Day 24: Go ahead... wear red lipstick!

Tonight I was with a group of friends when someone asked, "When you got married, did you feel like you divorced yourself?"

I've thought about this a lot. I'm a huge advocate of marriage, but I can't deny that it's difficult not to lose a part of yourself while fumbling for that fragile balance between co-existence and independence. Yes, marriage created a divorce in certain aspects of my life, but it also nourished some of my sterling traits. (I might have missed dancing for eight years, but I relished in our business brainstorms). I find it interesting, however, to observe how my divorce has now married me to a beautiful, undiscovered part of myself I never knew existed.

Who is this Natalie? She loves - LOVES - her short, and always red, nails. She wears skinny jeans, and wears them well. She sings out-loud, and often. Sometimes she'll even sing for a friend. She wears high-heels with jeans, and boots with leather jackets. She appreciates a great scarf and knows the value of luscious red lips. She adores her girlfriends, and is committed to finding the "cute-girl discount" each time they go out. (Hey, ya never know if you don't ask). Audio books are a constant - in the home, in the car - and she reads three at a time, while 10 more wait at the foot of her bed and two are en route by mail. She's checking off her bucket list and adding new things daily. Her fridge is plastered with motivation and inspiration on the outside, and filled with turkey and chicken on the inside! (Her x was allergic).

I like, no LOVE, the Natalie my divorce has married.

TODAY'S FOCUS: Enjoy this gift of singleness, and discover the authentic "you" hiding behind the layers. Begin by trying something outrageous and completely out of character, you just might surprise yourself. (I know I have). Start with something safe, like those shoes you secretly admire, and if you know your x would have despised them - more reason to make the purchase! :)

Push your limits. Stretch your boundaries. Do something that scares you, and then do it again. Now is your opportunity to redefine yourself, and discover the powerful person under that shroud of safe deceit. Acknowledge your yearnings, discover your passions, find your greatness and then shout it until you're hoarse. Live. This isn't a dress rehearsal, this is real life - and real life is what you make of it.

QUOTE: "Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you." -Ralph Waldo Emerson