Showing up

 I don't ever want to go to the gym... I could come up with a hundred or 3 million reasons that I have other more important things to do.  But I go ..not as often as I should which is silly because I am ALWAYS glad I went.  Because showing up is the deal.   Getting there, ready or not and doing the stuff that I am avoiding.  Starting is always harder than it should be but when I'm done, I feel like I own the world.  The whole thing, all of it is mine. At least at that moment..

I think this may apply to a whole lot of life things.  Creating reasons why I can't or don't want to do it today.  I know I could write a book about how to not do stuff.  But as always, good things happen when I actually do show up.. when I make space and time for the things I know I will love and want once I'm in the middle of it.  That's sort of where I am with life right now, wanting to be and do more but still avoiding the showing up and just being present.  Participating in the good life moments by just being there....

Yesterday I showed up big time. I made stuff, I wrote here, I took pictures of the stuff I made, listed them in my online shop, sent the links and pictures to social media pages and dropped an order off at the post office to ship out.  It was a good productive day, nothing outstanding but it was the kind of day I am here for.

This morning I wanted to eat cinnamon raisin toast and sleep in til 10.  Instead I got up, had a healthy breakfast and headed to the gym. You see when I'm stuck in my worries, I self medicate with naps and carbs.  Today I didn't do that. I met a friend for a good workout and rewarded myself with an amazing salad. Came home, cleaned the kitchen well and got to work in my sewing space looking out at the trees.   It wasn't  big or fancy, just doing the things to take me where I want to go..  One day at a time, having a plan and purpose and being present.  Showing up for myself; showing up for life...  It's self care, it's a daily practice and effort but so much more fulfilling and effective than naps and toast.

Til tomorrow.

Love Wildly
Barbara

One Day at a Time

It's time to be committed to the writing of things.  What I know best is where I am in the middle of this middle age thing.  Maybe I don't know it all but I surely have overthought life and all the things that got me from there to here and in trying to be present, maybe putting it all into this space is the best way to navigate and share .  So this spot will be my safe place, talk about my day, speak my truth and connect to the world kind of place. I'll hopefully grow as a writer and stop overthinking and letting the unfolding of this part of life happen.  The story of my story.

I've had some incredible moments of sureness and purpose in the past couple of months since my day job ended. I've also had some horrible feelings of failure.  Keep in mind I haven't done much in the way of making things happen, I worked a quilt retreat and watched snow fall in the mountains for days. I've reorganized my work space and 12 bins of fabric so I can find my "supplies". I've weathered an awful cold/flu thing that roared through my family.  I've been so sure that my little handmade business would explode with all the things I made and I was so sure I would make enough to pay my bills. And to be sure, I've had some sweet things happen but truly I haven't been as productive as I should or need to be. Which makes being discouraged and fearful a really silly thing, because I haven't done the work that I know will take me where I want to be. I let other stuff take up my time.

Last night I let this huge doubt cloud engulf me and I lost my vision for a few hours. I cried a lot in overthinking, frustration and sense of failing (when I haven't even truly tried!!! omg the emotional minefields I can create!!). I filled out applications for jobs I don't want through tears and unsureness. My bank account is pitiful and empty and I keep wondering how it is at my age I am here, unsure and low on resources. But the thing is, I wouldn't let my children fall down this rabbit hole. I would tell them that they hold the answers to all their worries in their own hands. I would tell them to breathe, step outside and remember their plans and purpose.  And I would make them drink water, stretch, go to the gym and get some sleep. And then do the next thing they are here to do...I would guide them through the self care they need to remember who they are and what they are capable of. Yes I get that I need to parent myself through this crisis of my own making.

