Empowered yet still lonely

In the wake of yet another breakup, I've had some serious times of reflection (as my past few pots are evidence of). There are these moments where I feel powerful as fuck! Hands in the air, wavin' like I just don't care, humming a tune of "All the Single Ladies".

That's typically my motto from 6am-6pm Monday through Friday.

Then, the drive home from work sucks- it's a harsh realization that I'm going home to an empty apartment where no one, not even a furry creature, will be there to greet me and no chance that someone will come through the door chiming, "Honey! I'm home!"

Alright, truthfully, this isn't always so bad. Some days, it's awesome, and I actually feel sorry for those that don't get the chance to have more than just a few minutes alone. And with each passing day, the wound of the breakup heals ever so slightly more. The impending visit from my mom just days away to be quickly followed by a visit from a good friend gives me much to look forward to, making the focus on the breakup slightly less.

But then- a blood bath. No really, there was blood everywhere.

This past Friday (ironically, Good Friday) I rushed home from my full-time CA job with just enough time to vacuum my entire apartment in preparation for the previously mentioned visitors when before I knew it, it was time to head off to my second job. With only minutes to spare before rushing out the door, I realized that if I didn't prepare myself a snack, it would be 9 o'clock before I'd get the chance to eat again. So I started toasting my favorite rosemary sourdough from Sprouts and cut open an avocado to schemear on top. I'd successfully coated one piece of toast when I went to remove the pit from the second half of the fruit. I typically use a paring knife, piercing the pit then rotating it to remove it. Only this time, the knife didn't stop at the pit. When I turned it to remove it, instead of staying in the pit, it went straight through and into my hand.

Blood. Everywhere. I scream.

To be frank, I was in more shock and I don't handle blood all that well; but oddly enough, it wasn't the most amount of pain I've ever been in. (I've had kidney stones for crying out loud!)
My mind immediately goes to dollar signs when faced with a serious injury and all I can think of in that moment is, "Is this really that bad? Maybe I could just put some ice and a band-aide on it and still make it to work. I don't really need to go to the hospital."
But the blood just would not stop. I couldn't even see the cut because it was covered in red. I knew I'd need to go to the hospital, but I called my cousin anyway because I was hoping she'd tell me to just throw some ice on it and suck it up. Of course that's not what happened, but drive myself to the hospital??

All I wanted in that moment was help. A partner. Anyone. My mom? My cousin? A boyfriend.
Though I knew it wasn't an injury that would prevent me from having the capability to drive myself to the hospital, going it alone was the last thing I wanted.

I get to the closest urgent care, mascara laden tears streaming down my face. They rush me into a private room and I sit and wait patiently. And by "patiently" I mean sobbing and unable to control the jitters coursing through my bouncing legs. I'm still not entirely sure how this is possible, but while my hand is in an incredible amount of pain, in another way, it's also gone numb. Almost feeling as if it's fallen asleep. Two thoughts immediately rush through my head: 1) This can't be good that it feels numb, I really hope I didn't hit a nerve 2) Being here alone without a loving man by my side might just be the lowest of the low. I thought I knew lonely before. Wow was I wrong.
At this point, I'd say probably 80% of my tears are pouring from my feelings of loneliness.

Now, I don't want to come off as ungrateful- my cousin moved a few things around and was able to load up her kids and meet me to take me home since I was too drugged up to get behind the wheel. And I am so appreciative for that, I really truly am. But am I so crazy for wanting a man to fill that role? I was trying so hard in the midst of it all to remind myself, "Abbey, you can do this. Alone." and obviously, it wasn't that detrimental. I did it. There are very few (if any) things in life that only a man can do or that we truly need a mans help with. For me, it's not about the need. It's about the want. But in the same way that my recent patio furniture purchase was technically a want, it fulfilled a need in me that is very important- the need to be able to experience as much outdoor time as possible.

I'm working on restoring myself to being whole. Without a man. I know that a man does not complete me. Only I can complete me. Much like the stitches in my hand, the hypothetical thread of life is being strung through the needle as I type, with each passing moment, with every letter and word, to bring me back together. My hope is that some day, I'l be able to look back on these posts and have appreciation for the hard times because as much as they suck now, I know deep down that I cannot get to a higher point in life without starting from the bottom of somewhere.

