$56.00

 Today as I was walking into my local grocery store, I was stopped in my tracks by a big whitewashed wooden sign with a thin black border that had the most amazing saying on it in thin black letters... "Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it" - Maya Angelou. 

Now, there are a few things about this wooden sign - 1. the price. It is $56.00 + tax. And 2. The saying is my life's purpose right now. Let me break it down...

1. $56.00 + tax is not an insanely expensive amount - especially for something that really spoke to me and my core. As I read it, I took a small step back and imagined it in my office - somewhere I could see it, read it daily, and remember the time in my life where everything changed for the better. I would put it above the small (and only) window in the room. But it was $56.00. Plus tax. After seeing that sign in my office, the next thing I saw in my mind was the pure disgust on my husband's face that I had actually purchased said sign for that amount. Not to be petty, but I'm going to be petty, he had spent $130.00 and some change on a group team bet that he had lost. I wasn't happy. Not going to lie. Ok, back to my sign. I didn't want to feel the guilt, nor explain myself, nor anything else in the negative category if I brought the sign home. So I left it. And that makes me sad. Sad that I can't purchase the things that make me happy because I know he won't see the same value in it. Horrible, right?

2. The quote by Maya Angelou is SO MUCH YES right now! I left a teaching job to seek out and pursue my life's dream job. I'm still exploring that "dream job", but I can confidently say I'm narrowing in on that career. It likely won't be one thing, but a few small things. I have too many interests to choose just one thing forever. This quote is a reminder to keep doing what I'm doing - exploring myself, my potential, my dreams, and knowing that I don't have to settle for any one thing. I want to be the best me and I feel myself coming into my own right now. I see relationships changing - some for the better and some for the worse, but I will become better through it all. I'll speak more about this life-altering change in a later post because that is a BIG one - lots of layers to get through.