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My kind of attitude...
Alright-titude. This is my word for the art of being okay with my world today. A lifetime of work, I didn’t come to this concept overnight, but instead it has been a journey of twists and turns, hills and valleys and a couple of accidental dips in some creeks.
I am pretty sure there will be more of those on the horizon, but I keep getting better at evading them and often choose to be better prepared. Some might call this keeping the insanity at bay.
My alright-titude isn’t just a nonchalant look at life-you know, putting on the rose-colored glasses. It is much more than that. It has been my evolution from wanting everything to be picture perfect, sometimes hiding who I really am for fear that those around me won’t really understand and then those times when I wished I had something so badly I could almost taste it, smell even feel it and then realizing that it isn’t the right time to have it.
Taking care of my home is one of the first places where my alright-titude became evident. As the kids have aged, I have handed over many chores to them, telling them that part of being a family unit means you share responsibilities. Also, though, I hope they will take the experience with them when they head off to college, start their own homes, and bonus, it takes some stress off of me. The caveat-I have to bite my tongue when the jobs aren’t done exactly like I would do them. I have to suppress the urge to stop everything and do it. Myself. My alright-titude has developed and I can say, “You tried hard, it looks clean, I am proud of you and I love you.” Rome wasn’t built in a day, and my bathroom, the yard and the bedrooms, well, they look respectable-mostly. I can live with that.
My alright-titude helps me not freak out when my checkbook isn’t balanced to the penny, when I burn the pork chops, just a little-heck, even a lot, and helps ease my guilt when I take the kids out to eat one more time during the week than I should because I am just too tired to cook.
The priorities I had prior to my alright-titude were littered with wishes of newer televisions, comfy, plushy furniture and expensive, leather shoes and purses. Today, my old, butt-indented recliner is perfect for me and the shoes and purses I buy on sale last just as long as their pricey counterparts. Our hand-me-down television is nicer than the one we had before and that is all right with me.
Gladly, this evolved alright-titude is helping me feel better about myself-allowing me to just be me. I don’t want to care about what others think-or not as much as I did before. I don’t have to be liked by everyone and I certainly don’t feel the need to follow others like the scared little girl I was so many years ago.
Today, my all-right-titude bought me a great deal on some much needed shirts, let me splurge on a hard cover book and made sure I balanced it all out with a simple, home cooked meal. It also reminded me that I need to moderate it once in a while, because it gives me way too much license to miss my workout days, which isn’t always alright. The best part about it is that it allowed me to work on my hobby and dream a little, with no great expectations, but with hope for what might come up over the horizon. A continuing evolution, I can choose to live with something or reach a little higher, just without so much pressure to have it all so perfect.
I call that alright.
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