The Luxe List Volume 2

This blog is going to be a little bit of a departure from the normal one I plan on doing every month, but I hope it is the most important and impactful volume of the Luxe List you ever read. With Mother's Day coming up this week, the theme of this blog is Women.

I will first give a shout out to my mom, who is an amazing woman and who everyone in our family depends on! She is the rock of our family, we all depend on Mommy for a lot. She has a few needy grown men who rely on her a lot, I like to say they are her late in life children and she deserves Sainthood for all she has done and does for a variety of members of our family. My Mom is an inspiring woman who bought a printing business when she was 28, because she couldn't find a decent babysitter for me in our small town growing up. She had no idea how to be a printer, and was a woman running a business in a man's world. But she had a dream and she learned and she worked hard to build a hugely successful business. I had a baby bed in the front window of the print shop and still today when I go back to visit, people will remind me of how I would yell and bang on the window. My Mom has always shown us that if you have a dream or an idea, that if you work at it the possibilities are endless with hard work and determination! Cheers to you Mommy! 

And this leads me to my next point.  As women, there are often lots of hats we wear; Wife, Mother, Aunt, Grandmother, Care-giver, Worker, Business Owner, Bread-Winner, Friend, Mentor, Taxi Driver, Chef, Housekeeper, etc. As women, we have a lot of roles and a lot of people depend on us and we carry a lot of weight on our shoulders with lots of stress. We all are just doing our best to make it through the day without losing it and having a good cry sometimes in the closet, bathroom or heck even in public. And you know what, it's ok to have that little release and to be open and honest about how much you have on your plate or how shitty you feel today and how you feel like you are failing at all of your roles. I often see all kinds of people on Social Media posting their perfect lives. We all know the truth, life isn't always perfect and it's ok to be honest about it. Have you ever stopped to ask a friend if everything is ok or take them for a pedicure or lunch or drop them a card or flowers when you know they are having a rough go of it? If not, stop and do so. Even a stranger in the checkout line at the store might need a kind gesture.

I was once at Aldi and after a glass jar I had shattered at checkout, I realized that I didn't have my credit card as I had taken a small purse for the weekend. I was in a panic and asked if she could just set everything aside while I ran home and got my debit card for the $75 purchase. This kind woman who was in her 60's or 70's came over from bagging her groceries and said, "Here put it on mine." I immediately said no, but she wouldn't have any of it. I offered to write her a check, she said no. At that point I burst into tears and hugged her so tight and just cried for a minute on her shoulder. All she asked of me, was that I do the same for someone the next time I was at Aldi. And I did! I did it for a few people who I watched in the store and thought needed a pick me up. And I help short older ladies grab things off the shelves and when I get a $10 Aldi Credit in the mail I give it away and I leave my quarters in the carts. I guess what I am saying is just stop and be kind to your friends, or acquaintances or a stranger even, because you have no idea what they are going through. 

Which leads me to this, what inspired me to write this blog in particular. KINDNESS! Last week I was out in Luxe Street Boutique, I had a customer in the fitting room and we were having a great time. She was an older woman who I had just met, and was just that good kind of kooky and fun. Another woman walked in and I greeted her warmly. She kind of looked around for a minute and I asked if she had any questions or was looking for anything in particular. Sometimes it's those non-verbal queues that you need to pay attention to, she wasn't looking through the racks of clothes or everything on the shelves and had her arms crossed. At this point  she turned around to go back to the door and said in a rather nasty tone,""I just can't get used to shopping in these trucks. I guess I may have to get used to it with everything closing."  Sigh....At that point and she was down the stairs, so I warmly said, "I hope to see you again, when you have more time!" This woman was probably my mother's age and dressed impeccably and was beautiful....On the outside. This woman literally took 2 minutes of her time and mine on her way into another business to come in and be hateful and to say something nasty about my dream, my business and my hard work! I was in utter shock! And those of you who know me well, know I was thinking in my head "F-YOU LADY!", but after a couple of days of thinking on this, I now say THANK YOU to this woman! Why would I thank her, you ask? 

Because she inspired me to write this blog about women and kindness, to help other women and mentor/inspire other women and young girls. We may all guilty of being snarky and hateful at times and rather than tearing other women down, we need to support each other. I am guilty and I bet some of you are too. I am working to do better, to be better for myself and those around me! Women are awful to each other, and why? Are we that unhappy with ourselves and that self-conscious and threatened by other women? Don't run other women down, don't knock what they're doing. Get to know them, help them, to inspire them; because you never know when you may need a little help! Guess what I got to know two great ladies who are in the same line of work as me, yes we are competitors, but we genuinely like each other and want each other to succeed! We help each other, brainstorm with each other, and discuss doing something together! I tell my friends and customers about their businesses often. This is how it should be! We are all just trying our best to keep our heads above water and wear the many hats I discussed above. We are a small group competing against big corporate stores, who all had a dream and are doing our thing and we should all want each other to have great success. This is women supporting women! 

And if you are a Mom with young girls, inspire them to be kind thoughtful young women and not one of the mean girls. Social media has turned us into beasts and we need to do better. Discourage awful behavior on social media and in person. A couple of examples: My neighbor's daughter was harassed to the point that some girl spray painted profanities ON THEIR HOUSE, DRIVEWARY AND YARD SIGNS. My niece turned 16 and her CAR WAS KEYED, SHARPIED BITCH AND PAINT THINNER DUMPED ALL OVER at her house, they have been back recently to mess with anything in the yard! THESE ARE CRIMES AND AT A CERTAIN $ AMOUNT OF DAMAGE ARE FELONIES! And for what, because you don't like these girls or are jealous. Karma always catches up to you in the end and she will not be easy for this nastiness! And Mom's don't have that not my kid mentality, because you never know. If you know of a young girl who has an idea or dream of something help them, be a connector so they can achieve their goals and dreams. Offer them some knowledge and advice, because I bet someone gave you some help on your way up! 

If you are a younger lady reading this, be kind and don't get wrapped up in the nonsense and don't focus on what is on the outside, because you never know what you will find is on the inside of a peer. Be Better, Be The Change! 

On that note, I will conclude with wishing you all a Happy Mother's Day! Please share this blog in particular and discuss it with your daughters or the young women in your life! Be the kind lady I discussed in Aldi, not the lady who inspired this blog who was pretty on the outside, but ugly on the inside! 

Erin