I am here because my life didn't travel a safe straight line.  I am here because I believe in something that I can't quite put my hands on but know is important and real. I am here because I'm making space for the things that matter which includes letting my creative soul come out into the light even when the doubt cloud is hovering. So today I drank some water, stretched my body, worked out and slept well.  I ate a good breakfast and got to work. In my pajamas, with my hair in the messy ponytail I slept in. I made a to do list of 10 things and am working my way through.  And I'm here, writing stuff down because I love the writing down of stuff. I had a couple of sales, I have a growing stack of cute things that will be sent to my favorite wholesale shop in the world and I listed stuff in Etsy. That is progress of a tangible nature.  I am here feeling less like a failure and more like a girl who is building what she intends to build. Because I did the things I meant to do.

Yesterday was my dad's birthday and it's been a while since I could sit and talk with him. I miss his way of listening and then teaching me to sort it out. I wondered what he would say if I told him all the stuff that is weighing on my heart and I remembered a sign he had in his woodshop classroom.  It said " your mother isn't in this class, clean up after yourself"    That was his way, take care of your own stuff.  I think if he was around, he would tell me to stop crying and wasting time looking for jobs I don't want.  Be realistic, do the work, make the things, work the plan and don't let doubt win. I think as always he would be right. Just keep going and stop crying and wringing my hands.. Remember  stand out under the stars each night to remember how much I love a curvy road.

So that's that..  Where I am today.  I'll see you all tomorrow, you can count on that.

Love Wildly
Barbara

Me

Daughter
Sister
Mother
Wife
Grandmother
Friend
Worker

Maker, big dreamer, truth speaker, story teller, love giver, star gazer, open hearted, wild and willful. flower gatherer.
Clumsy, easy crier, loud talker, constant singer, emotion wearer, peace seeker. Ninja warrior princess when called.
Hug giver, strength chaser, moved by music, frugal, creative, afternoon napper, food lover, comforter. Conflicted and sure. Heart aching, love craver. over sharer, constant talker. cowgirl without a horse.
Squirrel brain, midnight thinker, moon dancer, barefoot always, hair tangled, lie hater,  love and truth , avoider, procrastinator, bad joke teller, at last unbroken. Simple style. Cluttered and uncluttering. Wishful wanderer, brave and fearful, over-thinker, bad saver.
Business builder, fabric hoarder, needle and thread, book reader, too frequent smart phone user, self care giver.... rain, mountains, movie musicals, good quotes, grey tee shirts, clouds, ferris wheels, small birds, animals, beach, breeze, sun, freckles,curves, simple and complex, health and fitness finder, soul tender.  Live out louder. Wild flower.  Me

Love Wildly
Barbara

Plan A

I must have started this particular post a thousand times in my head, in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep.  Which has been most nights lately.   The not sleeping thing.   And those thousand posts sounded much better than what is flying out of my fingertips in the daylight but I'm here and committed to this....the writing of things and telling of stories.  So please stay with me while I find the words that I had in the night....

I am here in the first week after my part time quilt shop job ended.  Also, without my sports mom duties that also ended.   2 big parts of my world are gone....loose ends....   I'm all in for my little table top business. Wildflower 57, my heart and soul made into cute things and this blog for writing of good words.. I'm here for all of that... .  My Plan A.  It is time to see it through, put it all on the line and with blind faith in nothing but myself.  It was way easier to look at it as something in the future, to look forward to while I schemed and plotted my course.  Way easier than being in the first week and waking up in the middle of EVERY single night wondering what kind of crazy I am.

Oh and did I mention that my only ever professional career was over 20 years ago, I was a paralegal and department administrator for law firms.  I had all the suits and navy pumps and a working girl haircut. I carried a brief case style bag full of notepads and pens and wrote lots of stuff down.  I went to court and I spent time with my nose in law books, writing legal documents.  I was good at it but that was a very long time ago.  I'm outdated and not relevant in that world anymore and honestly that's okay.  

