Just A Few Months Ago

Just a few months ago, I found myself suffering an identity crisis.  I've been a single mom for almost 16 years now.  All of this time, my existence had been completely wrapped up in Zaire and Christal: nurturing, providing for, grinding for, dreaming for, and everything else...for Zaire and Christal.  I was and I still am determined to be the best mom possible to my children.  But, a few months ago, reality hit.  My babies are no longer babies.  They're both teens now, and they don't need me as much as they used to.  I found myself with more "me" time on my hands. Typically, "me time" is golden to a busy parent, but I truly did not know what to do with it.  Over the years, I had neglected to nurture my own interests and talents, so who was I now that my children have become older and more independent?  This was a hard pill to swallow.


I would come home from work and wait for them to finish with their various after-school activities.  I would lay on the couch, watching tv, bored out of my mind.  I found myself becoming depressed, and decided that I had to do something about it. When I made that decision everything seemed to blossom at once.  I started living. I have always identified writing as my God-given talent, but I had been doing nothing with this gift. I had been sitting on it for years. It was finally time for me to write and share it on a public platform.  So, my blog, Truly Charmed was born on November 22, 2014.  It's a labor of love for me!  Another dream of mine---modeling.  One week after starting my blog, I started rehearsals for my very first fashion show.  It was an awesome experience, and now I am hooked. 

As parents, we work so very hard to care for our children, but we can't forget about ourselves. I know that so many of us do it, but let's LIVE.  What's a dream of yours that you keep putting off?  What gifts are you sitting on? While you're nurturing your children, be sure to also feed into your own interests.  I am so happy that I decided to get up off of that couch.  You can, too!  What will be your first move?

Antoinette

Check out photos of my first photo shoot, first fashion show, and upcoming shows in the gallery below!