disappointments

Happiness Seeker

Posted on June 20, 2016 by Gigi in My Life 2 Comments

A year ago I was in the throes of my son’s high school graduation, transitioning to being an official empty nester, as my son prepared to depart to upstate New York for college while at the same time juggling my young photography business. I’ve been thinking about time and how we can mark our lives by these little landmarks. Birth. Preschool. High School. College. Career. Marriage. Children. Repeat the cycle with your own kids and add in some unfortunate mishaps such as, death, illness, unemployment, aging parents, addiction, divorce, etc. and you have this thing called life.

I’ve learned that it is those unpredictable moments that keep life interesting- those moments when you feel literally on the edge, those moments where your heart just drops to the ground with no warning, moments where you wonder how will you go on? Like your son coming home after Thanksgiving and not returning to school, or a friend unbeknownst to you is suffering from depression and decides to check out permanently. These moments reinforce how important it is to embrace each day and live your life to the fullest.

Deleting what no longer gives you pleasure and restructuring your life to the best of your ability. Like when my son came home from school I encouraged him to take some cooking classes, which he did and as a result he catered a dinner party for 16 people a few weeks ago, discovering a passion that he did not know he had.

I’ve always been a “happiness seeker”. I don’t function well under duress, matter of fact I shut down totally, rejecting the source of madness. This started a long time ago when I was a child, my mother and father would argue most of the time, loud screaming matches and I remember going into the closet and hiding until it was over. I was also the person, who would walk off a job not knowing how I was going to pay next month rent because I was not “happy” with the situation.

I will always continue to grow as a woman as long as I am on the planet- embracing my passions, regardless of naysayers, willing to take risks, willing to change something that is not working, understanding that failure is a big part of the growth and is a good thing.

Happy Monday! I know it has been a while –

Xoxo,

Gigi

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Posted on April 7, 2015 by Gigi in Quotes Comments Off

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It has taken me a long time to learn this. If you don’t expect much you can’t be disappointed…I however always want the most from everyone, it’s my nature, but I am realizing everyone is not wired like that. One of my flaws is always wanting success for everyone, I will navigate the path and want others to follow, and when they get sidetracked or go backwards I’m disappointed instead of accepting maybe it is something they are not really interested in doing.

We are all so different in so many ways, I don’t know if it is an age thing or what, but I am not as accommodating as I used to be. I’m more of an observer, taking little mental notes, but always figuring out a plan and knowing what I can do to make it happen. I never give up on anyone, but I’ve learned that it is difficult to instill desire in another person if they don’t feel it or crave it from within. Everyone has their priorities and once you realize and accept that their priorities are not necessarily yours you can keep it moving and continue to work on your plan or align yourself with someone who is on the same path. This new awareness comes from a place of acceptance, not anger at all, basically accepting others from the level they are operating from and not expecting more than they are capable of giving.

I often tell my kids, “I can’t want this more than you do…” and I really mean it. We as parents sometimes can create what is perceived as a heartbreak from our children, when in reality it is simply our children wanting something different than what we want for them. My son wants to study art, and I have had some well meaning people ask me “what is he going to do with that?” and my answer is “be happy”… Growing up my well meaning family expected me to embark on a traditional career, I wanted to do something in fashion or art, but that dream was squashed and hence for a long time I was a “disappointment”.

I’m fortunate that my husband is the same way, no matter what obstacles are presented, no matter how difficult, he will always work on finding a solution. In the 27 years we have been together we have had some real challenges along the way, and have overcome the impossible at times ie. IRS, bankruptcy, lawsuits, just to name a few, but you get it…

I’m at a place in life where lots are changes are taking place, my son will be going away to college, my husband’s business is changing rapidly, and I am figuring out who I am as an artist and what my business model is going to look like in the next 6 months, year, 5 years. The one thing I know for sure though, is that if something starts to feel uncomfortable, I will figure it out before it gets to disaster mode.

Happy Tuesday XOXO,

Gigi

disappointments

Happiness Seeker

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