So I'm here in my work room, surrounded by all the gorgeous fabrics, vintage sheets, buttons and threads.  I am here to make things and write words and build my company to where I know it can go.  I am 60 now, in the middle of this re-creating and redefining of my life and my purpose..  Or maybe I'm just falling back into what I always knew was my place.  It's terrifying and yet I'm giddy except in the middle of the night when sleep is hard. I'm having trouble finding my starting spot if I'm totally honest, so here I am trying to step over my fears and not wake them up. I'm showing up and putting fabric into stacks, vintage sheet fabrics to mix up, cut up and sew back together.  Trusting my instincts and just being here in the midst of it.  I will stop being tentative and overthinking and let it fly as it will. I don't know if I am out of my mind or if this is the best idea ever but I'm here to find out. Because my friends....I have NO PLAN B.  I have $23 in  my bank account and half a tank of gas. I have this room I call the Tree Fort, my sewing machine, I have my squirrel party imagination, creative drive and a fierce desire to boss this business into profitability.  I have blind silly never ending, insane trust  in the things that whisper my name...I'm hurling myself over the edge of safety and comfort.... This ....is.... it...and I'm here..

Mostly what I know is that whatever comes, however this all goes....it will be okay.   Those other things had to end to make space for this and whatever comes next.  Change is not easy even if it takes us to a better  or a different place that holds something important.  The process is messy and sharp and hard. Letting go of things that mattered is a twisty turny process, the memories of the best of it hold on tight and make it hard to wiggle free.  But there is something waiting for us on the other side.  In the space left by the things that had to go... life moves on, the tide comes in and sleep will come.... mostly.... I will be okay..  I will be okay.. I will be okay.

Love Wildly,

B

Wild Daisy in the Sun

As happens at the end of every year,  I do a little assessing of where I am. It's not a bad thing to take stock and refresh ...make plans and list hopes . Not a bad thing at all.   Especially for the over thinkers, worriers and dreamers.  It's the perfect time to evaluate and plot the course for the 12 months ahead . Fresh starts and big ideas...

I like to create a theme for myself, built around a word or a notion that fits where I am in life and where I want the next year to take me.  The story I want to write for myself.  And this year especially seems to be the blankest of pages waiting for life to scribble itself  all over.   Change is the new normal in my world...my sports mom life is over, my youngest is heading into his last semester of High School, my job is ending and I will never again have a crappy Christmas (that's a story for another day)...so I'm left with trying to figure out what I want....and what I've figured out is that I want more. In all caps....MORE. More of what is good.... more taking care of me, more financial security, more of my handmade business, more writing, more making, more of my path, more health, more fitness, more travel, more of my children and grandchildren, more family, more of my besties, more taking chances, more time well spent, more peace, more happiness, more fun, more love and more life...my life, the one I choose, so much more of that.  MORE...which means I also want less...

Less worry, less over thinking, less sadness, less feeling powerless, less clutter of all kinds, less of what is bad or heavy and oh my goodness....LESS WHINING... less complaining about what is wrong and more fixing it so that it is all right. Less thinking I have no control when it's actually my life in my own hands...Less allowing what feels like an itchy life sweater...  I think you get it...More of what is good so there is no room for anything else...filling up on MORE

"Turn your face to the sun and the shadows will fall behind you"

~Maori proverb

 This photo by @sacraluna on Instagram caught me this morning and along with the proverb are my 2018.  Wild Daisies growing in the sun...shadows behind them.  That is how I feel and want to be, growing wild, face to the sun .....  

The best of everything to you all this year, I hope you will stay with me for the MORE to come. Plot your course and come with me. <3

Love Wildly,

Barbara

Just Like Fire

 I turned 60 a few weeks ago.  I whined a whole lot about it, partly in disbelief that I am an age that I always considered to be beyond my best years.  That was until I got here and it's sort of a jump in and enjoy it or cry and be a sadpants whiney baby.  Sadpants whiney baby doesn't sound so fun.  So I find myself asking myself "how does it really feel Barbara Wiggins...to be 60"  and I will tell you.  It feels like fire.  It feels like the volcano inside of me that has been bubbling under the thin surface is coming out to play and it's not going to be gentle or quiet at all..unless gentle and quiet are what I want at that moment. I am seriously not going to take much of anything that doesn't feel like it's working in my favor.