When love goes wrong, nothing goes right

I'm sitting outside on my new patio furniture that I just purchased last weekend. I'd been craving outdoor furniture since last summer and kept trying to tell myself it wasn't a necessity. But the truth is, I want to be outside all. the. time. I may not have the money to pay for it right now (thank you credit cards), but I can tell you for certain that it was a worthwhile purchase.

Today was perfect! I splurged on myself with some highlights after a year of not dying my hair, (yet another purchase I truthfully can't really afford). Before getting to my weekend job, I ran to Whole Foods and treated myself to a $13 salad and enjoyed every bite of it outside basking in the sun, ignoring my phone and reveling in the thoughts going through my head about how good I was being to myself for giving in to what I wanted (highlights) and what I needed (veggies and Vitamin D), patting myself on the back for taking such good care of myself.

Then comes work... Who in their right mind ever wants to work on a Saturday?? Never mind the fact that it was beautiful and 80 degrees! But then I remind myself that working today is an absolute must after dropping borrowed money on my hair and lunch and I continue on with a smile.

Until thoughts of the ex creep in.

It doesn't seem to matter where I am, what song is on the radio, how busy or bored I am. I cannot seem to drown out the loneliness that comes with the period of time following a breakup before one starts to feel whole again.

It doesn't seem to matter what foods I eat; If I drink or stay sober; If I drive into shared territory or stay on my turf; If I look at happy pictures of us or visit his social media pages. The loneliness is there and does not appear to be leaving my side anytime soon.

I'm a big girl. I've done this a time or two, and oddly enough, this wasn't even the worst breakup I've ever had- actually, not even remotely close to it. I know that in time, I will feel whole again. I know that hours, days, weeks and maybe even months will pass before thoughts of that sweet, young, meat cutting, french man will cross my mind. And in that time, when they do, it won't sting like rubbing alcohol on freshly scrapped knees.

The waiting time period game is almost as painful as the loneliness itself.

Today as I was driving home from work with the sun on my face, my windows rolled down, and my hair flapping around like crazy, I started to think about each and every one of my ex's and how sad I feel that each of them are no longer a part of my life. I've dated some awesome people. Even the ones that I'd consider less-than-awesome still hold a tiny fraction of my heart. Even the ones that may have taken my heart and shattered it into a million pieces (at the time) have taught me some extremely valuable lessons that I otherwise never would have learned.

I've had friends say that they're proud of me, or that I am brave to breakup with a person who I still love, when I know that he's not "the one". But let me tell you, what I'm feeling right now is so far from brave, that just might be one of the last words I would use to describe what I've done and how it's effecting me.

I'm so scared.

I have a tendency to give into the "flight" side of things when my world is presented with a "fight or flight" situation. This last guy was, without a doubt, the best guy I've ever had the pleasure of dating. His career path was not ever something I would have wished for my fantasy mate to have, but it was a damn good one that will not only provide for him but will do so for his future family I am sure he'll one day have. I'm terrified that I may have just let go of someone so truly wonderful without ever having another chance with them all because I couldn't see past my list of standards and my laundry list of qualifications I want a guy to check off before he's deemed acceptable.

I can't help but wonder if somewhere down the road I really will meet the man of my dreams and I'll look back on these blog posts laughing at myself and all of my doubt.
-- The other day, my friend told me that before she met her now husband, she had a reoccurring dream about her wedding day. In this dream, two of her more significant ex-boyfriends were there, but neither as the groom. The man she was to walk down the isle and marry was a man she'd yet to meet, but would describe to her mother as "random hot guy". She told me that every time she'd start dating a new guy, her mom would ask her, "is this random hot guy?" Time after time, the answer was no. Until she met the man that she is now married to. Her mom asked, yet again, "is this random hot guy?" and in that moment, she finally realized it WAS him! Now, maybe the seed had already been planted in my head, but I recently had a very vivid dream where I married a man named Josh. So, if your name is Josh or happen to know a Josh who you think would just be perfect for me, please feel free to play matchmaker!

