Celebrate You!!

Have you seen this quote before? What will you do? Celebrate yourself, find pastimes that make your heart light and your spirit sing! – Sarah Ban Breathnach Well, if you haven’t seen this quote, you need to live by it.

What she mentions in this quote is something that I try to incorporate into my life on a  regular basis.  Often times as women, we are so busy taking care of other people that we lose ourselves. We forget how extraordinary we are as beautiful women.  There is no other creature out there on earth like a woman. Besides the fact that we are uniquely designed…well…I’m just going to say it we ROCK!!  So because we are fabulous women we need to take the time to celebrate ourselves.  Now, I don’t mean only on your birthday, your anniversary (if you have a significant other) or Mother’s Day (if you are mother). I’m talking about any other random day on the calendar where you celebrate who you are.

For example, I am blessed to work at a company that likes to reward their employees by way of a yearly bonus.  And I’m not talking about an extra few dollars in your account. I’m talking about the type of bonus where you could really do some things, like pay off some debt or make that big purchase. like buying a pool. Lol!  Some of you know what I mean.  Bonuses can be very rewarding to the point that most folks work the entire year just to get to that bonus.  It’s like Christmas during that second week of March every year.

Anyhoo…… for a good portion of my career I’ve been a consultant so I never really received a bonus before.  Last year, I started working in the middle of the year so my bones was pro-rated.  Now, mind you it was not the full bonus but it was indeed a blessing to have that extra change in my account.  So this year, I was really looking forward to see what this bonus  thing was all about.  Needless to say, my full bonus did not disappoint AT ALL.   Our company bonus is not only based on company performance, but it is also based on your individual work performance.

About a month ago I had my performance review and I did exceedingly well..to the point that I was recommended for a promotion (the promotion is still pending due to a re-org within the company).  Therefore, my bonus was even better than expected because of my stellar work performance.

On the day that I received my bonus, the weather was picture perfect. It was a bit chilly, but the sun was shinning brightly.  On this particular day, it just seemed like I was on cloud nine.  Not only did I receive my bonus, but I got a glowing report at the dentist.  My report was so good,  that the dental assistant gave me a gold star sticker to go on my jacket like I was 12. LOL!  Hey, I was proud of my accomplishments with my teeth.  As I was driving around, I decided to call my mom to tell her my news about the bonus and my dental report. As I was talking to my mother about my day, the bonus and the good dental report,  I said, “Wow! just don’t know what to do with the rest of my day and evening.”  My mom then went on to say that she was so proud of me and that I really worked hard and that I deserved everything that I got. She then said that I needed to enjoy my day and evening and go celebrate myself.  She said I should go buy my  favorite chocolate, get some wine, cheese and crackers and then go sit up in my loft, light some candles and put on a movie and just exhale!  Because I deserve it. I was like..”Really? you think I should do that?” She said, “Girl! of course”.  Because I am obedient, I did just that.  I went to the store and bought all of those items.  However, a wrench got thrown into the plan because one of my besties invited me to meet her out at a happy hour.  I decided to meet her at the restaurant for happy hour and save my goodies for the next day.   But being at the happy hour with friends was still celebrating me! because I was doing something that I enjoyed, spending time with friends over good food and libations.

The moral of this story is that you have to take the time to celebrate yourself. Do things that make you happy – whatever that is. There are times when I will just walk to Starbucks and sit outside with a book or just sit there and people watch.  Then there are times when I will go and get a great foot massage ( Sole Spa- shameless plug) just to relax.  As you all know, life is too short and while you may enjoy taking care of other people, don’t forget to take care of yourself and celebrate all that you do and all that you are!! You are woman, hear yourself ROAR!!!!!