Sunday, March 9, 2014

Deathbeds and tombstones

Things I want to be said about me:

By Elle - Best mom ever. Always there for me. The first person I go to for advice and comfort. Taught me to be my own person. Taught me to be happy.

By Jeff - Best wife ever. Always thinking of me. The first person I want to share my successes and failures with. The glue that holds our family together. Makes me happy.

By Myself - Best me ever. Always showed up. Always kept trying. Made the lives of her friends and family better by being here. Happy.

There are really only three people in the world whose opinions I care about. Any time and effort I spend on making an impression or living up to expectations should be spent on these three people. Any effort spent trying to make anyone else happy is a waste. At the end of my life, I won't care whether the other people in my yoga class thought my outfit was cool enough, or whether the parents of my daughter's friends thought my car was fancy enough, or whether I was nice enough or funny enough or smart enough. The only people I need to be enough for already know that I am enough. They just need me to keep showing up. And so all of the energy, all of the strength, all of the passion, love and focus I can summon should go to them. And their gratitude will feed me. Their successes will drive me. Their love will satisfy me. It will be enough.