Do the Nice Thing

I recently made a huge life decision that took a lot of thinking about and planning for. I told a group of close friends and they surprised me yesterday with lunch, champagne, and a speech about how they were proud of me that made me cry.

Sometimes it’s hard to be happy for others when you are stressed, disappointed, or (let’s be honest) just really freaking busy trying to keep it all together. The kindness of my friends wasn’t something that took a huge effort – a simple lunch and some supportive words from friends. But it meant a lot to me and made me so happy that I have friends that care enough to think about me and take even just a little bit of time out of their day to do something nice. It was so fabulous – but in all honesty I started to feel a little guilty.

Guilty that maybe I’ve not been there when my friends have needed ME. Guilty that I haven’t been the one with the champagne when they have a reason to celebrate in their life. Guilty that maybe sometimes I’m not the friend I could, or should be.

I think sometimes we forget that it’s often the little things. The unexpected call, the nice text, stopping to ask a friend how they are doing. These things can all make the difference in whether someone is having a good or bad day, or even a good week or bad week. I am super guilty of getting wrapped up in my own life and forgetting to do things for others. Not because I don’t want to, but honestly because I forget to make it a priority. But if adding kindness and support into the lives of our friends isn’t a priority than what type of person are we? It takes a second to send a text and tell a friend how much we appreciate them, and that they are doing a great job at work, or parenting, or just life in general.

Yes, I know, we have kids and jobs and chores and we need to focus on self-care but maybe we would all feel better if focused a tiny bit less on ourselves and a tiny bit more on lifting up our friends, or our family members even. How many times do you give your kids or spouse a compliment? I know every single day I am telling my kids to pick up their stuff and do their homework and listen but can I say I take the time to compliment them each day? Or tell them that I’m proud of them? I don’t honestly know that I do that every day – but it seems like something I should be doing.

I plan on making a lot of changes in the new year and this is definitely high up on my list of resolutions. I want to do the nice thing, say the nice thing, and just be a nicer person and friend – or at least be the friend with the champagne :).

Outfit details:

Unfortunately, the t-shirt and cardigan were such a big hit they sold out! But similar items are linked below!