Sometimes you have to let go to move on.
You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.”
– William Faulkner
Photo by David Boca on Unsplash
If you’ve been following my blog, you know I quit my job as Coordinator of Special Education to teach English in Thailand in the fall of 2015. I have already written posts about my journeys through Germany, Finland, Sweden, and The Netherlands. (Reread those posts…it’s been a while). But my European adventure continued… in Italy.
My friend, Erin, and I left Susana and her family in Utrecht, Holland, and headed to the airport. There we got on a plane and headed to Rome. Erin had some hotel points so we stayed at the Boscolo Hotel. From there, we were able to walk to all of the touristy spots. They were doing construction at the Trevi Fountain so I didn’t get to see the real thing, which is very disappointing as it looked beautiful. We toured the Coliseum, Spanish Steps, and the Vatican. We went up in the tower at the Vatican which was pretty sureal. Then we ate pizza and drank Italian wine in a town square. We walked around and went to many little shops and restaurants. We enjoyed the nightlife and met random people along the way. Here is a great site if you want to visit Rome. I liked Rome a lot, but it was very busy.
After two days in Rome, we rented a car and drove up through the beautiful Tuscany hillside. We had so much fun navigating the countryside. We stopped at the Tenuta Toriciano Winery for wine tasting and amazing lasagna with homemade truffle oil. I still think about that lasagna and the delicious truffle oil. We met a wonderful family from Pennsylvania who was also enjoying the afternoon at the winery. Of course, they were Steelers fans! I would love to go back there.
It was a beautiful day so we carried on our way driving our little stick shift car and singing as loud as we could along the hillside. We found a little hotel in the middle of Tuscany and stopped for dinner. I believe we were in Sovicille. It was so cute we decided to stay the night. The food was wonderful and the views were breathtaking. Our room was huge, and I remember thinking what a beautiful place to stumble upon.
The next day we made our way to Venice. We got there late at night so we couldn’t see much. We walked around for a long time because we could not find our place. Finally, we found our AirBnB and got settled. The next day we did more sightseeing. We walked around the beautiful city and took a gondola ride through the canals. I remember thinking I wish I had a boyfriend or husband to bring here. What a romantic city. Maybe My Prince and I will go back someday.
That evening we left for Lake Como. It was a beautiful ride and Lake Como is an amazing place. By the time we got there, it was dark therefore I didn’t get to see much. We met some fun people at the hotel bar. We had a lot of laughs and went to bed. I took an early train the next morning to Lausanne, Switzerland to meet up with more friends. It was time for my next adventure!
Overall, Italy was a beautiful place to visit. I don’t know if I would go to Rome again but I would love to go back to Venice, Lake Como, Florence, and the Tuscany region.
Believe in yourself. Have faith in all you do. Be determined in your goals. Don’t let doubt stop you from achieving your dreams. Go for it.
May your faith be unwavering, your determination unyielding, and your dreams unstoppable.
-Rachel Hollis
Photo by Randy Tarampi on Unsplash
As you read in Sad Sometimes, I get sad sometimes. Today is one of those days. I am missing my sister, my gram, and my dad. And sometimes it just really sucks. As you know, I try to write uplifting, inspiring posts, and I try to be strong. But sometimes I need to let my guard down and be vulnerable.
May is a tough month for our family. In 2012, we lost my dad on the night of May 22 and in 2018 we lost my sister on May 7. Therefore, this month can be difficult, especially for my mother who misses a piece of herself on Mother’s Day.
Death is tough. You want to convince yourself that it is good because the person you love is no longer in pain, especially if they have been fighting a terminal illness. And yes, death is amazing for the person who has died because they have moved on to eternal life. They are enjoying all the glory of God and in the best and most peaceful place ever.
But here we are down here. Missing them. Suffering. Making ourselves miserable. Why? I think it is because we feel guilty for one reason or another. We are sad that we didn’t get a chance to tell our person one more thing. Or maybe we feel guilty because we feel we should have spent more time with them. Or maybe we feel guilty because we hadn’t talked to that person in a long time. Whatever it is we need to STOP. We cannot keep living with guilt. We made the best decisions for ourselves at the time with the information we had. We did not know our person would be gone. And even if we did, we did what we felt we needed to do with the time we had left.
I can almost guarantee that the person in Heaven is not holding a grudge against you. They are not worried one bit about how much time you did or didn’t spend with them because they know when your time comes you will be spending eternity together. And they are not upset about words that were spoken. So give yourself some grace. Let the guilt go. Your person does not want you down here being miserable or making others miserable. What they want for you is to live your life to the fullest. They want you to find someone to share life with. They want you to be happy and share happiness with others. They want you to honor them by sharing the amazing times you had and being happy.
Some days it is hard and some days it’s ok to be missing them. But let’s quit feeling sorry for ourselves and let’s be happy. Life is way too short to dwell on unhappy times. It’s also too short to try to control situations and people that we cannot.
