different

Thursday Three

Thursday Three

Samantha Gratton

Where has the week gone? Just where?? I feel like the beginning of each week (you know, the Friday before) everything is totally clear and I have a wide open schedule. Try to catch me near the end of the week, and I have suddenly every moment packed in with no extra availability. The good news is, I’m keeping busy and it’s been fun. Today though, almost all my meetings got rescheduled, and I found some good time to work on some freelance projects.

1. I’m not where I was six months ago. Maybe from the outside I look like the same me and there’s definitely a core that has stayed the same, but I think my approach has shifted. A few different things came up this week that made me realize it, whether it was coming across old emails or considering opportunities and goals. Honestly, I’ve enjoyed being who I am now a lot more than who I was then. I had hoped to one day get to say that, so it’s likely I’ll have to expound upon that further at a later date.

2. I’m a prepper. I mean a planner…for our trip this spring. Wait, did you think I was a doomsday prepper? What?! (Quite the show though). This week I’ve been working on a little bit of Spanish with the Duolingo app (which is amazing). Further, I bought a new backpack! I was so thrilled that as soon as I brought it home I stuffed it with pillows and a bag of oranges to “practice” carrying it around. For nearly two days I had it strapped to my back. Once I take it out on some real adventures, I’ll tell you all about it, but for now, enjoy this embarrassing picture of me looking way too excited.

BACKPACKMy husband calls this my photo face…apparently I only make such a look when a camera is involved. I’d like to dispute such claims, but looking at last week’s Thursday Three…I can see where he’s coming from.

3. Remember your dreams. Sometimes it’s easy to say you have dreams and then instead of acting on them, watch Netflix five nights a week and then say there isn’t enough time in the day. There’s not enough time in the day. So cut some things out and set aside time focus on your dreams/goals. Time to think them through and also time to implement them. They won’t happen otherwise, trust me.

It’s a New Life

Samantha Gratton

It didn’t end when we got the keys to our new place. Or when we completed our first week of work. Or even, the first time we said “y’all” without a giggle. Everything about this move is still a process as we change, as we grow.

I can’t speak for moves that are more job-related, as ours was far from it. We just showed up here one day and became a part of this city. I don’t mean to bore you as I know you are well aware that we moved, but sometimes it still blows me away. We got here and reinvented our lives it seemed. I almost wish we had dyed our hair green or something because no one would have known the difference. Our routines are different, our friends are different, our identities—even slightly different.

When we lived in Iowa, people knew us by various things, be it music or personal history. When we moved, we dropped all of that. Parts of our life are no longer as big as they used to be, while others have become bigger. Some parts are yet to be determined. It’s interesting to see what stuck. What was innately “us” regardless of people, places and things. While other elements of us may have only been for a season, there are certain talents and tendencies that won’t go away.

So do it. Make a change. Travel. Leap. Move. Do something crazy. Challenge yourself. It may not all be fun or easy. You might end up more confused than when you started. But the core of who you are can take it. You’ll grow and change, and the things that remain the same may tell you more about yourself than the things that changed.

So this is Christmas…

Samantha Gratton

This Christmas will be undoubtedly different. It will be the first that either of us will not see our parents within the two-week timeframe of the holiday. It will be the first time in our married life the hubby will not be working tirelessly in the days and weeks leading up to (and day of) Christmas. It will be the first year in our new state with far less Christmas parties to attend and perhaps less need for winter clothing.

All of this I knew about and have been mentally preparing myself for during the past few months. You want to know the kicker? We’re likely going to forgo the Christmas tree. This one caught me off-guard, and I can’t say I was totally on board with it. Logistically, there are a few reasons such as…we sold our fake tree before moving and the cost and maintenance of buying a real or artificial tree isn’t worth it this year. But still. Those issues could be overcome if we really wanted to, right? The more I wrestle with it, the more I realize it must be this way.

We have so many things. Things still in boxes; things we’ve finally purged. While it can be nice to take comfort in these things, we certainly don’t need them all. We have a tub of decorations and a recent round of dollar store Christmas decor for our Christmas cards. Have no fear, there will still be evidence of “Christmas” in our home. We aren’t planning on becoming little Scrooges and dumping cynicism on everyone’s Christmas spirit. We’ll have a tree again in our lives. We aren’t anti-Christmas or even anti-Christmas trees.

When I dig deep—it seems that for me, the tree has been one of the primary factors of Christmas. And why? There’s nothing wrong with having a tree. It probably has all sorts of symbolism and tradition and good things surrounding it, not to mention, it’s pretty. Somehow along the way it became an expectation and a crutch for me. The tree does not equal Christmas. Neither do stockings or seeing Santa at the mall or eating too many cookies or exchanging gifts. It’s not the music or the lights or the Nutcracker. And I seriously love (almost) all of those things! But like any good thing, if I can’t go without it, then I’m valuing it more than the one thing. The one thing that Christmas is truly about.