Good Enough Isn’t Good Enough

I cleaned the kitchen today. That may not sound like a big deal, and it really isn’t. The big deal is the things I thought of while cleaning the kitchen, things that pertain to every area of life and influence the way I live and act every single day. Let’s start with the story of cleaning the kitchen and then we’ll talk about the difference between doing good enough and doing your best.

With Our Love: the Story of a Ring

On Monday morning, January 11, a little after 10, my wonderful Grandma Newton breathed her last on this earth. She’s at peace now and she’s reunited with Grandpa, but for those of us left behind it is a bittersweet parting. I sit here, wrapped in the blue afghan she knitted for me when I was born, wondering how to pay tribute to such an amazing woman. Others have spoken of her love more eloquently than I can, and the mere numbers and facts of her life fall short of capturing who she is. Then my eyes move to the wedding ring on my finger and I know I have a story that is mine alone to tell. A story about love. The story of a ring.

4 1/2 Things I Learned Working In Retail

As some of you may know, and the rest of you are about to find out unless you stop reading immediately, I recently left my retail job of four and a half years to focus full-time on school. I worked at a large Michigan-based retailer whose name rhymes with liar, and for my entire time there I worked in one customer service related job or another. I believe that everyone should work in retail at least once in their lives, because when you have worked in retail, you have greater empathy for others who share your misery. Don’t get me wrong, not everything about retail is terrible. Just the hours and the pay and the fact that almost everyday you’ll be chewed out for something that is not your fault and there is no possible thing you can do about it. The time I spent in retail was not wasted, however. I learned some valuable lessons that I will now pass on to you, one for every year.