I've also had a very strong feeling that I'm meant to meet and fall in love with Cody Sattler from The Bachelorette.... so maybe my dreams and inclinations don't actually mean anything serious or realistic after all!! ;)

I'm Awesome.

I realized after my last post that my last two entries were about breakups.
As if my entire life revolves around men, my relationships or the lack thereof.
I also felt it cast a very negative tone. And well, it was written in the heat of the moment, within hours post breakup and was very raw and emotional and real- I don't want the overwhelming tone of my blog, or ME to be negative. I'm trying very hard these days to be a happier person and project positivity whenever and however possible.

So you wanna know what?

I AM FUCKING AWESOME! I CAN'T BELIEVE I GET TO BE ME!!!!
(*Thank you, Laura Jack, for helping me create my mantra)

So much of my decision to end my last two relationships was for completely selfish reasons. I knew, deep down, that I was fucking awesome, and that I deserved more.

Last night, I went for my usual Monday night run with a friend and went on and on about my sob story of a breakup and my frustration with no one sharing the truth about ending up childless and alone- and I got slapped by another stick. Damnit Abbey! Buck up! So what if you end up alone?! Okay, so it's not ideal and we'll all hope for the best there with that one. But who ever said I had to end up childless? It's 2015 for Pete's sake! If I want a kid someday well, damnit! I'll have one! I can go to the doctor now and look into freezing my eggs. I can look into sperm donation. I can adopt! While I certainly never saw my dreams coming true by way of scientific experiments or knowingly going into parenthood alone, it's not to say that what I want more than anything in life (to be a mother) is completely out of my reach. Now- can we all please keep our fingers crossed that I'll meet the right man, we'll date for an adequate period of time, become engaged, get married, BE MARRIED for some time, thennnn get pregnant? That's my goal! But I will not sit here and refuse to think about my other options if my "dream" doesn't ever come true.

Enough blah, blah, blah of my relationships and single life and let's talk about why I'm fucking awesome and why I have no reasons not to be more thankful for my awesome life and my happiness...

• I'm raw, I'm real. I'm not afraid to show anyone my true self. I don't hide what's on my mind or what I'm thinking. 
• I'm not afraid to show emotion and laugh when I'm happy or cry when I'm sad (I often cry when I'm happy too! Or when I see exquisite dance or hear profoundly beautiful music). 
• I am brave and bold. I have picked up and moved across the country to a total of 5 (FIVE!!!) different states now. I still have friends that have never even left the town we grew up in! (which I actually think is pretty damn brave and bold in other ways)
• I think about the people in my life all. the. time. Okay, so maybe I worry a bit about what other people are thinking of me sometimes. Meh. Oh well. But that's not what I mean. What I'm saying is I'm constantly thinking about my friends. I want to know how their doing, how their job is going, how their relationships are going for them, how I can be a better friend to them, how I can help them become healthier, how I can be there to photograph the next big moment in their lives. I know that I am not a perfect friend 100% of the time, but I'm damn well proud of the amazing friend I know I am a solid 90-95% of the time. 
• At the ripe ol' age of freshly turned 30- I am a WAY better person than I had projected I'd turn out to be if you had asked me 5-10 years ago. If you'd told me when I was a young lass that I'd one day go to nutrition school to become a health coach to help better others lives, I 1) never would have believed you 2) probably would have totally laughed in your face and 3) seriously doubted you for how that would ever be earthy possible as someone who wouldn't eat anything other than sweets and cheese. 
• I workout, and I make my body work for me. I may not be an Olympic athlete, but damn if I don't put my body through the ringer on a multiple-times-a-week basis. There are days when I could win the gold medal in laziest person on earth. But most days, I show my body appreciation for everything by sweating my ass off and building my muscles to become one fit chick!
• I go to bed at a grandma's hour, and hot damn if I'm proud to admit that!! A solid night's sleep is linked to an infinite amount of health benefits, I cannot fathom why more people do not make 8+ hours of sleep a night more of a priority. Trust me, the world will not stop turning if you go to bed before 11pm! 

