Shinnanigans: A Guest Post

I love having people share little glimpses into their lives. That's why I love this next gal so very much! Meet Kelly from the blog, Shinnanigans! She's a newlywed with wit and humor and a very fresh writing style! I adore when people WRITE like they TALK. You know, as if you were having coffee and they were filling you in on their day as you read their post.  That's exactly what you get with Kelly! Please visit her amazing blog HERE at Shinnanigans and give her a "follow". You won't regret it, I promise. :)

Hi everybody! My name is Kelly and I blog over at Shinnanigans. I am so excited to be here at Miss Banana Pants! Isn’t she amazing? Thank you Michelle, for the opportunity!

So I’m just going to dive right in, ok?

First, a little warning: I tend to write in a stream-of-consciousness style, meaning that I put in all the little thoughts I had while writing (like this), so if it gets to be a little much, I understand. But I just wanted to let you know, before we get started.

So anyway, I’m a newly married (1.5 years, thank you very much!) young woman (25 is still young, right?) who loves to talk about how much I love my husband (in my weekly Throw Up Thursday posts – so sweet, they’ll make you sick. Get it?) and how much I hate being a grown up (another weekly post on Fridays). I also post about all the random shenanigans (see blog title) we get into along the path of life and marriage. I don’t post about our children or pets because we don’t have any of either.

That’s a little about me, and here is a little sample of something you might find on my blog.

 Being the Best You on Your Worst Day

I’m in what many Christians may call a wilderness season (See: Israelites post-Egypt/pre-Promised-Land). It’s a stressful time, with commitments at work, home and school piling up. As much as I wish to blame these facts on external forces outside of my control, it might, possibly, could, kind of, most-definitely-is due to my own lack of planning and (more accurately) self-discipline. There I said it!

Has that ever happened to you? You mean to simply take a break from life for an hour (or two, depending on what’s on TV that night) and suddenly your break has lasted much too long and everything that was suppose to get done in a timely and organized manner has suddenly piled up be completely over-whelming and unmanageable!

Well, it happened to me. Possibly, more than once.

So here I am, in this perfect poop-storm (keeping it G-rated) of my own making, yet still acting like I had nothing to do with it – the innocent victim of too much TV (Did you see The Following finale?!) and not nearly enough hours in my day (Seriously, I think mine have been at least four hours shorter than normal).

Under such circumstances, such enormous amounts of self-induced stress and anxiety, who could possibly be kind and loving, supportive and encouraging, or even just sweet and polite?

I mean, those are unrealistic expectations, right?

I’ve been lost in the wilderness of deadlines and responsibilities for a while now. And, to be honest, I haven’t been doing any of the things I mentioned above – I’ve been sarcastic and cynical, rude and mean, hateful and hurtful.

And in case you thought of trying the same tactics, I’ve got to warn you that it doesn’t make any difference, or help in any way. Just a little tip, from me to you.

To be completely honest and transparent, it wasn’t just one day. It was more days than I care to admit to count. The constant stress was bringing out the crazyworst in me and it got to the point that I was laying in bed one night, upset that my husband was cuddling “too hard” (which is absurd, because he is the best cuddle-er ever!)

In that moment, I realized something. I had become someone I didn’t like. I hadn’t necessarily been my worst self (let’s pray that monster never gets unleashed), but I definitely wasn’t my best.

I realized a few other things too: Regardless of the outside circumstances of my day (in my control or out of it), I can still choose to be kind and sweet and loving to those around me. I can attempt to be my best self, even on my worst days.

The atmosphere of my life may be toxic, the terrain may be rocky and the weather may be chaotic (Hello wilderness!), but none of that can dictate who I am or how I treat others. Of all the factors of life that are completely and hopelessly out of my control, this one small thing is – me.

I am kind and polite and funny and sweet, not because of any inherent gift or because everything fell into place and the weather was just right (Hello! I live in Oklahoma!), but because I have a choice in the matter.

I will always be Kelly, with all my faults and strengths (the former list being quite longer than the latter).

The only thing that can change me is me – my choice to grow as a person and be the best me, even on my worst day.

And I’ve just decided that the best me isn’t a procrastinator. No, ma’am. I choose to tackle all of my Kelly-made mountains with all my happy, peppy kindness in tow. (Prayers would be much appreciated)

 Also, please check that my husband is being fed regularly; this could take a while.