Perplexed

I know I know, it’s been quite a while since I have written. I’m exhausted. It’s been a whirlwind of personal and professional ‘busy-ness’ since the beginning of 2015; between work, taxi driving the kids around, and personal life, my life has been in motion at a full and fast pace. It’s not all bad, regardless of the fact that almost every weekend I have been at 2 day volleyball tournaments or basketball games, my kids are only young once and this is the season of life we are in. So here’s a few things that I have been perplexed with lately…

1. A 17 year old boy. My son is 17, a junior in high school, transition time. Yes I know they have all kinds of pressure, what college, ACT/SAT, sports, dating, looks, career. I get it, I was 17 once (a long time ago). I guess it’s funny to me to see that struggle to be independent and thinking you’re adult, then turning around and asking me for lunch money; also the struggle of keeping the balance between social life/part time job/schoolwork, it’s hard. Looking back I know I had the same struggles and it’s easy to say I was better at handling it all but in all honesty I probably wasn’t. Watching him navigate through as a parent though, feels a lot more stressful. I have to balance between wanting to cuddle still and letting him go, the line between fixing and taking care of things for him and pushing him off that branch so he can fly on his own. I really don’t like it and it’s really hard. Here’s what I know, there are times I just need to listen and not fix, guide and not direct, that he needs to make his own decisions and learn the consequences of those decisions, and that he still loves to get a hug and hear that I love and support him no matter what. Being a parent is hard. You will never love more, hurt more, stress more, and sleep a whole lot less. Parents of older teens…what in the world? I’ll take any advice.

2. Comparison (this is my list of currently perplexing topics remember?). As women we compare ourselves to each other CONSTANTLY. I’m not sure if it’s something we’re born to do, or if we learn it from tv, magazines, and marketing, it’s just irritating. I know I probably do it. What I’m perplexed with right now however is how some can make assumptions by comparing and immediately place judgement and offer, no, tell you what the best thing to do is. I love people and this blog is called lipstick JOURNEY. We are all created differently and are uniquely us on an individual journey that God has placed us on; although some may seem similar, no two paths are the same. EVER. Until you have lived in someones shoes and know every single detail, you cannot place judgement on their decisions. Advice to someone based on your path? That’s fine, but if you don’t understand the entire story then leave it because there’s always more to a story…’People take different roads…Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost.~H. Jackson Brown Jr.

3. Words vs Actions. I’m big on this, in fact, I think I’ve written about this several times already. What I’m perplexed with are those that are eloquent in their speech, those who talk a good talk, etc but their actions leave you dumbfounded. ‘Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.’ 1 John 3:18
Oh how actions scream out. Enough said.

So there it is, what’s currently on my brain. Today I wear Dior Addict Lipstick in Spring Ball which is a sheer sparkly pink. I’ve always been a fan of these lipsticks because they are super moisturizing and pretty sheer, almost like a lipstick/lipbalm combo with a bit more color. They’re not ultra long lasting but I love them. I chose this color because I’m ready for spring please!!Cheers!