Free to Be Me

Free to Be Me. 4 simple words. But they mean A LOT to me.

Five years ago, I had a 14 month old and was 2 months away from welcoming our 2nd son into our home. Weseley had been a piece of cake, easy as pie baby, making it very easy to excitedly add another one so quickly. Ya, everyone tells you how they will be different .. but for some reason, I didn't think it would be that different. Little did I know that within a few short months, I was in a completely different world, spiraling into postpartum depression and feeling buried alive. That is a whole story in itself. 

At any rate, through out that journey, I learned a lot about myself. The main thing: I had a intense compulsion to be perfect in every way and felt the need to make everyone around me happy. Perfection + People Pleasing = EXHAUSTION. I spent so much time putting on mask after mask after mask that I had no idea who I was. I was in my mid-20's, a husband, 2 kids and suddenly realized that almost every decision I had made to that point had been to please someone else. Phew, I get exhausted just typing this ..

I heard this fabulous song one day and just started sobbing. The words continued to ring true in my head and I decided that I wanted a very permanent reminder. With a trusted friend by my side for support, I got this tattooed onto my ankle. The 2 feet represent my boys (obviously I need to add to it now ;)).

FYI: As I just pulled up this photo, It is dated May 3, 2009. I was debating what song to do for today, and it is obvious this was the right one :). 

It is my reminder that no matter what, God loves me. I work hard every day to stay away from the traps of Perfection and People Pleasing. 

I am confident in knowing that I am surrounded by REAL people who love me and accept me as I am. And I am truly thankful for this!!