Let me be clear. I'm not angry at anyone.  The things that I have let hold me down and back, that's on me...., the notion that I have little choice in the matter of my own life, the excuses I make for my situation whatever that may be, also on me. I bought into other people's stories and promises with no proof that they were true....That shit stops now.  ( oh ..I forgot to warn you that there may be some cussing in this post.  I'm not sorry but if it offends you, I totally get it and you can get out right now before I go a little deeper).... So as I was saying.  I'm not angry at all. I'm just not interested in running all my actions, words, wardrobe choices, hairstyles, thoughts or feelings by anyone else for approval.  You can call it defiance, I call it waking the Hell up.

There have been a couple of things on my mind that got me to this place right here and right now.  ...First of all my lovely part time quilt shop job is going away.  The bosses are retiring and the shop is closing.  I have so enjoyed my 4 years there, I 've learned so very much but I've diverted my attention away from my own business and lately I've found myself sharp edged and easily frustrated which tells me, I'm ready for this even as bittersweet as it is.  I love the girls I work with and am hopeful we will find time for each other going forward.  When this news broke, I had a huge overflow of hot emotions...a crazy hot lava volcanic explosion  that clearly needed to be sorted out.  Fear, sadness, frustration, ,worry ......all of it....blew out of me with such a ferocity that I didn't understand or expect. So maybe, most certainly, the timing of this change while unforeseen, is not a bad thing at all.

And then this...my youngest son is finishing his last football season... which means his senior year is moving by at light speed.  My life has been for 35 plus years about taking care of my kids and while I have failed in many ways, my intention and love for them and what they need have been my driving force.  I have literally built my life around who needs what from me.  I've made job decisions and life decisions based on nurturing other people and being needed .   That being needed full time is waning. My older kids are nurturing their own babies and doing a far better job than I could ever do.  My youngest are 20 and 17 and I need to step off and let them do more of their own taking care of things so they are ready for the big leaving they keep talking about.  They have big plans to move out and onward together and while it's not imminent...it's getting closer and will happen before I blink 20 more times.  I must have my feet under me without depending on my children for my emotional and life balance.

I stood under the stars the other night with tears and fears all falling down around me. The cool air always soothes my spirit and the breeze whispers sweet love into my ear.  And as clear as anything, I heard "it's time to do what you are here to do"....It sounded a whole lot like my dad's voice and I imagine if I could possibly have 5 minutes with him , I would ask him what I should do.  And he would say "you got yourself here, you can get yourself anywhere you want to go, figure it out"..because he wasn't about finding my answers, he was about asking the questions and letting me find my own solutions...which is why I can change a tire and siphon gas....but that's for another time..


So here is to my 60 and beyond, and to the fire that came with the years I have lived.  I don't think I was ready for this place or time before now.  My friends all say this is the best time, I believe them now... it's absolutely time I get it..  I'm letting the fire out to play, my spark has returned and I have big purpose and plans for myself that I'm excited about....  I'll be loud, I'll be quiet, I'll dance or skip or nap...I'll create, read, wear, eat and say what I want and when I want. I've earned the right to be here in all my glory darn it and while I hope the people I love will get it and love me more for all of my firey stuff showing up.... I'm left with the question...."how does 60 feel Barbara Wiggins?". the answer is ...it feels like fire, the very best kind....It feels like life...


"Just like fire, burnin' up the way
If I could light the world up for just one day
Watch this madness, colorful charade
No one can be just like me anyway
Just like magic, I'll be flying free
I'mma disappear when they come for me
I kick that ceiling, what you gonna say?
No one can be just like me anyway
Just like fire" 
~Pink, Just Like Fire~

Love Wildly
B

The Gift of Perspective

.My favorite constellation is the Big Dipper, it's easy to find and from my backpacking and camping trips in my youth, it was always for me a way to get my bearings while in the dark of the mountains.  I look for it every single night as I stand barefoot on the damp ground no matter where I am. My feet on the Earth  and star watching centers my soul no matter what the day has handed me.  The Big Dipper looks over my mom,  my siblings and their families, my children who are scattered around, their spouses and my grandchildren.  It looks over my girlfriends, it watches over me me and everyone I care about. It looks over our dark world.  and just over the handle of the Big Dipper is a big dark empty spot in the sky. Or so I thought...  this is what is really there.

