Author: Samantha Gratton

It’s Me

Samantha Gratton

On Saturday nights the hubby goes to bed a little early since he has to be at work so early on Sundays. Tonight I came in maybe a half hour later and went to shut the windows. The noise must have startled him because he quickly reacted (albeit half-asleep) as if to protect us or maybe just in utter confusion as to why his sleep was being interrupted. Without thinking I responded, “It’s me! It’s me!”

It’s me.

Anyone else feel the magnitude of that statement? I didn’t say my job title or salary. I didn’t mention where I lived or what I was from. I didn’t proclaim my goals or dreams. I didn’t list my uncomfortable flaws or doubts. I didn’t even say my name.

Yet for some reason when we meet someone, that’s where we start. When we don’t know the answers to those things or aren’t happy with them, we begin to question who we really are. We put an unacceptable weight on things that don’t actually define us. Take any one of those things away, say my job or my dreams. I’d still be me.

I told him essentially nothing without even realizing. Yet at the same time, I said more than I ever have to someone at a networking event. I can only be me.

It’s me.

Thursday Three

Samantha Gratton

What a strange week. I almost completely missed the Thursday Three! Considering the sun has not yet risen for Friday, let’s just pretend it’s still Thursday, okay? That would be oh-so-kind of you. I’ve struggled to fall asleep most of this week so it’s been hard to keep track of what day is what.

1. I am married to a musician. I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before. But really, for real, that man can play. His best friend is out here visiting for the week to record some tunes, which means my house is practically exploding with music. You can hardly walk in a straight line without stepping on a violin or guitar or banjolin (that’s a thing, check it). So not only do we have the music room right now, but also the spare bedroom is packed to the brim with instruments, too. We’re all loving it though. A friend of mine came over and the four of us even did a little four-part harmony for one of the tracks.The guys are both so musically talented, but together they are simply amazing. (Maybe by next week I’ll actually have a picture of them playing music together).

image

image

2. Let’s do this. This week (and month) have a bit of a schedule that I have to stick to. Every day I feel like I’m running from thing to thing (otherwise known as hustlin’), trying to fit it all in. Between work, school, side projects, friends and family, I feel a bit packed. But I also feel like most of these things are moving in the right direction, and I’m glad for the extra work I’ve put in.

3. Weekend weather has been awesome. Seriously, I know we’ve had rain and freezing rain all week but last weekend it was in the high 60s and this weekend should be the same. Last weekend was so much fun. I hosted a small brunch while the hubby and guys went disc golfing, the two of us checked out a nearby winery, had dinner with friends and we squeezed in a few Oscar-nominated movies before the awards on Sunday. Whew. Busy but so awesome.

image

image

Oh yeah, did I mention the weather was beautiful this weekend? I took the liberty of reading a book outside in a tank top and ugly sunglasses. Glorious.

Thoughts on the Porch

Samantha Gratton

Lately, I’ve really noticed a need for quiet, a need for space and time alone. I pack my schedule tight and love people. I love hearing their stories and being a friend. But the more time I spend with others, the more I’m wanting time alone in the quiet to write or read or frankly, just lay on the couch and watch TV. It’s not glamorous, but it matters.

We threw a party about a month ago, and it was so much fun. We love seeing people we know from different avenues of life all come together in one room. About every hour or so I snuck away. I stood alone in the dark of my bedroom and just breathed it in. I loved that people were there enjoying themselves. I loved seeing so many people all at once and building stronger relationships with them. But I also loved my secret moments of quiet and darkness. I’ve never felt so comfortable walking away and knowing it was okay to do so. No one noticed, not even the husband.

As I sit on the porch this beautiful sunny Sunday morning, I cherish the quiet. I get to breathe in the calm of the morning as the breeze rustles the bushes and the sun warms my toes. The month of March is already packed full, and it’s hardly just begun. Full of friends and out-of-town guests, new challenges and a trip across the country. I’m looking forward to all of it, but I’m also going to consciously seek out the moments like these.

We live in an extroverted world, but we aren’t all extroverted. Even if we may seem like it.

Thursday Three

Samantha Gratton

Ready. Set. Go.

1. Baby showers can never occur with at least one strange game. Gotta love them for it. Saturday I attended a baby shower for a friend from church and everyone oohhed and ahhhed over the cute baby boy clothes. We had two games. The first involved plastic babies frozen in ice cubes, whoever “breaks their water” first wins. The second game involved never saying the word “baby” and collecting safety pins from the people who do say it. In case you were wondering, I totally dominated in the second game and no one even saw it coming. 

2. Oscar season is in full-swing. With the official awards ceremony on Sunday, we are watching a few movies so we can feel cultured and opinionated when they announce the winners. Last night we watched Captain Phillips which equated to two hours of hugging the pillow and trying to pretend it wasn’t totally stressful.

3. Let me just go ahead and put you in a box since we all love that so much. Tonight I joined a friend for some sort of networking event that revolved around a personality test. As someone who has an unhealthy obsession with personality tests, I can easily say it was the most ridiculous one I’ve done. But the “presentation” of someone reading straight from a book likely added to my thoughts on it. Ready for the test? Pick the card that you most relate to. Yep, that’s it. Now you understand about your color and know everything there is to know about you. Unfortunately, if you don’t relate to mimes, I don’t really know what to tell you.

Thursday Three

Samantha Gratton

It feels like last week was forever ago. I couldn’t even tell you why. So many things seem to be happening right now. Lots of exciting possibilities coming up but they all require some work on my part. I’m hoping I can keep up!

