Sweet & Sassy Inspirations

My mom did not sleep. She felt exhausted. She was irritable, grumpy, and bitter. She was always sick until one day, suddenly, she changed.
One day my dad said to her:
- I've been looking for a job for three months and I haven't found anything, I'm going to have a few beers with friends.
My mom replied:
- It's okay.
My brother said to her:
- Mom, I'm doing poorly in all subjects at the University.
My mom replied:
- Okay, you will recover, and if you don't, well, you repeat the semester, but you pay the tuition.
My sister said to her:
- Mom, I smashed the car.
My mom replied:
- Okay daughter, take it to the car shop & find out how to pay and while they fix it, get around by bus or subway.
Her daughter-in-law said to her:
- Mother-in-law, I came to spend a few months with you.
My mom replied:
- Okay, settle in the living room couch and look for some blankets in the closet.
All of us gathered worried to see these reactions coming from Mom.
We suspected that she had gone to the doctor and that she was prescribed some pills called "I don't give a damn”... Perhaps she was overdosing on these!
We then proposed to do an "intervention" with w/my mother to remove her from any possible addiction she had to some anti-tantrum medication.
But then ... she gathered us around her and my mom explained:
"It took me a long time to realize that each person is responsible for their life. It took me years to discover that my anguish, anxiety, depression, courage, insomnia & my stress, do not solve your problems but aggravate mine.
I am not responsible for the actions of anyone & it’s not my job to provide happiness but I am responsible for the reactions I express to that.
Therefore, I came to the conclusion that my duty to myself is to remain calm and let each one of you solve what corresponds to you.
I have taken courses in yoga, meditation, miracles, human development, mental hygiene, vibration, and neurolinguistic programming, and in all of them, I found a common denominator in them all...
I can only control myself, you have all the necessary resources to solve your own problems despite how hard they may be. My job is to pray for you, love on you, and encourage you but it’s up to YOU to solve them & find your happiness.
I can only give you my advice if you ask me & it depends on you to follow it or not. There are consequences, good or bad, to your decisions and YOU have to live them.
So from now on, I cease to be the receptacle of your responsibilities, the sack of your guilt, the laundress of your remorse, the advocate of your faults, the wall of your lamentations, the depositary of your duties, who should solve your problems or spare a tire every time to fulfill your responsibilities.
From now on, I declare all independent and self-sufficient adults.
Everyone at my mom's house was speechless.
From that day on, the family began to function better because everyone in the house knew exactly what it was that they needed to do.
For some of us, this is hard because we've grown up being caregivers and feeling responsible for others. As moms & wives, we are fixers of all things. We never want our loved ones to go through difficult things or to struggle. We want everyone to be happy.
But, the sooner we take that responsibility off of our shoulders & onto each loved one, the better we are preparing them to be responsible.
We are not here on earth to be everything to everyone. Stop putting that pressure on yourself.
Much Love.

What's yours?

As summer is approaching and camping is a must, corn on the cob is a favorite in our household.
Which one are you?

Although we lost 7-4, we proved our resilience and determination. We will learn from this setback and emerge stronger! It was nice to see the opposing team get a win, their hearts were full.

You’re holding onto too many bags.

I see you over there, weighted down, bogged down and barely able to move, and I wanted to let you know that I’ve been there too, and do you know what I figured out was the problem? I was simply holding onto too many bags.

It’s not a race. It’s a not a competition. It’s not a sport.

There’s no trophy. There’s no medal. There’s no tape at the end with people waiting with signs and balloons to cheer for you because you did the most amount of things in 24 hours.

You’re holding onto too many bags.

And obviously, you’re worn out by it, and stressed out by it, and you’re missing some of the best parts of life because if it.

It’s really hard to dance when you’re weighted down. It’s really hard to fly when you’re shackled to so much stuff.

Some bags have to stay. Some you can’t afford to drop, but some of them...well, they need to go.

- Worrying why somebody doesn’t like you? Put that bag down.

- Holding onto that one thing that one person did six months ago? Drop it.

- Staying angry at something somebody did that they honestly probably aren’t even aware of? Talk to them about it, forgive them, and then trash it.

- Saying yes to things you hate just because you’re too worried you’ll look bad if you say no? Garbage.

- Comparing your life to what you assume someone else’s is like? Absolutely, without a doubt, place that bag on the ground and leave it there.

- Consuming yourself with wondering why that one group doesn’t include you? Nope, not today, Satan.

- Wishing you could go back and change the past? Walk away.

- Worrying about the future? Run away, my friend. Run away fast. Worrying won’t change one thing, but it’ll take today from you if you let it.

