what have I been up to????

Hello!!!

Cherie with a C is back!

Back from an amazing 25th wedding anniversary holiday, back to work, back to housework, back to blogging (FINALLY)!!

It’s been a crazy month and for some reason, I didn’t feel like I had done “enough” to blog about! 

I started having second thoughts about what I was doing and most importantly WHY I was doing these little pieces of writing and calling them a blog. 

And I’ve done a LOT of things outside of my comfort zone lately!!

Probably the biggest thing was going on a holiday for 12 nights that didn’t involve kids, or kids sporting events! I mean….what the?!

My husband and I hadn’t been on a proper holiday by ourselves since our honeymoon 25 years ago! And we made it to our 25th wedding anniversary which is kind of massive!! 

So we saved and saved and booked 5 nights in Port Douglas and 6 nights in Palm Cove. 

AMAZING!!!!

I wore bathers. Yep, bathers. AND I swam in the ocean. A LOT!! And I absolutely loved it. I didn’t care that I hadn’t lost that 10 kilos I promised myself I would lose before anyone saw me in bathers.  And neither did the hundreds of other people on the beach!!! They were ok with me being in bathers because they were all busy stressing about themselves being in bathers……or like me, not giving two hoots about what they looked like and just enjoying the beautiful beach and water. 

I was a little stressed about crocodiles, but I had a theory that if I wasn’t the person the furtherest out, the crocs and sharks wouldn’t even look at me. And fortunately, we didn’t see any!

The ocean scares me. I like to be in control and I don’t always feel in control in the ocean. But my gorgeous husband LOVES it. And on the eve of our actual anniversary when he suggested we go on a sunrise kayak tour to kick our day off, I had to push my fears aside for him and tell him to go ahead and book.

So he did. 

When the alarm went off at 5.00am the next day, I actually felt sick. Kayaking? In the ocean? Me? 

What if’s started pouring into my head, as did images of a huge shark opening it’s mouth in front of me and just chomping me up. I’ve seen the movie Jaws. No one expects that to happen to them….but it does happen, right?

But I put on my big girl bathers (!) and my life jacket and climbed in that kayak.

That kayak tour ended up being the highlight of my trip. Absolutely loved it! Out of my comfort zone, scared out of my brain, worrying about everything, for about 10 minutes. Watching the sun rise from the ocean was an experience neither of us will ever forget. And most importantly, my husband was so happy I did it with him. PROUD! 

So after a lot of lazy days, a lot of 3.00pm cocktails, and a lot of prawns, it was back to reality.

But I just didn’t have the words to write blog. 

I mean, the reason for the blog was to try new things, to look for my purpose and passion in life. What have I done towards finding this? 

Actually…..when I stop and really think about it, I’ve done a lot!

I said yes to a friend who asked me to help her out at a music festival…..for dogs! She sells THE most amazing dog accessories such as collars, leads, bandanas and bow ties for dogs! All hand made and just gorgeous. Now, you know how people either often love babies OR love animals? I’m a babies person. Show me a cute baby and I go all gooey. I love our cats and our daughter’s dog Rex gets first cuddles when I go to see her, but  a dog music festival was out of my comfort zone! But those dogs were awesome! And my beautiful friend Breanne is even more awesome! She’s very humble, and struggled to sell herself but her products are fantastic! I asked her questions about the product and apart from being so cute, the biggest selling point was she makes them all herself! Hand made at her dining room table! I may have forced her to promote that point! And she sold a heap! If you have a dog, check out Clover & Co Collective on Facebook or Instagram. HAND MADE! With fabric designed exclusively for her!!! Big day! Loved it!

Another friend of ours runs a program called Motov8. He travels around the country talking to boys and their parents about their behaviour, their attitude, and how to make positive changes in their life to fulfil their dreams and add value to their world. My husband has been involved in a few of these events so when Rev rang me and asked me to be involve with his similar event he was running for girls called Savage Angel, I jumped at the chance. Of course, I thought he wanted help collecting tickets and selling merchandise. Awesome! I can do that. 

But…..he actually wanted me to speak. Like, get up in front of everyone and speak. Me. 

I didn’t quite get it. I mean, what do I have to offer 11-17 year old girls? This blog is aimed at women, and mum’s who are not in that age bracket!  But he seemed to be ok with that and left it up to me about what to speak about. 

Now, knowing what I know now, I would have done it differently. I spoke about friendship, self esteem and a bit about what I wish I could tell my 16 year old self what I know now as a 47 year old. Well, actually I read it. And I was nervous, and I nearly fell off the stool. But I spoke a little bit about my blog, and about going out of my comfort zone. And you know what happened? I had 5 or 6 mum’s come up to me at the end and tell me that they had been feeling exactly the same as me. That they had forgotten who they were along the way while raising their children. They told me about their fears of trying new things, their fears of getting back into the work force, their lack of self esteem and confidence. So many women who doubt themselves, doubt their abilities, doubt their value as a human being. And they thanked me for putting myself out there. 

The great thing about the night was that the young girls in the room also got to hear some amazing stories from some truly incredible young women. Young women who had been through some terrible things, but had chosen to be better than those terrible events. Young women who decided to back themselves in life, to go after their dreams and to not let past events stop them. Those young women taught this old duck a lot and I was truly appreciative of being asked to be there, even if I doubted what the hell I was doing!

If you have kids in this age bracket check out Motov8 or Savage Angels on Facebook. Read the reviews and GO!

So whoa! Speaking on a stage into a microphone to around 60 people! GO ME!

So what’s next? What else is out there for me? For other women feeling like me? What else can I do to show women that we have so much to do, so much to offer this world, apart from being a mum? I mean, my children are, and always will be, my priority. I love them dearly and would do anything for them. 

But there’s more. 

I have ideas. 

I’ve looked into becoming a Marriage Celebrant ( I LOVE weddings!) 

I’ve looked into a Personal Styling course (I LOVE shopping, especially for other women)

I’ve looked into make up courses ( I LOVE makeup and how it can make women feel)

But I’m not sure…..

My husband took me to a coaching and speaking summit on Saturday. He wanted to go, and he said we would get a hotel, go out for dinner, maybe go shopping. So I agreed to go with him. I listened to what they all had to say, not at all thinking that it would be something I could do or be interested in. I was there to keep hubby company. 

But it kind of sparked something. 

Could I help other women see their own potential? Could I open up their eyes to the possibilities of their amazing life after raising children. Could I do that?  Am I doing that with this blog? But could I do more?

Definitely something to think about……..

Anyway, hope all is well in your world and you are on the lookout for your purpose and passion in life. I have come to realise that I’m not necessarily going to find it……but that we can have more than ONE purpose and more than ONE passion.

What’s one of yours???

Love,

Cherie with a C.

Xxx

P.S I’ve decided to add a few photos just to prove that I did actually do all those things!!!

Breanne. Awesome founder of Clover & Co Collective. What a fun day we had! xxx