Hello Ladies and WELCOME to my first edition of DIAMONDS! Every month I will talk about, think about, laugh about or tell you what I’ve learned about just how FANTASTIC we are!
As a New Yorker living in the Netherlands, one of the wonderful observations that I have made over these years is the great number of beautiful babies that I regularly see in this country! And… there are so many ways for babies to be transported by their parents! Sometimes, I smile to myself and imagine children choosing how they want to travel on any given day! Personally, if I had been a child growing up in this culture, I would have chosen the “bak fiets” for as long as possible! C’mon, to be able to see everything…sleep well and really feel the air on my face! Then all of a sudden, I return to reality and think “...remember Adrienne, at a point, babies still have to learn to walk… one step at a time!”
So, this brings us to the subject of my first “Diamonds” edition. (blog)… Females and the “Baby Steps” that we take in our lives.
I remember that like most of the children that I grew up with, as the only girl in my family, my parents wanted me to grow up at a “normal” speed – whatever that really meant at the time! You know, small steps and then some larger steps. “… When can I wear those kind of shoes or that kind of dress or a little face makeup”? “...A little more face makeup”? You know, those 1,000 questions that sometimes our parents don’t answer (?)… they just look at you… OR…totally IGNORE you?
I grew up in a very different culture than here in the Netherlands. I had “play clothes” – street clothes by today’s translation. I also had “school clothes”! In fact, because my Mother was in the fashion business, I had GREAT school clothes… BUT… I absolutely could NOT play in them! And… I had clothes that were only for Sunday’s and Church! These clothes were even BETTER than my school clothes sooooooooo, I tried to “sneak” these clothes out of the house and change on my way to school. Well, this worked for a while and then one day, I got SERIOUSLY caught when my Dear Mother decided to make an UNANNOUNCED VISIT TO MY SCHOOL TO FIND OUT HOW MY STUDIES WERE GOING… WHAT??😱😱. Well, that was that! No escaping my punishment!
So what does this have to do with “Baby Steps”?
As we grow up, baby steps represent “decisions” that we either want OR need to make. Most of the decisions that we make – even as early as the age of 5 years old, can be quite important because they can affect us for a longer time than we can imagine. As we take our steps in life, we always “ask” ourselves questions. Some questions are funny, some silly and of course some serious. Even the funny questions require a bit of… honesty!
What do I really think about myself?
Is this dress too short? Could I have done better? Do I have confidence? I grew up as a well dressed but overweight (chubby) girl. By the time I reached high school, I continuously tried to look as good (or better) than other girls in school. Socially, I was not so well connected although my singing made me “popular”. I wanted a “boyfriend” like all the other girls.
In the teenage years when “social decisions” are always a big issue, I
decided to “ignore” the baby steps by mostly listening to my heart and NOT my mind. The baby step said, “he really doesn’t like you so don’t try to force a relationship”. The baby step said, “wait until you really understand how to drink alcohol”. I didn’t listen and my head hurt for days🤯!
The “Baby Steps” always represent your “insides… your “soul”… or your “quiet voice”. Acknowledge your inner feelings of believing and knowing that you can do better. That you can make better choices for yourself and your family. That you can live a better life!
The real fact is, you are better than you think! FOCUS and BELIEVE on this!
All of our “Baby Steps” in life – including those “love” steps - involve losing our balance sometimes… or even completely falling BUT try real hard to stand up and keep your head high!
Stand Up… STAND UP… BELIEVE IN YOURSELF and STAND UP!
Oh yeah, here’s something else you should realize…
We take “baby steps” ALL OF OUR LIVES! We take baby steps for ourselves, our partners, our husbands, our children, our friends AND as the circle begins to complete itself, we take “Baby Steps” for and with our parents!
Listen Ladies…
Being a woman is FANTASTIC BECAUSE WE-ARE-DIAMONDS!
We are born…
We learn…
We grow…
We love…
Next month in “DIAMONDS”: “CELEBRATE WHO YOU ARE”
Hugzzzzz,
🌻🎤Adrienne