PEEK INSIDE MY TRAVEL BAG

VALENTINO ROCKSTUDS, MCM TOTE, CHANEL MINI FLAP,  CAT PROTECTIVE KEY CHAIN, PEPPER SPRAY, ANTI-BAC, SUNNIES, PASSPORTS, CHANEL COMPACT, FIRST AID KIT (TYLENOL, ADVIL, SEA-BANDS & BAND-AIDS), COIN PURSE, JEWELRY, MCM CLUTCH W/ MY NOOK READER, LOUIS VUITTON POUCHETTE W/ MY LIP PRODUCTS, TAIWANESE VIVI MAGAZINE

And because I'm always looking for great reading material when I travel wanted to share this article I fell upon recently because of Marlene over at Chocolate, Candies & Cookies (LOVE HER BTWS! :)

CHILL by Garance

"It’s fantastic, of course, to see women succeed, to see them heading big companies. It’s great to try to pass on the message that we can “succeed at everything all at once” (have a fulfilling family life, a happy husband, a dream body, a blossoming social life, and a job that challenges us, even if I don’t think this is true, but that’s a subject for another day), and that we shouldn’t be ashamed of having no limits when it comes to dreaming about our careers.

It’s cool to just have an awesome shop without having to turn it into a worldwide chain – Colette is a great example of that, by the way. It’s cool to just be the best neighborhood baker, without necessarily wanting to write thirty cookbooks about it. It’s even cool to not work at all. Come on, what? If you have enough money and you’re happy, why not?"

Some of the article REALLY hit home for me.  I mean to the core.  I think we "accidentally" project our dreams onto others because often times they might be something we want for ourselves.  I've worked all my life (I was so eager beaver I had my parents sign a work permit for me at 15 to start work.)  In college I worked 3 jobs. But since moving to Germany I really struggled with the fact that I was no longer able to work. But not being able to work has allowed me to volunteer my time to the Red Cross & the Military which I've derived great joy and fulfillment from.  It's something I PROBABLY would not have pursued had I been working full time and it's something that I hope to continue to do even after returning to the states and I'm able to work again.

I also struggle with the idea of "being perfect".  Just as the article discusses essentially there's this imaginary "life" check list that we all subscribe to.  We're suppose to be able to check off all of the boxes and look amazing while doing it.  At every point in our lives we're seemingly faced with intense social pressure.  For my single girlfriends it's to get married.  For married girlfriends it's to have children. We always feel like we could be just a little more educated or we need a better car, bigger home (although truthfully The Hubs and I don't necessarily subscribe to the last one having lived in Hawaii, San Francisco and in Europe. Even camping out in tiny hotel rooms w/ two tiny yapping dogs for weeks even months at a time because of the Military.  We've gotten remarkably well adjusted to living in small tight spaces and with the Military it's a fact of life that at some point we'll be moving AGAIN living in a smaller place means less belongings which translates to less things to have to RE-pack and UN-pack.)

But this article serves as a great reminder for me that sometimes while we're juggling all the balls over our heads we shouldn't expect to not occasionally drop one or even a few of the balls and maybe we shouldn't beat ourselves OR each other up over it!