Hi There! Welcome to A Joyful Jaunt, I’m so glad you’re here! I’m Christy and I’ve been lucky enough to have an awful lot of adventures in my lifetime! I’m 33 years old and happily married with a spunky toddler. I am beyond blessed, and yet sometimes I still struggle. How about you? Ever get so caught up in daily minutia that you forget to make a life? Or struggled with mental or physical illness and felt like you were trudging through your days instead of enjoying them? Dealt with body image issues so blinding that you couldn’t see who you REALLY were in the mirror? I’ve been there.
A couple years ago, I left my beloved theme park job (where I was accused of being “excessively competent”) to become a stay-at-home Momma. But, I started losing touch with who I was as a person when I no longer had a job to go to and work stories to tell at dinner. Living under a blanket of post-partum depression did absolutely nothing to help me maintain my identity as the confident, funny, adventure-loving woman that I wanted to role model for Maggie. Not to mention, my wonderful husband, Mike, deserved the best version of me almost as much as I deserved it.
I needed something that would help me have a purpose besides “mom”, that would help me be present in the moment with my family, and give me my confidence back. So, I launched a small boutique as an Independent Retailer for LuLaRoe. I found comfortable clothes and my own confidence, but I was surprised to discover how much I enjoyed the journey and privilege of leading other women to find their confidence as well. And so, this blog was born to chronicle my adventures as I learn to navigate life and travel the world with confidence and teach my daughter and the women around me to do the same thing.
Now, if we’re going to be friends, you should know that I’m a geek (seriously, my list of fandoms is absurdly long). One of my tattoos is a Doctor Who quote that reads “We’re all stories in the end.” It reminds me that I should make every day a good one. It also gives me something in common with both Helen Keller and Peter Pan. Wanna guess what that similarity might be? The answer is this: both of them also understood that life is an adventure! Need proof?
See, the funny thing about life is that absolutely NO ONE makes it out alive and yet we waste it away without enjoying any of it or we believe we have to take it all too seriously. Around here, we believe a little differently so let me give you a little heads up about what you’re in for:
- I believe that life is not a dress rehearsal but is meant to be lived, experienced, and enjoyed the first time around (yep, even the bad & the ugly experiences).
- I believe that traveling across town can be just as beneficial as traveling around the world; that the ordinary moments can hold extraordinary possibilities.
- I believe that Saint Augustine was right when he said “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
- I believe that life is too short to wear uncomfortable clothes (but you can come follow my LuLaRoe group if you need help solving that particular problem.)
- I believe that, just like on any other trip, your traveling companions in life matter more than the destination itself.
- In the interest of being honest with you, I also believe that a good margarita or a good book have mystical restorative powers. #fightme
Listen… for all this talk about not taking it seriously, I’m not blind to the fact that life can be HARD! I’m nothing if not a Realist and I know that just like a roller coaster, life has it’s ups and downs. But it’s up to you whether to close your eyes and scream or throw your hands up in the air and enjoy the ride. Personally, I’m choosing every day to enjoy the ride because once it’s over I know I’m going to want to go again and that won’t be an option. Robin Sharma had it right, I think, when he advised “Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life.” I’m making a conscious decision every day to make sure that my life is A Joyful Jaunt and I’m truly hoping you will come along and enjoy the ride with me!
