When the Upgrade Comes

My last blog addressed my belief that when things crap out in life, you are eligible for an upgrade.  At that time, it was faith and past experiences that kept me in that perspective.  And now, I’ve got some solid proof.  Wanna hear it?

The week before Thanksgiving, I experienced something so devastating and hurtful, that I thought I wouldn’t recover.  In one fell swoop I lost my job, was evicted from my home and lost 2 people whom I cared about deeply and took care of in many ways.  I had not experienced anything like this before.  The worst part about it was that I felt like my heart had been judged by a jury who knew nothing at all about me.  I woke up each morning for a couple of weeks in shock, scrambling to determine where we would go and what I would do.

My friends and family surrounded us with love, support and assistance.  And even with all that love and positive encouragement, we road the emotional rollercoaster, wanting to believe good things were ahead of us, and dealing with the pain of this experience.

So here’s the turn of events . . .

Getting “kicked” out of our home nest, we had to find a place to live FAST.  My sister was gracious enough to pull one of her cabins off the rental market so we could move in.  It has been very tight, and the 3 snow storms have been inconvenient, but the time there has allowed us to rest and reconnect with one another.  The dogs are also way more comfortable here.

We recently found a great house we hope to move into the first of Feb.  It has everything we want and need, convenient to town, yet quiet, wooded and with a great yard for the dogs.  Its definitely an upgrade from where we were.

I had been exploring my career options for a few months prior to getting “kicked” out of the work nest, but that experience forced me to make some decisions about my next steps quickly.  Had that not happened, there was a strong likelihood that I might have been convinced to stay where I was to keep supporting others’ goals rather than my own.

This experience also set in motion a series of events for 2 dear friends whom we have had a relationship with for 10+ years.  They decided to uproot their family, and join me in my next venture.  My friend wanted more for her career and she wanted to support me as well.  It seemed like a win-win.

But something never seemed quite right.  My friend’s family didn’t want to see her go, and that was understandable, but they were downright unsupportive.  We had our own reservations as the time drew near, and we in no way wanted to risk losing a friendship over being in business together, as was fresh in my experience.  Long story short, they decided not to join us.  My friend got a great business opportunity that her heart had been longing for without having to uproot her family.  And although for a brief moment, I was ready to tuck my tail and move back to Atlanta, I realized that this too was a divine experience, and I needed to move forward by myself.

My former business coach and good friend reminded me that “partners” come in various types of relationships, and that I DID have the confidence to move forward with the awesome team of folks who currently support me and the incredible team of people who are yet to come.  I don’t think I would have moved forward without the commitment of my friend to be my “traditional business partner” – and having that for a brief period of time got my head and heart in the game.

So here I am, on the other side of some things, able to see the events unfolding for our good, and still exercising faith that my life’s journey will continue to be filled with joy, purpose and prosperity.  Thank God, hindsight helps us have greater foresight.

Noticing Good Coming from What Seems to Be Yucky,

Bernadette

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