You did it!

Yesterday I spent about seven hours driving in my car. Despite the number of miles I have driven in 2022, it is not my favorite pastime. But driving all those hours to celebrate my oldest daughter and her accomplishments? I’m AAALLLLL in for that.

Samantha has been going to cosmetology school for the past year. Graduation isn’t a big event with all the students because it happens when the person finishes her required hours. The graduation yesterday was just her. In the weeks beforehand, she texted me that it wasn’t a big deal. She was just going to say a little something, hug her friends and teachers, and walk out. We didn’t need to come, she said. It was “kinda lame.”

I don’t see it like that.

Her 15-second walk represented hours of reading and studying, practicing on doll heads and real heads(!), successes and failures. It was the culmination of a year of learning and growing. Her graduation was definitely worth celebrating!

Are you viewing the things you have learned, the accomplishments both big and small, and even the changes you have made as “kinda lame?”

If so, I have some free advice for you:

STOP IT.

We can celebrate the cool things we do. We can choose to be proud of ourselves, instead of beating ourselves up for not doing more. We can stop comparing our own growth to someone else. If your ideal is perfection, you are always going to fall short. ALWAYS. (sorry, perfectionists…it’s true ☺️) However, coming up short doesn’t mean we have nothing to celebrate. Compare yourself to where you used to be, and be amazed at what you have done.

Celebrate.

Nothing about your life is “kinda lame.”