standing-on-my-soapbox - Tumblr blog

[standing-on-my-soapbox]

Welp, folks… like most good intentions, things with my blog didn’t go totally according to plan 🤣 which could also be the title to my autobiography: Things Did Not Go As Planned 😂

But I digress. As I tend to do. (If this ends up being a thing, and you end up following me, you’ll soon learn that my mind is like a spiderweb and while a thread may take off in another direction, at some point, it WILL connect with the rest…. Usually)

So I intended to post more regularly but I caught a cold or allergy-induced infection or some other nonsense that’s making me feel like crap. And between that and work and keeping the house standing… getting my blog started just didn’t make the top of the To-Do list 🤷‍♀️

But now that I’m feeling a modicum more human - at least enough to spend most of the day vertically - I figured I’d better buckle down. Because this blog sure ain’t gonna write itself!

So grab yourself a coffee, sit down, strap in, grab an ‘oh shit handle’ and come along for the ride!

In case you didn’t notice already, I was raised in the South. And by South, I mean deep East Texas, where the laws of the land still seem to resemble the Wild West a little, and things happen at their own particular pace, with very little regard to how any outsider (or insider) might feel about it. We were deep enough in the woods that we were behind the times with the rest of the world (mortifying to a teen girl who couldn’t buy this season’s advertised fashions)… but not so deep that we weren’t aware that we were considered backwoods by others (also mortifying). And frankly, with our nearly 25,000 people, we were the biggest city around by a pretty good margin.

Growing up in a small/big (depending on your perspective) Texas town was a little like being on the Andy Griffith show, in hindsight. It was a quaint, safe, secure little community with enough variety to keep things interesting. We played outside by ourselves until the streetlights came on, we took the trolley into town for free, we went to church every Sunday, and we both loved and fought our siblings, neighbors, and friends. We were sheltered and we didn’t even know it.

I’m glad I grew up that way. Especially after growing up and seeing what life could have been like in other situations. Having my own kids made me realize just how different times were, because there’s no way in earth I’d turn my kids loose like we were… even though we totally live in suburbia too. I don’t trust it. The world. The people. The weather. My kids, sometimes. I just don’t trust any of it. (There could definitely be some underlying issues here. I’m sure we will delve into this topic of trust again)

At any rate… if you don’t know who Andy Griffith is, or what his show was like, then just forget the reference… none of that was even the point. My point was that I grew up in the south and I say things like y’all and ‘buckle down’ and I’m the queen of passive/aggressiveness because… well, I’m a lady, dammit, so I gotta be polite (because my mama raised me right!) but I’m also not going to sit quietly by and let my opinion go unvoiced.

Which sort of brings me full circle again because that’s the whole point of my blog here… to say the things. All the things. That MAY be better left unsaid… but then might fester into bitterness, because sometimes… sometimes… I just can’t let it go. 🤣

I’m Kelli. I know that we’re all big on defining things, so… My labels have included: mom, wife, daughter, sister, ex-wife, friend, graduate, manager, student, volunteer, poet, professional, feminist, marketer, and a million others that you might have to figure out for yourself. I’m middle aged, and opinionated. I’m highly sensitive and yet cold and callous. I’m a blend of logic and emotion that is equal parts success and failure.

I’m probably a bit of an acquired taste. 😂

Stick around and see if you like the flavor… it might grow on you. It might not. 🤷‍♀️ But you’ll never know if you don’t give it a try. (Which could ALSO be the title of my autobiography)

…. ‘Till next time …

[standing-on-my-soapbox]

Hey y’all!

Today is the first full day of my 44th year on this planet, as yesterday was my birthday. I’ve spent most of my existence having a whole heck of a lot of opinions on stuff, and I’ve been accused of being rant-y on more than a few occasions! 🙄 and while my life has been nothing significant in the big scheme of things (let’s face it, I’m never curing cancer or taking us to Pluto), it HAS had some interesting moments… and a handful of folks have suggested I write about my perspective. 🤷‍♀️ TBH, I think they just wanted me to find an outlet that wasn’t THEM, but I’m going to utilize the encouragement as I see fit. 🤣

So with that, I begin.

Hey. My name is Kelli (spelled with an I, because these things matter), and this is me, standing on my soapbox, per se. I’m a procrastinator, and a perfectionist… I’m easy going, and also critical… I’m logical, and highly emotional… basically, I’m a kamakazi of conflicting opinions, with some red headed temperament. 🤷‍♀️ I might be what you call… an acquired taste. 😂

My goal here was to just get my thoughts out, have a forum or platform to just say it all, and maybe find some like minded folks along the way. Or hell, I’m open to dissenting opinions too - because (1) I’ve been known to enjoy an enthusiastic argument (what we southern ladies might call a ‘friendly discussion’), and (2) I can pro and con a topic to death so somewhere along the line, we can probably find some points to agree on. 😉

Welp. That’s my intro. I’ll be back with more, I’m just getting started - stay tuned. ✌️