So, Dad, please know I am missing you more than anything today. I wish you were here to call when my tire light comes on or when the pilot light goes out. I wish you were here to help us with projects and come relax by the pool. We’d love to take you out on the boat. I know you would love it. But you are gone. Therefore, the only thing I can do is try to live a life that I can be proud of and that I feel would make you proud. I know you are watching over us and smiling down in your quiet way. I can picture your face and it brings me peace. (Can you believe I started to like playing golf after all those years of bitching about it!!?? I am hoping to beat mom in the upcoming PNA Tourney…don’t tell her :))
Life is too short, my friends, for pettiness and jealousy. We need to remember death is inevitable for all of us. Therefore, if today were your last day on Earth, can you go with no regrets? If not, then take steps to complete your tasks so you can go with a clean conscience. Maybe write a letter to someone you need to make peace with (even if you just put it in an envelope for them to find later). Maybe write a thank you note to someone who made a difference in your life. Maybe give someone a call and tell them you love them. Whatever it is, get it done because we never know when it will be our time.
Remember, we are only here for a short time. Live a life full of adventure, kindness, and happiness. And let’s spread joy to one another. If you are missing someone take a moment to say hello and look for those Signs from Heaven. Hopefully, that will make you smile.
Let your actions speak louder than your words. Let your actions inspire others. Live a life that shows others they can do anything they want, be anything they want, and live a life that they want. Be positive and uplifting in all that you do.
May your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more.
-John Quincy Adams
Photo by Patrick Hendry on Unsplash
Let’s all try to listen to our hearts are little bit more. I feel like your heart and your gut will lead you. Somehow when you know you know. Take the time to listen.
“May your choices be guided by your heart, for it knows the way.”
– Aarti Khurana
Photo by Isaac Quesada on Unsplash
As we transition from spring into summer let’s start by making decisions with high hopes and let’s not be afraid to take chances.
May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.
-Nelson Mandela
Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash
It’s the first day of May! That means summer is right around the corner. Spring is always a beautiful time of year filled with hope and beauty as the flowers start springing to life. May is the month of transition into summer.
“May is the month of promise and the sweet beginnings of summer.”
– Unknown
Photo by Kaizen Nguyễn on Unsplash
Life is short. Be sure to live it to the fullest. Love with all your heart. Find happiness in all you do. Find beauty in the world around you. Because we can’t get this time back.
“A life without love is like a year without spring.”
~ Octavian Paler
Photo by Mark Tegethoff on Unsplash
Monday, April 1, was my birthday which always happens to be April Fools’ Day! And I love it. Many people would find being born on April 1 annoying, but I have always found it so much fun. My mom tried to get me out on March 31, but I am glad my little body decided to stay in there until 12:06 midnight 48 years ago.
April has always been the best time for a birthday. It’s springtime and the weather starts getting better. It doesn’t fall around Christmas or Back to School Time so you get presents throughout the whole year for all the special occasions 🙂 Sometimes it falls around Easter, but that just makes it more special.
But here we are, another trip around the sun for me. Some people fret about getting older, but I think what I have learned from my dear family members who have passed away at the young ages of 38, 60, and 63 is that celebrating a birthday is a magical thing that you should feel blessed to be celebrating.
Although it is hard to believe that I am TWO years away from turning the BIG 5-0, I am excited about it. I hope I make it, and I hope I get to celebrate. My goal has always been to make it to all 50 states by my 50th birthday. If I haven’t made it to all 50 states by 50 (I’ll be close), my birthday party may end up in Arkansas! I am not sure what there is to do in Arkansas, but I will have to think of something if that happens to be the last state on my list.
This year, I was blessed that my late sister’s family was in town for Easter AND my birthday for the second year in a row. I hope the Spring Break tradition continues. I was so excited to spend time with my brother-in-law, his girlfriend, my niece and nephew, and my bonus niece and nephews. It was a packed few days with nine of us running around the house. We made it to church, had a delicious brunch, afternoon pool time, and an Easter dinner on the pool deck. The next few days were filled with boating and spending time on Fort Myers Beach. If you have visited us in Fort Myers then you probably know of our favorite ice cream place called Love Boat. My Prince and I continue to follow the tradition of my late grandfather which started over 20 years ago. Just like he did, we take all of our visitors to the Love Boat for ice cream! And I haven’t found one person who doesn’t love it! The rest of our time together was spent playing pool, ping pong, and games around the fire.
Anyway, as I get older I try to look at the positives. I don’t need anything materialistic for my birthday, just a few good wishes and some time with family and friends. I also realize that birthdays don’t need to be celebrated on the exact day which is perfect for me because I love celebrating ANYTIME around my birthday with ANYONE willing to celebrate!!
So the next birthday you have, live it up and be proud of whatever age you are celebrating! Celebrate YOU and YOUR day! You made it and deserve to be proud of your age, accomplishments, and life. Cheers to you!
P.S.
If you do want to try to reverse time, check out my new health and wellness business at www.skinlikestacy.mynuskin.com, and let’s get rid of some of those fine lines and wrinkles together!