Wildflower Writes

I’ve always had a problem with boundaries . It’s not due to some traumatic event in my childhood. Rather, it’s a defective personality (so to speak). I am a people pleaser. And a perfectionist. So I not only want to make people happy, I want to make everyone happy, all the time. I’ve grown up and I’ve realized that one person can’t possibly please everyone she meets. I’ve also decided it’s okay to say “no” to a lot of good things: projects, organizations, and ideas, when I don’t have the interest, time, or ability to see them through. Now I’m in a situation where I’m really struggling to create or maintain boundaries as needed- mostly with myself! I work from home. I also manage the home. So, while I’m trying to work on a grant proposal or write a blog, that growing pile of laundry is nagging me. My daughter comes home from school and wants to talk. My husband can’t find his keys. My sister needs help with her kids. While I am so glad to have a more flexible schedule so that I ...

I sent out a silent plea to my bathroom scale to read under a certain number (a lady never tells).  The scale laughed at me.  "Yeah, right," she said.  (Of course it's a she.  I'm in my bathroom!)  "Aren't you the same person who ate half a box of Thin Mints last night?"  "So?"  I asked, indignant that she would even bring up such a thing.  What I consume in the privacy of my own bedroom is my own business.  I got on the scale any way, and lo and behold, it was five pounds over my requested number. What really stinks is that I had set a goal at the beginning of the year to be at my ideal weight by my birthday next month.  Alas, I still have 10 pounds to go.  I think that's where I started in the first place. I'm not sure why I'm surprised.  I was supposed to start running again at the first of the month.  I don't like running outside in the cold and I haven't saved up for a treadmill yet.  So, I exercised... o...

It is officially the first day of Spring and I am taking it on as my second New Year. Spring is supposed to be a time of new beginnings , of new growth and turning over new leaves. That is what I’m doing this year. Three weeks ago tomorrow I was let go from my stressful job as an admissions representative for a nursing home. Today I am ready to write a thank you note to the person who gave me the “pink slip.” After the initial shock, I’ve done some evaluating and praying and really feel that God opened the door to a prison cell, and I am FREE! I now sleep better at night, have put away the anti-depressants, have fewer GI problems… Although I hated that job, I didn’t realize what it was doing to me. It was my security blanket , though, and I never would have let go if someone hadn’t wrenched it from my hands. So, I am pursuing my dream as a self-employed, work-from-home, freelance writer . I have several projects in the works already, including a grant, three blogs, a press releas...

I haven't blogged for awhile.  At some point I decided that writing daily was never going to get me to the writing career I longed for.  However, since I am recently unemployed (technically self-employed with a tiny paycheck), I thought maybe sharing my experiences in that category might be helpful to others. I've always felt the most for those who have been laid off because there wasn't enough work, or there were budget cuts, or the position was eliminated.  No one feels sorry for the person who was fired. That's me.  Fired, canned, terminated, given the pink slip.  I had been joking for years that I looked forward to that day.  It wasn't that great, after all.  Although I don't believe I deserved it, no one wants to hear that.  It doesn't matter that Indiana is an at-will employment state, and that my employer did just that- fired me without a good reason.  I didn't complete a project because I was working overtime with what...