Run Wild, Run Free

Well, hello!! Long-time-no-talk!

To catch you up on the past month: I accepted a job at a law firm in Charlotte, tried and won my first jury trial (with my dad), adopted a baby kitten who found me on my back porch, sold my house, said goodbye to my beloved community, moved to Charlotte, spent a week with my family at Kure Beach, and just started my new job today!

Meet Cleopatro! Isn’t she a doll baby? Even dog people have to like this one.

Sad to leave. Grateful for the buyer!!

During times of transition, there is much to learn about yourself. Here’s what I learned this past month:

Sometimes the universe is in control. If I had stuck to MY plan, rather than THE plan, I would have missed a crucial turning point in my life. Be open to opportunity, and grab it when it runs by.

Sticking to your routine is most difficult during times of change or transition. Do your best to sleep, eat well and exercise. But know that you are imperfect. Do what you can. Take care of you.

Trust the process. My tried and true mantra. Inevitably, “stuff happens,” like, your house gets broken into two weeks before you move, or the U-Haul blows a tire two hours outside of Charlotte, or your queen box spring won’t fit up the stairs in your new apartment and you have to sleep on just the mattress. You are not in control of these things, but you are in control of your attitude when they happen. Roadblocks are part of the process. Deal with them. Learn from them. Move on.

Last week, my favorite week of the year, I spent seven nights with 35 Baddours at Kure Beach, NC. Each year, my dad, his brothers and their spouses stay at the “Sitti Cottage,” the beach house my great grandmother bought at a foreclosure sale in 1960. The rest of the family rent five or six other beach cottages. We eat breakfast, lunch and dinner together every day at the Sitti Cottage. We stay up late and wake up early. We enjoy beach time, but also plenty of running, walking, tennis, biking, F3 workouts and so on.

For a whole week, I took a break from email, news and my hair dryer. This year, “family summer camp,” as I call it, came at the perfect time — right in the middle of my transition. We all need a chance to hit “restart” every now and then, and spend time with the people who love us most.

Below is a video of our week at Kure Beach. I’ve had a vision of this video for months. My fifteen year old cousin, Jack Baddour, a budding photographer, took all of the drone shots and most of the photographs in the video, and I did the editing. Jack’s talent brought my vision to life. You can follow Jack on Instagram @jackbaddourphotography and @jackbaddour. He’s also an incredible hip hop dancer. So.

Here’s the video… check it out:

Run Wild, Run Free – Kure Beach, Su mmer 2017

While you’re at it, let me share these inspiring, uplifting lyrics, by Laney Jones, with you:

There’s a light at the end of the darkness,

the last step is always the hardest.

But we fight it, and we push against the world that’s caving in.

It’s not the power that makes you the strongest.

Run wild, run free.

The sky’s beneath the feet.

Run wild, run free.

Oh hi, oh we were meant to be.

There’s a dream that waits like a tiger.

An ember that grows to a fire.

And we climbing, to the greatest heights

a world can’t stop us now.

They try to bring us down, but we just burn brighter.

Run wild, run free.

Oh hi, oh we were meant to be.