This year has been quite interesting for me. As a family, we are making some major changes (but that's for another time). I've also gone down a road of self-discovery, which has been very informative, albeit unplanned. Regardless of how or why this happened, I'm so glad it did. For me, it's not all about learning new things about myself but also admitting things that I never really thought much about before. Here's what I've learned so far:
Realization #1. My relationship with coffee is complicated. I drink a lot of coffee. Mostly because I have two young(ish) children, both very high energy and both special needs. I'm tired ALL. THE. TIME. I need caffeine to get through the day. But here's where the admissions/confessions start. I don't like coffee that much. Ok, I do like it some. But I don't like that I need it so much. I hardly taste it anymore because I drink so much and I would honestly rather drink something else. I really prefer hot tea. It's so much more flavorful to me. I drink coffee over tea because I need the caffeine and because that's kind of expected of me.
Realization #2. Anyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE mint. Peppermint, spearmint, wintergreen, doesn't matter. I love it all! In fact, I used to eat toothpaste as a kid because I like it so much (and I'm not joking). I have discovered another flavor I enjoy almost as much: cinnamon. This has been really fun for me. It started with cinnamon tea from my sister. Oh my goodness, it was SO yummy! So I started exploring this. Cinnamon ice cream is good too, especially with almonds. But the cinnamon tea, Chai, anything like that is my new obsession.
Realization #3. This is probably going to make me some enemies but here it goes: I don't really like chocolate. It's ok. I eat it from time to time, usually combined with mint (see Realization #2). But if given the choice between chocolate and something else, I will usually pick something else. It's just not really my thing. But again, it's kind of an expectation that women like wine and chocolate - I don't really like either one.
Realization #4. I am freaking awesome! Ok, this isn't really a new realization. What has been new, however, is how often I'm reminded of it. And I'm not sure if I'm being reminded of it more or if I'm actively seeing it more. But does it matter? Nope! I know I'm awesome. An awesome mom, an awesome wife, an awesome woman, an awesome professional, I'm just awesome. And I don't care if nobody but me sees it. Which is a pretty cool feeling.
So what do I do with these realizations? For starters, I need to act on them. I don't like coffee as much as I like tea, so I need to start drinking more tea. And since I've discovered my new love of cinnamon, I should start trying teas with cinnamon flavors. I'm sure those things will lead to even more realizations.
So why am I telling you all of this? Because I want all of YOU to start down a road of self-discovery, too. Mine was unintentional, but yours can be your own doing. Start thinking about things you like or don't like. Have you been honest with yourself and others about these things? If not, you should. If it means making changes in your life, do it! I promise it will be worth it. Maybe it will lead to even more discovery, which would be so fun! Whether you are dropping things you don't like or adding things you do like, wouldn't that make life so much better?
The other reason I'm telling you this is because we all deserve to realize how awesome we are. And I want that for all of you. It will take time and it might not be easy, but you know what? It's OK.