Speaking of bedtime, I'm already thirty minutes late for mine (if you're looking at the time stamp on this, you read that right- I go to bed at 9pm! Yeah buddy!!!) so I'm gonna leave it there. What an odd, smorgasbord list of things to leave on the internet to show the world why I'm so awesome. But hey, that's just me. Random, all over the place, loud, weird, crunchy, and, well... me!

Friends, tell me! What makes YOU awesome! If you need any help searching for what makes you awesome, I could easily list at least 10 things for you without much time to think. Hit me up! 

In the mean time, keep doin' you and rock your life! Just be yourself, because really, who is better qualified?? 

Single... again.

I don't know why I don't share here more often. I love to write. But tonight, my entire being is begging me to write, and to write HERE.

Title give me away much? Yup, another failed relationship. Cool.
I ended it so I almost don't feel entitled to feeling sad. But I do. I feel awful. This last guy was great, probably one of the greatest I've dated (if not the greatest). He would buy me flowers randomly for no reason at all; he loved spending time with me, no matter what we were doing; he'd cook me dinner; he liked almost every meal I ever made; he told me I was beautiful; he was passionately in love with me; he wanted me, like all. the. time. -- It was awesome.

Then, it was like one day, I woke up and I was no longer in Dreamland. It was like all of a sudden, I was slapped with the stick that makes one realize that you're no longer a great couple any longer. Okay, maybe that's extreme. I'd like to think that we still were a great couple. But I also realized that he was not fulfilling me in the way that I see the man of my dreams fulfilling me. It wasn't anything wrong with him, he just wasn't "it".

After a very sad, but extremely mature breakup, I'm driving home covered in tears that won't stop coming. I miss him deeply already and he was only in my arms moments ago. Abbey- you asked for this, remember? You've been bracing yourself for this for a while now. Why are you crying?

I'm crying because I'm alone, again. I have few friends in Austin and he was my #1. I'm back at square one of finding my lifelong mate. We met so organically in a way that is almost unheard of these days- I'm terrified I'll never find another guy to make me feel the way he did. I'm terrified I'll never find a guy to make a life with, to start a family with.

When I was in my early 20s (and maybe even my teens) I was so scared about the fact that I was the only one of my friends not experiencing real relationships. I was so scared that I'd never find a man to marry to start a family with. Ten (plus) years ago, people would tell me, "Oh Abbey, you have plenty of time. Just wait- he's out there somewhere just waiting for you".  As time went on, I grew more and more tired of hearing people say this to me. Especially at my lack of relationships and experience and with friend after friend getting married and having babies, I constantly thought, horror of horrors, what if it doesn't happen for me? What if all of these people are wrong?

I can only think of one semi-similar way to compare what I'm feeling right now...
You know how there's women out there who are 110% positive that they do not want to be mothers? I am certainly not one of them, and have a very hard time relating to them considering my ovaries are constantly screaming at me to pump a child out. But that's just it- not many of us can relate to them, because we're not them.

What if: as I've feared since I was a teenager, I really do end up childless and alone?

Why the FUCK is no one addressing this?! Why the hell is no one saying this to me?!
This is not me being negative and pessimistic, this is me being REALISTIC. Let's just be honest: not everyone gets married and procreates. Some choose that lifestyle while others it's simply handed to. Unlike those that choose the lifestyle, I actually try to be in successful relationships. I try to make them work. But, I'm also not willing to settle. If I was, I'd probably accomplish my goals of at least being in a marriage (or at least a relationship) and with a child (or more)- but I wouldn't be 100% happy. If I'd stayed in this most recent relationship, I think I could have lived an extremely comfortable lifestyle. But I don't want just comfortable. I've seen that, and while that's fine for some people, that's not fine for me. I want to be in the kind of relationship where I see two people ridiculously loving each other. My last two relationships have been a step in the right direction and if I'd ended up with either of them, I would have found moments of happiness to enjoy that life. But I want more.

What if I don't get more?

You hear all the time about women and families that are not able to conceive and ultimately don't have kids. Some have come to peace with that while others have a harder time with it.
But why are we never hearing from the older generation about their attempts to be in a committed relationship with a budding family that just never happens? Why is that such a quiet voice?
At some age, do we just learn to accept this life?

