A couple weeks ago, I had to text my friend Jess and ask her last-minute to watch Tera for me for an hour or two while I had a job interview (it was a part-time gig and it didn’t work out, just in case you were wondering).
This friend has a very active 2 year old and is nearing the end of a pregnancy, but she willingly watched Tera for me that afternoon. When I got back, she said she had something for me, and sweet Trevor gave me this random key.
Okkkk, I thought…until she explained the key to me.
The Giving Key is a pay it forward gift, and Jess decided to give it to me. It is a “courage” key and she thought I would be encouraged by the courage key.
I kind of half-smiled at her and wondered if she had fully lost her mind. Me? Courageous? What?
So she went on to explain. To her, this blog is courageous. You see, Jess’s son, Trevor was no the easiest baby. Adorable? Yes. A wonderful gift to her? Yes. Easy? Nope. And she thought she was the only one. The only one with a difficult baby. The only one who cried over the baby instead of nuzzling their sleeping heads. Because sleep? Hahaha, what a joke!
But she isn’t the only one!!! And I’m guessing Jess and I are not the only ones. And that is what this small corner of the internet is about. Honesty. Support. Real life. Grit. The crying AND the sweet, cuddly moments. We don’t all have perfect babies. We don’t all have it all together. We don’t all have perfect bodies and perfect husbands and life that makes sense.
And you know what? It does take courage to admit that. It does take courage to stand up and say that I don’t actually enjoy every single moment of motherhood. It takes courage to ask for help. It takes courage to not just write about my strengths, but also to admit my weaknesses. And it takes courage to step up and compliment someone, to tell them that their words have made a difference.
The conversation between Jess and I lasted all of two minutes. But it made a real impact on me. I’m not writing about it here to puff myself up and announce to everyone that I am super courageous. But instead I wanted to write about how incredibly uplifting it was to receive that key and those words of encouragement. To know that my blog here (and hopefully my “real” life) can make a difference in someone else’s life. That through reading about my everyday mundane moments someone else can be encouraged that they are not alone.
So here is your take-away from this post.
1. Compliment someone today!!!
Seriously. Do it. And if at all possible, compliment something about their character. Getting a compliment about our appearance is always nice, but getting a compliment about character is just plain ol’ uplifting.
2. Have Courage! Share with someone. Be open about your struggles, your weaknesses. You never know who that could impact.
You are courageous and I am proud of you!
She’s right! You are courageous to be open and honest. You’re also courageous to take a baby on a camping/hiking trip. I’m not sure I’d ever have worked up the courage for that!! And I you are right that we need to compliment each other’s characters more often. thanks for that reminder.