- Hanging onto that one thing somebody said about you that one time? Down. Throw the bag down.

- Believing you’re only worthwhile if you are everything to everyone every second of every day? Back away from the bag.

- Playing keep up? Convincing yourself you’ll just never survive if you don’t have the latest and greatest and whatever it is that everyone else is buying? That bag doesn’t belong in your arms.

- In too big of a hurry to pause and enjoy your kids, your spouse, your friends, your talents, the day-to-day, simple, mundane, but beautiful pieces of your life? That’s the biggest bag of all, and you’ve gotta let go. You just do.

I don’t know what you’re carrying.

I have not the slightest clue. It may be a season where your arms are fundamentally full full-time, and there’s not one thing you can do about it, but if you’re anything like me, and I have a feeling you probably are, sometimes we just get anxious and stressed out and we just start grabbing bags at random and clutching to them like crazy, when they are in fact, the very thing that’s robbing us of our life.

You can’t do it all.
You can’t be it all.
You can’t carry it all.

Do what you can.
Be who you are.
Only carry what’s important.

And put the rest of the bags down.

Shared from Amy ❤️

Here’s the truth:

You can be a really good friend, and still not be liked. You can hold someone dear and still not be valued. You can say all the right things, and still have someone twist your words, brush off your words, or worse—use your words against you. You can give it your absolute best, and still have it not work out.

You can be pure as humanly possible, and still be painted as the bad guy.

After years of work, these are some things I’ve learned:

1. You can’t control other people. Not even in the slightest, and it is a complete waste to ever assume you can. It will make you angry, and exhausted, and chasing something you don’t have a chance to catch, so switch gears and control you. Control your mouth. Control how you treat people. Control your attitude. Guard your heart, and keep it genuine. Keep showing up, and let that be enough.

2. Other people aren’t you. They don’t think like you, or feel like you. Their experiences belong to them alone. They approach situations differently, and their outlook is nothing like yours. Don’t expect them to handle things exactly like you do. They aren’t you. They’re them. Do your best to love them for it.

3. Some people are never going to like you, and there isn’t necessarily and a rhyme or reason. Your life will improve significantly as soon as you learn this.

4. Sometimes you’re actually the bad guy. Sometimes you’re the one acting foolish. Sometimes you’re the one with the toxic trait or two. Check your own heart. Clean out the junk, and grow from it. Apologize, and now that you’ve learned—take that wisdom, do better next time, stay humble, and give others an awful lot of grace along the way.

5. There is a purpose to it all. There is beauty everywhere. That failed friendship will teach you how to do the next one better. That heartache will remind you to be gentle with other people. That loneliness will help you appreciate connection when you do find it—and you will find it. Not every season lasts forever, but every season does produce something precious eventually, even if it’s just a fresh perspective.

So sleep well, my dear friend.

Life is a long series of letting some things go and holding others close—a catch and release sort of cycle. Let go of needing approval. Let go of bitterness, and resentment, and any of that junk. Let go of insecurity. Let go of guilt. It will keep you shackled like nothing else.

Hold close to your family and the people in your life who have stuck around. Hold close to your morals and your integrity. Hold close to your light and your joy and your hope. Hold close to today. Believe in tomorrow. Hold closest to love. At the end of the day, it’s all that really matters, and as long as you have it—you have more than enough.

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If you're a beauty product ju**ie and love trying new products like me, you've probably purchased your share of things to try from Target, Walgreens, Sephora, etc, etc. Some you may have liked, and others have sat in a drawer somewhere, collecting dust, because it was either too late to return it, or you were busy and didn't want to mess with taking it back...

Sound familiar? 😊 Think about it...

Why is it that we're so quick to gamble on big retailers, yet when we're approached by a friend or family member who's working to grow their beauty business, we're so hesitant to give their products a try? 🤔

Is it because we've bought into the negative stereotype of direct sales companies, assuming that all companies and all reps are the same?

Is it because we're afraid there's some "fine print" or "catch" we're not aware of? Are we afraid we're going to get "roped" into something?

***WHY is it?***

Think about it...
✨️Does Target offer you a free consultation to address your specific needs and goals, lessening the chance that you'll need to return what you purchase?

✨️Does Walgreens provide you with samples to try?

✨️If you need to return something, does Sephora pick up your return and process it for you, so you don't have to lift a finger?

These are ALL things that many beauty consultants, including, myself, provide for their customers.

🩷 Products geared toward your unique needs.
🩷 Top-notch customer service, including returns processing & local pickup.
🩷 GUARANTEE that you won't ever get stuck with something you don't like!

So....what are you waiting for?! 🤷‍♀️