I wonder how many of you may be rolling your eyes at these words thinking, "Abbey, you're being so dramatic! You'll be fine"? I know I'll be fine, that's not my point.
But if another friend who is within five years of my 30 tells me not to worry and that it will all fall into place for me when the time is right... I may just slap them. You may be slapped twice if you are A) younger than me or B) younger or my same age, but already married and/or have kids. Because while I love you and your goal of comforting me, your progression in life next to my lack thereof really does not comfort me one bit.

Is this, "unwanted singledom" the new, "I never want kids"? Are the two even remotely comparable? If not, what else could we compare this to? Are you in my same boat where your romantic life is just not taking you where you want to be? Do you ever find moments of peace and solitude in this? Please share! I'm dying to know!!

Thanks for letting me vent, world. I appreciate you being here and wish I could hug every one of you.

Unique, New York

There's been so much on my mind lately that I've been wanting to share, but have felt like I don't quite have the words for. I'm not sure if even now, I have the words for it, but I think I'm finally ready to at least try.

Social media is a beast. It can make you feel on top of the world (like on your birthday when you get 100+ notifications, messages, etc. of people wishing you a happy new year of life) and it can also make you feel like you are completely alone in this world.

I feel like there are two ends of the spectrum when it comes to what content people share online. Those that are at the bottom of a barrel who bad mouth all the people in their life who piss them off and/or are doing them wrong; and the people that project only the bits of happiness that happen in their life.

While I have respect for the former, no one likes a Debbie Downer and chances are if you are that person, you've lost a few followers. Hell, I've BEEN that Debbie before and have probably lost people. Maybe I'll loose people for the words that proceed this...
But what about those that are only projecting the happy tid bits from our lives? What is it that we're wanting other people to think of us when we post a gushing status update, check-in at a super hip restaurant or are tagged in a picture with a smile that's bigger than the sun eluding to the fact that we're just having the best. time. ever.? Are we really as happy as we're showing off?

I highly doubt I have any/many random followers on this blog that don't actually know me personally, so you probably already know that I'm a pretty blunt/honest person. Well here you have it folks, for all that may have been wondering- I'm not that happy. Please don't pity me or feel bad for me at all, that's not why I'm writing this. I'm writing this because I want to stay true to myself. I want 1) to remain honest and 2) to share openly what's going on with me in the hopes that it will resonate with someone else out there who is feeling similarly to me.

In comparison to how unhappy I was my last few months in NYC, okay sure, maybe I'm happier now. But my struggles were different then than they are now. What had me down back then (being unemployed and freezing) aren't the same as what's got me down now.
I moved to Texas because in NYC, I felt like I was at the bottom of a dirty barrel and the walls were so slimy and covered in muck that I couldn't even grip to get myself out. I recognized that my "fight or flight" instincts were kicking in and in theory, I was running away from my problems. But I also felt like I was so low, that getting myself out was not possible in NYC. I felt it was necessary to leave to be able to work on myself. I knew that I wouldn't leave my depression and any of my problems in NYC and didn't think that Texas would be instant and forever bliss, but I knew I needed to escape to start improving. I knew that moving would be hard. I knew that there would be a lonely period with very few friends. I knew that I'd get frustrated with getting lost and not knowing where I was, from time to time. I knew there would be things about NYC that I hadn't even thought of, that I'd miss when I'd least expect it. I knew I'd feel like I missed out on events and gatherings with my friends. I knew I'd miss my boyfriend. But as I expect childbirth to be, it all was a pain that I wasn't fully prepared for until I actually went through with it and let me tell you, it was harder than I expected.
*Did she really just compare moving cross country to childbirth?? Yup.*

I am so lucky that I had family here just outside of Austin who were generous enough to let me live with them for six weeks while I got my footing. I am lucky in that I had at least one friend already living here from NYC who knew first hand my struggles with leaving the city. I am lucky that I knew a friend from high school who was happy to catch up and include me in the life he'd spent the last 4+ years building in Austin. All of that aside, it was still tremendously difficult. (I wish I was more of a "glass half full" kinda girl, shit, I really do. I'm working on it. And some days, the glass is more full than empty. But as every word above is already eluding to, I'm more of a "half empty" kinda gal, unfortunately.)

