Comma, expert

An old friend —

(well, she’s a li’l older than I am. A little bit. But she is not old. We have been friends for almost 10 years, and considering all the changes in life during those 10 years, it feels like we are old friends. So, now I continue…)

My friend and I are planning a new business venture together. It’s one of those things… when years of seemingly random experiences and lessons and tries and fails and inspirations and ideas come together, and we think we really have something, and it’s exciting.

Deanna and Kelly, friends on a business adventure

Experts 🙂

She – Mrs. Deanna Mason – has built yet another successful platform on which we will be launching. She does this. She rocks it. As the creator of Refreshed Moms, she has honed her varied skills to become a business coach for Mompreneaurs, specifically stay-at-home moms who are launching their own businesses.

During the time she has built this business, I have begun writing fiction seriously again, for the first time in, well, decades. For most of my adult life, my writing style of choice has been blogging, but fiction was my first love, so I have been having an absolute blast with it in my teeny, tiny, pockets of time to be creative over the past year and a half.

I have also been mentally and emotionally settled in to what appears to be my roles for This Present Time: COO of our household, which bustles, and (self-titled) administrative director/guru of our church, where more technically speaking, I serve as administrative assistant to our lead pastor, technical support, graphics designer, social media marketer, and whatever else might be needed.

The title has been bothersome to me for some time. It’s completely egotistical, to think that being an assistant is some kind of sexist, old-fashioned, less-than role.

The fact of the matter is, though I am capable of leading, I excel while riding shotgun. I am strong at navigation, at calling out landmarks and obstacles, at deciding when we need to change routes or take a break, at seeing the things the driver cannot because he or she is busy getting us there.

But when it comes to our new business, what do I call myself? This is a conversation Deanna and I have had a few times (over the beloved app Marco Polo. No, they don’t pay me to say this. Yes, you should get it).

One day, I pinged Deanna and said, “I know. I am COMMA, RELATIONSHIP EXPERT!”

I was laughing as I said it, but in reality, relationships have sort of accidentally and naturally become my thing.

For a moment there, I was considering pursuing a degree and license in family therapy, but at least for now, I’m backing away from that. What I am doing is synthesizing a vast array of relationship ups and downs, failures and successes through the years, and hoping to help others navigate through complications – just by sharing stories and lessons learned.

Am I an expert? Well, I don’t have any paper stating so. What I am is someone who has journeyed through loss, through the unconventional, through expectations that have either been disappointed or exceeded, and come out with some wisdom. It’s as inevitable as gray hair and creaky joints when we live our lives fully.

What in life has given you wisdom?

We don’t attain wisdom from books or classes but from learning in our living.

I’m excited to share those lessons here… not as a “comma, expert,” but more as a “comma, friend.”

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