update

Employee of the Month

Samantha Gratton

Employee of the Month | Moving Peaces

I’ve got an announcement: I’m officially the Employee of the Month. Yes, thank you for your applause, kind words, and flowers. This is just such an amazing moment for me. 

Where at, you ask? Oh, uh…my little yellow house. So I guess you could say there wasn’t much competition, BUT the hard work and effort was all there. And no, my husband did not bestow upon me such prestige and glory, it was self-awarded.

Alright, jokes and sarcasm aside, I thought I’d give you a little update on what I do during the day. Frankly, it changes all the time and has been an interesting journey, but I’m really grateful for it.

Some of you know, I have worked in communications and project management for years. That work has allowed me to think creatively, plan strategically, and work with all sorts of awesome clients and businesses. It seemed the most logical step was to do just that and set my schedule and workload around what worked best for me.

So, I’ve been adding new clients who need me to write their blog posts or send their newsletters or help them create a timeline or a process. I have my own LLC and created a simple website to sum it up. I get to decide the clients I take on and have to keep myself accountable for the work. I have continued to have clients coming in and have learned so much in the process. I feel this is exactly what I’m supposed to be doing right now.  

I won’t deny that it has been hard to know where to start or what to do at times. I took on a part-time job for quite awhile to make sure there were consistent paychecks coming in, and I have had to really consider what type of work I want to do. It has been a continual work in progress as I work through different projects and look forward to upcoming clients and assignments.

That is the long and short of it.

If you find yourself saying, “I love her writing, I should hire her!” then please go right ahead. We can talk more about specifics and see if it’s a fit. If you are worried that from now on I will be self-promoting my work in every post here from this point forward, then you are sorely mistaken. I think work and what we do each day is important, but I also think it’s a mere piece of who we are and what life is. I most certainly enjoy my work, but it isn’t all that I am…and I plan to keep it that way.

 

What I Have

Samantha Gratton

The last week, two weeks, month have been a total blur. I made mention of my job situation in the beginning of May, but it didn’t stop there. About a week later my grandma passed away. A grandma who was dearly loved but had suffered with Parkinson’s disease for far too long. Suddenly I found myself with more time than I could have imagined, enabling me to make a trip back to the Midwest to be with family. As much as I feel like I should sit around wallowing sometimes, I’m grateful that the timing of things worked out the way it did. 

What now? Time will tell. With everything going on, I haven’t really had the time to reflect on it all and come up with my plans, goals and dreams for the future. I have, however, been able to spend time with some wonderful people who have been so encouraging and considerate. I am surrounded by so much good, it’s unbelievable. Selfishly, I want to act as though everything in life isn’t fair. When those little waves of panic hit where I realize I have no idea what tomorrow will look like, I want to hide under the covers and cry for a good long time. For fleeting moments I want to shout “woe is me!” or throw a fit at the injustices of the world. But I can’t. I have so much. People have shown incredible love and care for me/us. My life is good. I have such joy. 

Sometimes I worry that saying it out loud will cause something else bad to happen just to test me.Sure, I’m tired and stressed and unsure of what my future holds. I haven’t slept much lately and still get sick from time to time. I doubt my abilities and question my dreams. I don’t know where all of this is going, and it completely freaks me out sometimes. Saying I have joy doesn’t mean it has been easy. I want it to all be better, to suddenly come together all tied up with a bow, just because I’m still smiling about it. But I don’t get that guarantee. None of us do. 

So, bear with me as I will likely have ups and downs while facing the unknown. Today though, let’s focus on the joy. 

Thursday Three

Samantha Gratton

A lot of people do the “Friday Fives” post on their blog. You know, write about five things that are happening and maybe throw in some energetic photos from the week. I love reading those and seeing those smiling faces, but it’s just not me. Because you know what? On Fridays, I’m just happy to have made it to the weekend and would rather sip a Bellini or margarita at the end of the day with no more obligations, if even for a few hours. Solution: Thursday Three. The perfect time to give a little update with a few less items to list off. It even has some alliteration (th + th) and that’s when you know you’ve officially made it as a writer. So here it goes—

1. My leg still hurts. I know, with all the pressure of this first listing on the very first ever Thursday Three, number one fell a little short. But that’s the truth. If you weren’t aware, I tore my calf almost three weeks ago. One week ago they gave me a sweet boot to match my crutches. The accessories are just amazing. There has been some progress though and physical therapy seems to be helping quite a bit. Quote of the month, “Maybe you can find a project on pinterest to do something with these crutches when you are done using them.” -Hubby.

2. Hole-in-the-walls have the best pie. But for real. Maybe I’ll get better at grabbing a photo next time, but let me just say that black bottom pecan pie in the south does not disappoint. The hubby and I had an impromptu date night on Tuesday to discuss some upcoming life decisions (details to follow) and ended up at a new favorite called Side Street Cafe. They have some sort of charm and a ridiculously long and spectacular list of sandwiches.

3. We really love Raleigh. There’s a lot of new discovery each month as we get more acquainted with our surroundings and every once in a while, we look at each other and comment on how glad we are to have moved here. New restaurants, new concert spots, new neighborhoods, new routines. As of yet, it seems we will be here for awhile and we’re really excited about it. That said, Des Moines will always have a piece of my heart, so I am excited to be headed back for a visit next month!