Aven Gets Her Groove Back!

I have entered a self imposed "next phase of my life".  It had to be done.  My life was out of control.  Not in an addictive behavior kind of way, but in a "the joy is gone" kind of way.  I lost my groove!  Well, I never really possessed a "groove" as it were!   But you know what I mean.  I was one stressed out, miserable, no fun to be around chick!


A little history...


I have spent the last 3 1/2 years in one of those "pays well, but sucks the life out of you" jobs.  The part of your life that fuels your creative talents.  The part that inspires you to experiment with a new dish and invite your friends over to be your Guinea pigs, and be able to laugh at yourself if it is a flop, because at least you had a fun evening together with good friends who would do it all over again because you are such a joy to be around.  The part that can't wait to get home from work so that you can piddle around in your garden until dinner is ready...the dinner that you got up early that morning to begin preparations on.  Yeah....well that part of me was gone. 


I used to love to garden, collect orchids, cook, create healthy recipes, entertain, exercise and enjoy the great outdoors.  I had a social life and was quite active in my church, using my talents to give back to others through meals ministries, etc.  I cooked and ate three meals a day with my husband and family.  They loved coming home to the wonderful smells of my cooking.  My kids friends used to ask if they could bring some extras of the "leftovers" that were in their lunches, such as homemade soups, or the famous meatloaf sandwiches.  My yard was beautiful.  All while building and maintaining a successful real estate career.  That was then.


Fast forward to April 2011.  I had been in the previously mentioned job that "pays well but sucks the life out of you" for 3 1/2 years.  I should tell you that when I started there, I was seen as this annoying nice person who refused to let the job get to me and effect my positive outlook on life.  I was going to make a difference in that office! Be a positive force!  You know the line your mom used to say to you about the people you hang around with?  "It is easier to be pulled down by people that it is to lift them up.  Choose your friends carefully!"   Well she was right on so many levels!!!  Not only is this true of your friends, but also those you spend the majority of your day with at work.   Within a year, I had become a different person.  Not that my core values had changed, but my attitude and spirit had been deeply effected.  I mean, not even my 10 a.m. and 3 p.m cups of tea were providing the "aaahhh" moments I needed!  My friends and family had all been encouraging me to leave my job.  In the words of my children when they were young, I needed an attitudy adjustment, BIG TIME!  So on April 29th I gave a months notice that I was leaving, which probably created more stress on me than if I had just given the standard two weeks notice.  Some people never learn!


It is interesting to note the reaction of one of our good friends upon telling them that I was leaving my job.  My husband, David and I were out walking one evening and ran into them. They had been out of town for a couple of weeks and did not know that I had given my notice.  David told them that I would be getting back to my old self soon and our friend finished with "and we won't have to listen to you (that would be me) talk about it anymore".  OUCH!  By the time we got home I was crying and said to my husband, "I have become such an awful person!"  To which he said, "No you haven't, honey.  You're just not as much fun to be around as you used to be."  Now, I know that neither he nor our friend meant their comments the way I took them, but there was something very Freudian about them, to say the least!


So now, here I am, one week into my journey. OK, so I never had a "Groove", as it were.  However, what groove I did have is coming back!  Thursday, I had my first full day of NOT thinking about the mess I left behind in my job, and instead, doing things that are important to me.  And I did them quite well, if I may say so myself!

My creative cooking skills were not a casualty of the last few years of my life, after all!  Wednesday, David proclaimed, after having lunch together prepared by yours truly, that he loved coming home at lunch and having both myself and Millie (aka the maniac) there, all relaxed.  I chose to take that as the compliment it was intended to be!  Then, at dinner, I got a "WOW!" when he took his first bite of the meal that I had prepared for him.  I am not sure who was more shocked, me, that he liked it, or him, that it was good!  :)  He talked about it the whole meal.  And yes, my foodie ego was extremely inflated!


Which brings me to Thursday morning.  My good friend, Tami, (one of the ones that really encouraged me to take this step, had contacted me on Wednesday about having lunch together.  I figured, hey, I am on a roll (and a much tighter budget!), I will make lunch for her here at the house.  I prepared a fresh spring soup that my daughter, Hannah, had posted on her blog, Culture Connoisseur, yesterday and, stealing her idea (hey, that is what a blog is for!) served it with BLT's and a side of fresh fruit.  Tami loved it and took some leftovers home, along with the recipe.  We finished with homemade (from scratch, as in BUTTER!) brownies with ice cream.  We had a lovely lunch and a wonderful 2+ hours of visiting on the pool deck.  It is gorgeous outside right now in Vero Beach! 


Friday brought the first day of Granny Camp, as my friend Sue calls it, and a sleepover with our granddaughter, Julianna.  She will be a year old this month!  This is something that my husband and I intend to make happen on a regular basis now.  We had a ball with her all day and then took her to our friends, the Wilkerson's, for a wonderful dinner and great fellowship! Wait a minute, is that a social life I am developing?!


My house is clean, my food is good, my dog and husband are happy, and I am relaxed and ready to start figuring out the next chapter of my life.  I think this calls for a cup of tea!

Aaahhh...  :)