we can do hard things

I ran across a wonderful sign in Etsy yesterday… “we can do hard things.” The placement in the photo was great too – over the front door of a house heading out into the world.

we can do hard things

Life is hard. Things come at us when we least expect it both good and bad. Some hard things sneak up so slowly we see it coming.

I love that the sign starts with “we!” We are not in this alone. We can do this. Together. I believe that God is with us all the time, helping you through the hard things of life. Additionally, we have those around us who love and care about us. Great marriages, family and friendship bonds can do hard things together. Even if it is something you physically do on your own, it’s usually with the support and encouragement of people around you.

I also love that the phrase acknowledges that hard things come your way. They will be there. And the good news is that you can do them.

So go for it. Walk boldly into the world each day knowing this. We can do the hard things.

Bravo to the artist who painted the sign. I don’t know if it came from her or she found it along the way. Here is her shop, barnowlprimatives in Etsy. Visit her store to see delightful phrases displayed beautifully.

Work at it

They gracefully leap through the air and effortlessly turn as they move across the stage. Ballerinas, and other dancers, are simply dynamic. My daughter sits in wonder watching ballerinas and other dancers. She is in awe. When we are home, she dances along with any television production as much as she can. She’s four, so the leaps aren’t that high. I tell her that these ballerinas have practiced for years in order to do the amazing feats she sees.

And then I sit back and wonder myself. Isn’t it all like that. Doesn’t anything worth doing take time, practice, trial, error, and then more practice? While I enjoy being great at some things, good at others, none of those skills came to me in one day. And there is the lesson. Work hard.

So let us not become frustrated in this new year because we aren’t excellent at something right away or at a skill that may be rusty. Work at it. Try harder. Practice. You can do it! It takes all of this to become Snow Princess or the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker. That is what I share with my daughter and what I share with you.

Happy New Year! May it be productive, fun, and full of joyful wonder.

This post is part of my “Just give me a word” series where you may offer a word, and I will share a story related to that word. My daughter provided the word “Ballerinas” to me last week. Feel free to provide me with a word of your own.

Just give me a word

I was told once by my sister’s dear husband that I could tell a story about anything. And I have discovered that it’s mostly true.

So give me a word… and I will write a post about it. I want to write more, but sometimes need a kick start, like everyone else.

I am starting this weekend.  I will be posting on this blog once a week for all of 2011. Aren’t you in for a treat!

I asked my daughter (nicknamed on this blog, and in real life, Roo) for the first word to get me started…

Me: “What’s your favorite word?”

Roo: “Ballerinas!”

Hmmmm. OK. So by the end of this weekend, I will have a post on Ballerinas. Watch for it.

I will make use of The DailyPost, and the community of other bloggers with similar goals, to help me along the way, including asking for help when I need it and encouraging others when I can. You can too if you are so inspired with your blog!

I hope you’ll encourage me with comments and likes, and good will along the way. And give me a word! I know I have a story, truth, wisdom or some bit of knowledge to go with it.

Happy New Year!
Joy Haynes

Imperfection

I am going to invite Imperfection into my life. Before you think I have been saddled up next to Perfection my whole life, please note that Imperfection has done time for unlawful entry in my little world many times over. I am just deciding that he can come on in as a welcomed guest. And then I am going to breathe.

Perfection was easier when I was single (more control over my house and schedule). It became more complicated when I met the love of my life and we married. Our first year was HARD as we 30-somethings tried to convince the other “how things are done” around the house. Then along came the other love of my life — my beautiful daughter who is now four. Again. the first year was HARD and Perfection flew out the window. Imperfection slipped in the garage door next to the kitchen.

It’s hard to know that I am not cooking dinner each night for my family, that I haven’t yet been the “room mother” for my child’s pre-school class, that I don’t have bows that match all my daughter’s outfits, that I don’t always tell my husband how much I love him and appreciate what he does to keep our lives moving forward, that I don’t clean the bathrooms as often as I think I should, that I don’t have family craft time for every holiday and that I don’t keep all our photo albums current. Good news is, my family loves me anyway.

Despite my imperfections, I am great mom and a loving wife. My family reminds me of this often and for that, I am grateful. So come on in, Imperfection. Take your coat off and stay a while. We will be making cupcakes with mismatched icing in a bit and you are welcome to give us a hand.

Own your mistakes.

I am delighted with the finalists in the Next Food Network Star this season: Jeffrey Saad and Melissa d’Arabian. Congratulations! Very different from each other, but both have passion around food and helping others. I think either could pull it off. Jeffrey has a calmness and confidence about him. Melissa is self-proclaimed home cook that many working women will quickly find charming and helpful.

I am also glad to see Debbie Lee leave the competition this week and not make it into the finals. I am surprised she made it this far with such savvy personalities on the judging panel. It’s not her cooking (that seems to be great) or her point of view on food (Seoul to Soul is catchy). For me it is her lack of integrity. A few shows ago, she was in charge of getting food out of the kitchen for a large party in Miami. It wasn’t just that she only focused on her own food and wasn’t helpful to others. The bigger issues is that she didn’t own up to it in the end. When food was coming out slow for the guests and that became one of the biggest failures of the evening, she tried to cover up her role. At least according to what the cameras were showing. The very next week, when she didn’t include an ingredient in her final dish (capers) she had three different answers for Bobby Flay within 30 seconds (they are in the dressing; I didn’t have capers; and oh, I left them out). Wow!

As a producer of her potential future show, how would you know if she was telling the truth or the whole truth? I realize that I may not have the whole story and only saw what was on camera, but really! Do we want to promote those that aren’t able or willing to take responsibility when they mess up. This can lead to really disastrous results later not to mention ruin the morale of others on the team.

It takes courage to own up to your mistakes. I know. I have done this. And not in a sarcastic, blowing-it-off kind of way. I mean really saying your are sorry and find out how to make it right. Additionally, if you make a mistake, don’t look to others to blame. Own it. Learn. Grow. That’s what it’s all about. And that one reason why Melissa and Jeffrey will both be great in the final show. They have taken personal responsibility when they messed up (integrity) and because of that, they have learned from their mistakes to move into a new and exciting space. Bravo and good luck!