One of the reasons that I think many of you keep coming back to the blog (and for that I thank you) is that I’m real, I’m honest and even though I love sparkly things…and sweets…I sugarcoat nothing. With that being said, I am going to be brutally honest with you today my friends…
THE STORY
…I am having moments every single day (and occasionally the entire day) when I am really struggling with all of this. I realize that you know what I mean by “all of this”, and I also realize that many (most) of you are really struggling too.
In my last post I was full of good intentions and wrote that during this surreal period of time while Earth is for all intents and purposes closed for business, I wanted to post a mix of pertinent real-time material and mindless fluff to provide an amusing distraction. However I have found that I have not yet reached the place in my mindset where I am able to produce mindless fluff.
Seriously, the sh*t has gotten real. Life as we all know it has ground to a screeching halt for an indeterminate amount of time; and that is a whole lot of difficult and unbelievable information to process.
Hence the reason I’ve ghosted all of you both on the blog and on social media. This post has been sitting in draft form for over a week and a half now. It’s not that I can’t write, it’s that I don’t want to be the literal Debbie Downer (see what I did there) in the crowd and drag you all down with me.
But then, through the haze of Cheetos dust and manic closet cleaning something occurred to me…we are all going through these emotions to varying degrees so there is someone out there who will benefit from reading my words.
For those of you looking for some mindless distraction though, I have a little something coming up soon for you too…my unbiased in-depth analysis of The Tiger King. For me it was like watching a family reunion, but with really big cats instead of pot belly pigs, goats and 67 house cats…so stay tuned.
For those of you who are struggling though, know this…girlfriend, you are not alone. Initially I was okay. I’m not one to wallow in self-pity, and over the years I have trained myself to not focus too much on the future. I arrogantly thought I’d be cool with all of it; I’d get my sh*t together and adjust to the new normal like a champ. Um, no. That is most assuredly not how all of this has gone down.
Looking back at the post I wrote when this all started, I still stand by the tips for maintaining one’s sanity, although in hindsight it was a tad naive. At the time I didn’t yet realize the enormity of the changes that were coming, and I for one, have never done well with change. All that we have ever known about our daily lives, the community in which we live, the entire world…is radically different than it was a month ago. And when we emerge from this, none of it will ever be the same again.
There is a boatload of positivity, encouragement and suggestions for navigating this new normal out there right now. And that is a wonderful thing. I do think though that we need to allow ourselves the space and the time to grieve. It took this article to help me realize that grief is what I’ve been feeling; grief for what was and for what will never be again.
Grief is the reason for my temporary withdrawal from the world, the reason that I feel so out of sorts and uncomfortable in my own skin, the reason that I sometimes find myself staring at nothing. Now that I understand that, I know that I need to allow myself to feel the feelings…to mourn what is lost, accept that loss and then move on.
If you too are feeling like me, then you need to extend the same kindness to yourself; allow yourself to feel angry, feel sad, mourn what is gone and then work towards acceptance. It will be after the acceptance that we find meaning and hope…the hope that when this is all behind us we will take the lessons learned and build ourselves a richer and more grateful life and a more beautiful world.
Tell me…how are you feeling right now?
THE OUTFIT
This outfit tells a story of normalcy; more specifically, the knowledge that someday it will return to some degree. A couple of weeks ago my daughter and I decided to change things up and have some fun. So she did our makeup, we put on our pretty new dresses that we hadn’t yet had the chance to wear and went to a people free zone and took some pictures.
When I first saw this chiffon babydoll dress at Target a few months ago I fell in love, and then when I tried it on there was no doubt it was coming home with me. Since it was a lightweight fabric it just flowed perfectly and the pretty pastel floral print was spot on for spring. I know…floral print for Spring, how original…lol.
I have a deep and abiding love for moto jackets and have wanted one in white/ivory for a long time. When I found this ivory moto jacket on ginormous sale at Nordstrom online I was hooked. While the style still adds edginess to the dress, the softer shade makes it less hardcore then the standard black moto jacket.
THE TIP
Babydoll or empire waist dresses can be tough to wear if you are well endowed. You run the risk of looking like you’re in the third trimester of pregnancy, which is fine if you’re pregnant, but not so much if you’re not. I love the style though and have found that if the dress is made from a lightweight fabric like chiffon or tee shirt weight cotton the dress will flow beautifully regardless of bust size.
THE LINK UPS
Check out the weekly link ups I participate in for even more fashion and style ideas…
Dress: Target; Jacket: Nordstrom (Similar); Boots: Similar
- 5 1990’s Fashion Trend To Wear in 2020 by LaMoumous
- You Are Not Alone + Chiffon Babydoll Dress & Booties by Fashion Fairy Dust
- How the EGL Fashion Community is Handling COVID-19 by Thifted Luxe
