. How different peoples perspectives are of us. How you are one thing to one person and something completely different to someone else. One of the greatest things about me, even when it's not always beneficial, is that I want to do for others, to bring that joy to others. In a world where you don't feel confident, find yourself a Jenn. Always have your cheerleaders. Have the people that fill those cups right up so that they are overflowing. I will gladly be anxiety all day long in order to bring joy to the console for others. 

"We love all of our girl. Every messy, beautiful piece of her." - Inside Out 2

xoxo Ashley