1. We do love each other. We celebrated Valentine’s Day with dinner and drinks at what the hubby says might be his new-found favorite restaurant. The steak was great, we had bit of wine and tried to remember what the heck we did for Valentine’s Day last year. Also, we demolished this nutella bread from our favorite bakery.

image

2. The OLYMPICS have taken over. So much emotion and passion and determination and athleticism. Oh yeah and commercials. They’ve been great to watch, but I think we’re both ready to have our nights and weekends back to normal and commercial-free.

3. Late nights bring about all the thoughts. So many ideas and revelations occur late at night for me. Saturday night I took full advantage and wrote some of it out and was so glad I did. I can’t help but wonder, is it that nights we are more naturally inclined for those bright idea moments? Or is it just the first time of the day we have more than two minutes of silence? Is it the first time we really allow ourselves to clear our heads and let our minds wander?

I’ll Never be Famous

Samantha Gratton

I remember the last OLYMPICS when I realized that half of the medalists seemed younger than me. My average, everyday life seemed pretty basic and hardly notable. Today, I can’t say it’s incredibly different.

I’ll never be famous. I won’t be the person you see promoting yogurt or whatever product it is these days along with the other athletes. I won’t be the one jumping off stage into a crowd of fans. If I ever write a book, it won’t be a national bestseller. No one will ever ask for my autograph.

But that’s not what it’s all about. We’re not all supposed to be famous. So we have to ask instead, what? What is the purpose for my life? Because we all have one. You do. I do. It’s true.

Lovely Valentine

Samantha Gratton

Today’s the day. The day that everything is pink or red and covered in love. Maybe you embrace it or maybe you ignore it, but it’s upon us either way.

I once made the mistake of saying Valentine’s Day wasn’t a big deal to me. I meant it, but I didn’t bother to clarify and then was later disappointed. What I mean is that Valentine’s Day does not define a relationship. What happens on Valentine’s Day doesn’t dictate nor indicate how loved you are. That’s not to say you shouldn’t celebrate it. Wear hearts and sing love songs all day long! But know that regardless of where you’re at in life and who you are—you are loved.

That love isn’t just between a couple of lovebirds. Realize the love you have all around you. From dear friends. Family. Teachers. Co-workers. Neighbors. Valentine’s Day may be recognized as the day of love, but it’s the love that happens all year-round that is worth commemorating.

Thursday Three

Samantha Gratton

Whoops. Planned on writing this all day and here I am, down to the wire. Here we go with the Thursday Three!

1. I’m sorry I doubted. After a few “snowstorms” that left a little to be desired over the past month, I didn’t take this one seriously. It was real this time. The state that cried snow caught me off-guard, and we got 6 inches. The hubby got stuck in crazy amounts of traffic for 2.5 hours (for what’s usually a 20 minute drive) and we built a snow creature at midnight like old times. I also had the pleasure of helping our little next door neighbor girl build her very first snowman.

image

image

2. The OLYMPICS. Need I say more? I’m smitten/enthralled/addicted. Go USA! It’s the time of year that I become quite patriotic. I also don’t understand how anyone could ever say “the OLYMPICS aren’t my thing”…what?!

3. Comfy clothes for the win! Between a weekend of heavy OLYMPIC viewing with some family to a snow day, we are quite cozy over here. I can’t deny that it’s been pretty nice. But when we did don real clothes, we had quite a bit of fun with our little niece and nephew at the kids museum.

imageimage

image

Thursday Three

Samantha Gratton

It’s here, it’s here, it’s finally here!! The OLYMPICS! (Bet you thought I was going to say Thursday). Yes, the opening ceremonies are tomorrow, but some of the events are already playing on TV tonight! I’m so excited! Tomorrow I might even wear red, white and blue. This week has been a lot of highs and lows and not much in between, but I’m excited to end it on a high note.

1. Date night is a vital part of any relationship. I wish we were better about setting a night aside for date night because whenever we do, it really helps to have conversations that never seem to get brought up in the day-to-day at home. We hit up the art museum for the Porsche exhibit and ended the night with an entire pie from the pie place down the road (if you’re going to spend that much for two slices, you might as well go for the whole thing).

2. How does one talk about stress, struggles and insecurities gracefully on a blog? I’m not sure that I’ve figured that out yet. I sometimes consider never mentioning the dark days that I just feel kinda worthless and wonder what I’m good at. There’s days that someone gets mad at you and you don’t know how to handle it but to go home and cry it out. Days when you feel alone even when you know that’s far from the truth. This week has had included days like that. I hesitate to talk about it for several reasons—I don’t necessarily want to keep talking about, I don’t need a pity party and don’t really want to whine about it. That said, I decided to share anyway because often our social media culture is conducive to posting only the glory moments. We post the pretty pictures of parties and traveling as if our life is nothing but celebrations and fun. The problem is, it’s just not reality. We all have good moments and bad. Sometimes it’s nice to know you’re not the only one whose life isn’t always picture perfect. 

3. We celebrated Groundhog Eve for the first time ever. Then on Groundhog day we met a real live Groundhog and witnessed the official winter prediction. Honestly, this should be an entire blog post in itself but clearly I’ve been a little behind with my blogging. Let me just tell you that it was awesome. We threw a party and dozens of people brought brown food to join in the festivities. We love hosting this party for so many reasons, but the main one being that it’s really fun for us to introduce our friends to our other friends.