The Next Step

When my divorce became final and I moved out of the house, I entered a new stage in my life. I took some time to just enjoy the quiet and to decompress from all the stress we had all been living under. After a while, I started to think “what’s next?” for me.

As a wife and mother, I spent a lot of time thinking about what everyone else needed. I tried to make sure everyone did what they needed to do, had what they needed to have, and were where they needed to be. And that everyone was as happy as possible… But when I had one fewer person to worry about (my ex) and some free time when the kids were with him, I began to think about what I needed.

When I asked myself what I wanted to do, the reflex answer was “I don’t know”. Almost all my friends were married, and I was reluctant to ask for time out of their schedules. I had never had a whole lot of free time because I went straight from college into a marriage. Almost all of my socializing revolved around school events and then around family events.

What eventually got me out was an “accident” (although I believe there are no such things as accidents). My son wanted a keyboard for his birthday, so I went to the music store. As I was paying for the keyboard, the owner mentioned that they offered music lessons. They offered piano, guitar, violin, and singing lessons. Immediately a light bulb went off in my head. Singing lessons? I had always wanted to learn to sing! And so a new path opened for me.

I learned that the next step on the path doesn’t have to be huge. It just has to be something that will get you moving. Taking one voice lesson a week was enough to change my life. It gave me something else to think about that was outside my “normal” life. It gave me an excuse to spend time doing something I loved. It was something that was just for me. Most importantly, it opened the door for more things to come.

After that came a friend who mentioned she was taking dancing lessons for her upcoming wedding. Dancing? Another light bulb. Dancing really got me out and moving… literally and figuratively. Dancing has now become a part of me.

What about you? Are you entering a new stage in your life? Are you searching for your next step? Or have you found a new pursuit? Leave a comment!

Until next time, remember… We are all magnificent.