Well hello 2015. I admit, I’ve been hobbling into the new year, still reminiscent of the past two weeks and surveying the mess and open suitcases in my house with dread. Every time I see someone post something with cheerleader gusto about NEW GOALS! RUNNING SHOES! SIX HOUR HOUSE CLEANING BLITZ! or, God forbid, NEW YEAR JUICE CLEANSE!, I want to kick them in the shins with the sparkle shoes I never ended up wearing New Year’s Eve. Which sums up a wonderfully supportive attitude for other women, eh? Don’t be ambitious! Don’t follow your dreams! Stay back for me! An attitude I’m climbing out of right now. To all the ambitious, juice-chugging, mile-logging, goal-chasing beautiful women out there who started the new year out with a pace I wasn’t quite ready for…thank you. Thank you for setting the pace, for using your enthusiasm to invite me to share it. Thank you for secretly motivating me and for not keeping the fear of pissing other women off from doing what you do and doing it well–shining bright. We other women will choose to throw our shoes on eventually and come keep you company. Or maybe we’ll choose to stay put, happy to chase goals that are different from yours. We’ll still wave big fluorescent posters for you from the bleachers while you run your race–start the wave, sing some Queen, stomp and clap and cheer for you to finish. And if, for any reason, we choose not to support you, to laugh at your juice cleanse, to mock your ambition or to let your goals, your success and your enthusiasm get so in the way of our own that we drink the attitude poison–keep running, friend. Pay no attention to us. It has nothing to do with you. It’s the suitcases we let sit, the alarm clock we turned off, the books we’re not reading, the time we wasted, the thing we wanted to start doing so badly that we haven’t made time for. But you? Please run. We need you to run. Even if we pretend like we don’t. Your ambition stands as nothing less than an invitation to join you or to learn from you–even if that learning means we discover we have shin splints and we hate kale. You? You are a New Year’s mascot, and every team needs one. So thank you.
I have some pictures I really love from a sweet three-day trip we took to St. Petersburg this past week. But maybe they’ll come tomorrow. It felt a little forced today to post shiny beach pictures when really heading back into reality kicked my ass today. And I needed to thank the runners and the early morning risers and the go-getting mascots. Tonight I’m setting out my tennis shoes, my pencil, my paper, my paints, my books, my cleaning rags, my heart. Tomorrow I can’t wait to join you. Meet me at the bleachers. 5:00. I’ll bring coffee.
(okay one favorite moment from vacation. messy hotel room. tired boy, twirly girl.)
I always look to you to be the lead runner in the race. I’m usually pulling up the rear, a few days late, sweaty & out of breath. Who knew I’d meet you at my starting point? Actually, I’m kinda shocked that we’re already 5 days into the new year & I’m still looking for my running shoes. Everyone at their own pace, I say. We’ll get there, one way or another.
Happy New Year, Kelle.
I’m having a hard time with the new year too. I am trying, goodness knows I am trying, but it is kicking me in the behind.
Not a sparkle of glitter to be found around here lately. Not one sparkle.
I would choose to look at it from the angle that, you are looking at open suitcases and leftover Christmas mess and a lack of organized New Year’s goals, because you had the good fortune to be able to take a vacation directly after Christmas. Some of us are on a major budget lock-down following Christmas, trying to recoup from all the expenses from December. In blogland right now, it’s all the rage to come up with a one word ‘goal’ for the year (as if one word could sum anything up, right?). If I was to choose, I would say mine is ‘austere’. I’m kind of just existing right now, and it feels perfectly right for me.
Happy 2015 to you and your family, and all the possibilities this new year holds. 🙂
i adore the tennis shoes in second position by the glass door. beauty in the everyday – your writing & photos are such a light.
Thank you for always articulating what is in my heart. Your words always inspire! My little family started the year off with the flu and I feel so behind on living life to the fullest resolutions. So I’m blocking it all out with “The Bachelor.” Thanks for the reminder that tomorrow is a new day! I will be there with you in the bleachers:)
Happy New Year, Kelle!! I love how wonderfully you portrayed this! I’m feeling the same way… looking for my mojo!! 🙂 Hoping it shows up tomorrow. Here’s to 5 am!!!
I’m with you in the bleachers right now! I’ll join the race soon enough, but–as you so skillfully put it–I’m still reminiscent of the wonderful holidays and still recovering from it all! Thanks for being so real!
Such a great perspective to share. It speaks to the truth: there is plenty of kale juice for everyone. No one is going to drink up all the juice before you get to the party. If anything, they’ll let you know which brand to avoid. When we let women inspire us, rather than choose to deflate, we all win.
You always have the words to express exactly how I’m feeling…
This New Year feels like that for me too…I’m just not quite as goalie as I usually am. There’s just been so much change in our life lately I can’t really add one more to-do. But I did write down some little things and I’m sticking to them. No miles logged here, but some little inches that mean a lot.
This is beautiful! That last sentence made me smile!! I’ll meet you there at 5! I’ll be the one with the baileys.
I totally and completely relate to this:) Oh 2015. Not quite with it yet.
Oh Kelle, this doesn’t sound like you! I hope today was gentler on your spirit and that you are you are feeling more Kelle-the-killer go-getter. But if not that’s ok too. I’m always overwhelmed by everything you do and to know you get off to bumpy starts sometimes too actually helps! 🙂 I want to see these pictures from St. Petersburg! Happy New Year with all the sparkly confetti I can leave in a comment. Hug!
Haha I love this one. It’s been hard to extract myself from holiday world. It’s such a hard switch to make from the-most-wonderful-time-of-the-year to birds chirping in dead silence. It takes some time and real get it together already-ness to find motivation for January. Thanks for this 🙂
It took me until last night at 11:00 p.m. to pull my ambition together, too; you’re not alone. I declared January 5 the New Year’s Day for work-at-home moms. 🙂
While I love the clean slate of a new year, I tend to ease in to the planning & goal setting & go getting, as well. Unpack those suitcases slowly so you can savor the memories of your weekend away – I love St. Pete, too 🙂
Holy Shit!!! This was great, thank you so much for being a real human!!! I love reading your blog, and following your Dad on Instagram! I’m also a Kelly, a MaryKelly(first name)
You are the bomb!!!
After if saw your beach photos, I had a longing for the beach and being a Florida girl there’s no reason or excuse not to go. So it’s booked and I will be enjoying the empty beaches of pass-a-grille — my favorite beach ever and only a hop, skip and a jump away from SPB — next weekend with my husband.
Haha, I love this…definitely a good reminder that when we celebrate other people and the art they’re making, no matter what it is, it opens the door for our own resolve and creativity to grow exponentially! Here’s to a happy 2015. 🙂
A “type A” friend Voxed me over the weekend and asked a group of us what we had going for 2015 and my reply was a little too honest in what I thought of all the goal making for this year. Let’s just say that the New Year and Ella’s annual IEP meeting in the same week is NOT a good combo.
Xo.