Often times I have a very hard time with the word No. Especially when it comes to things I absolutely love. I wish I had quite a few of me to go around, because I am an extravert and LOVE being around people, investing into them, and having real and authentic relationships. I also love being able to participate in activities and invest myself into projects and events. But as we all know, there is only so much of us that can go around as well as only so much time we are allotted into a day, which has to force a NO into some beautiful and wonderful things, to make saying YES to others possible.
Because of this, when I sat down in January to set my personal goals for they year, one of them was to invest into family and friends on a weekly basis.
Well of course not too long after putting the pen to paper, a wonderful experience presented itself to me. (Isn’t this always how it goes?!) Two years ago my grandfather passed away. This set of grandparents lived in Illinos and it was only once a year that my family got to see them for 3-4 days in the middle of July, usually over the 4th. When I was a child, I would always cringe at the friends who complained about going to their grandparents homes for Christmas and Easter and other holiday’s because I was one of the few that had no family to go to. Being so far away we communicated through phone calls and letters, but also left a gap in really knowing my grandparents. After my grandpa’s passing, I was really convicted on how much more this sweet relationship could have been, and when my grandma decided to move up to Minneapolis after 80+ years of being in Illinos, I was determined to get to know her and pursue this relationship.
Now on a pretty weekly basis we take one day to go shopping together, hit up the library, run other errands, and just be together. After a morning of running, we always seem to end up at Baker’s Square for lunch with talk of my grandpa, her kids, my kids, politics, work, the weather, and anything else that might present itself. It is a sweet and precious time to me because not only does she shed light on to the person of who I am, but she also inspires me that even at 80 years old, change and growth can still happen.
I realized that when I set this goal of mine, I would be saying NO to working one day a week and have to put up a bit of a hustle the other four days. It meant that I had to give up some personal time at home and re-arrange my schedule to make it work. But saying YES to this relationship has far outweighed the no’s. Saying YES to helping, investing and loving another person has blessed me probably more than it has her. I know time is limited and I have been given this great gift of family. So right now, I am saying NO to some things that could bring more business but saying YES to a sweet relationship and knowing my grandma.
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