Unsurprisingly, one of the hardest parts for me was being away from my boyfriend. Of course I knew going into this decision that it was NOT going to be easy. And the complete body shuttering sobs as I left him at the airport were no indication that it would be anything other than hard-as-fuck. What we failed to do as a couple embarking on a long distance relationship was discuss in detail what me moving away would do to us. We left it all up to fate and (stupidly?) agreed that we would just let it all play out the way it would and would take it day by day. It hadn't occurred to me until it was too late just how important it would be to me to have a time limit on how long we would go without seeing each other or a game plan to meet up next time.  I hadn't put thought into the fact that I was burning through my savings to pay for all the moving expenses and would not be able to afford flying back and forth to see him every other month. He had tentative plans to be in Austin for work shortly after my move and rather than firming that up or making other, more concrete plans, I went along with the push and pull of the uncertainty.

Relationships are hard enough as it is. When you throw distance into the mix, it only makes it that much harder. I left without us having a game plan of how long this distance would keep us apart. We'd discussed it briefly in the days leading up to my departure, but him being at the height of his career, it wasn't easy for him to predict where he would be and where life would take him in the next 1-3 years. I believe that there's probably no good time to be in a LDR, but I venture to guess that as you are peaking in your career and need to make sound business decisions is likely not one of the better times. As frustrated as I feel sometimes that he didn't choose me over his career or make me more of a priority, I can't fault him for it either. I admire his determination to get where and what he wants in his business.

If you haven't figured it out by now, or don't already know, our relationship did not stand the test of distance. It's been 4ish months post breakup that I initiated/asked for and it's still incredibly painful. I didn't end the relationship because I stopped loving him or started loving him any less. Quite the opposite actually. I ended it because deep down, despite loving him so much, I wasn't getting what I want from a relationship and what I feel I deserve. I don't mean to bad mouth him and hope that's not how I'm coming off because he deserves so much credit for how wonderful of a person he was and still is. For me, the hardest part of coping with this breakup has been is nothing went wrong. He didn't cheat. I didn't cheat. He didn't hit me. I didn't say mean things. He didn't stop having affection for me. I didn't stop loving him. It just came to a point where I realized that we were in different places in our lives and to continue to stay together would me great sacrifices on one persons part and we both felt that the things we stood firm on were not worth the sacrifice. Am I going to tell you the exact specifics of what broke us up? No. He and I know and a handful of my closest friends know and that's enough. I share so much of myself so openly, but I don't hate him. I'm writing this as therapy for myself and hopefully helping others, not to hurt him or air out our dirty laundry.

One thing that I really love in life is to be this open, honest person. I love sharing my life on social media and platforms such as this blog. Writing about this has been on my mind for months now and as I said when I started, I just haven't been able to find the words. J, I hope if you ever read this that you do not feel angry or frustrated with me for sharing bits of our personal lives and struggles with everyone. It's just that, I've been feeling like such shit for so long now and after doing a lot of work to get myself back to a happier place, I'm learning that what I'm feeling is not just okay, but normal. Just because I'm the one that asked for the breakup does not mean that I'm not allowed to feel sad about the situation. I am grieving the loss of a wonderful man and the best relationship I've ever had and it's ok that I'm struggling. I am human. I have feelings and am really working on honing my skills in actually feeling those feelings and not suppressing them in worry that I'm making someone else uncomfortable.

If you have any advice for me on gaining happiness, coping with a cross country move or moving on post breakup, or anything else for that matter, I would love to hear from you! If you are going through any major life changes and are struggling with the way you're feeling, I'm here for you if you want to comment/email/call/etc. If this blog reaches even one person who is struggling and feels like they aren't sure what to do with all of the emotions and crap that they're feeling, I hope my words have helped. If you're just nosey and like to know what's going on in my life, that's fine too, I like a good creeper ;)

Chat with y'all later! xo

Boggy Creek Farm

While you're sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for my next blog post (c'mon, I know you are!) take a gander on over to my Achieving Healthy Blog and see some fresh (no pun intended) new shots that the talented Angela Doran took of me my first few weeks in Austin as well as a roundup of my trip to a super sweet local farm, Boggy Creek!

The post can be seen HERE!