Can you even believe that beauty???? We can't see it because it's so far away but the Hubble telescope can because it sits and waits for the light to come through.  Someone on Earth created the tool to see farther than we can imagine.  I find that to be a wonderful thought.  There is so much more than what we can see.  Let me say that again.... THERE IS SO MUCH MORE THAN WHAT WE SEE.

*******************************************************************************

You guys... I wrote the above on a Sunday October 1...  Thinking about amazing stars and things like that.  I was texting with a dear friend who was in Las Vegas. At the Route  91 Harvest concert.  And then her texts changed... at 10:38  

"OMG There is shooting everywhere"

  

There was more  but none of it made sense.  My friend, her husband and another friend had been in the middle of one of the worst mass shootings in our nation's history and my blood turned cold with fear and worry.  I got a call from her from the airport the next morning to let me know they were okay and heading home. Exhausted, scared, traumatized and so ready to hug their children. I didn't even know what to say except that I loved them and grateful that they were safe.

It's taken me a bunch of days to find words and even now as I type it feels so insignificant, far better minds than mine have contemplated the nature of our collective anger, hurt and shock.  I don't have the ability to do more than offer my perspective and thoughts.  

I wasn't at the concert, I have never had to run for my life or be so afraid, yet I feel changed... This shooting....fires all summer in the Northwest,  floods, hurricanes and now my state of California is on fire...it's all grabbed my attention. So much real suffering and loss.   I've allowed myself to be the hostess of some ginormous  pity parties lately...which is craziness because life is pretty sweet for me and I am ashamed that at times I have taken the best of it for granted and wallowed in the stuff that isn't meeting my expectations. I've let stupid petty words and actions undo me and given away  time and energy to situations that aren't deserving of such time and energy. I've allowed little things to be bigger things and dwelled when dwelling served no purpose. Wasted time and emotion on things that didn't matter much. What can I do in the face of everything that is going on?  Stop it . That's what.  I can do better first for myself so I am available as a human being for bigger and more important things. I can love my people even deeper and show them every chance I get that they mean the world to me. I can be kinder, slower to anger and goodness, I can stop holding one bit of judgement or assumption in my heart. I can raise my standards of behavior and fix the words that slip out of my mouth. And every morning when I wake up in a warm home with enough food for my children, I can remember that these things at not to be taken lightly.

I can do small things rather than nothing.  People's lives have been changed in all the rolling disasters that we are experiencing right now.  I can't fix it all but I surely can love a little deeper and appreciate a whole lot more.   Appreciate wildly the gifts and blessings in my world. Be positive and shining in all things.   Stop whining  and just  live my best life... regardless. Give more than I get, love more than I cry, let people know that they are seen and that they matter.  Appreciate Appreciate Appreciate.  Because there at in the midst of all of this, I believe there are  still days upon days of goodness and possibility. I believe in the middle of chaos, the best of us comes to the surface and we will learn to hold on to each other a little more and find what binds us together and reach out a hand in anyway we can. I believe in the middle of it all, we are changed for the better...

So above the Big Dipper, when you go out and look at the stars, you will see that big blank space, remember it is actually filled with the brilliant and colorful light of  a few trillion stars and galaxies,  you can't see them but they are most certainly there, waiting patiently for us to look hard and long enough.  And in the midst of what feels like endless disaster and tragedy, there will be trillions of points of  light that will carry people through, I know I want to be that.....   Perspective, gratitude and love....count on those....

Love Wildly, Radiate Love

Barbara