Good MONDAY morning Home Skillets! I have been awake since 5 am and been thinking and writing and getting lost planning about 7 vacations and mini trips I have no money for. Plus looking at beach houses online all over the country….I need to focus bro! I need to figure my sh*t out and be an adult at least half the days this week!!!

Apparently turning 40 does not magically answer the question of what you want to be when you grow up.

I was under the impression that by this age I would have everything figured out. A career. A purpose. A five-year plan. Maybe even matching Tupperware lids.

Instead, I have seventeen different ideas about what I want to do with my life.

So here’s my current strategy.

I’m making a list of things I’m actually GOOD at and asking the internet what the hell I should do with them!

Because clearly my own decision-making process has led me to spending two hours researching beach houses in Jamaica and asking google things like the best beach tent camping spot at Lake Mac? I really should get diagnosed with whatever is wrong with me!!

**Things I Am Really Good At

1. (Y’all say) Writing

I can write about literally anything.

A grocery trip.

A baseball tournament.

A sink backing up.

A missing EBT card.

The emotional trauma of discovering the coffee maker is empty.

If it happens, I can turn it into a story.

2.Making People Laugh

Some people tell jokes.

I apparently turn every disaster into entertainment.

Financial struggles?

Funny.

Medical problems?

Funny.

The dog eating something she shouldn’t?

Funny.

My life is basically one long comedy special fueled by caffeine and poor decisions.

3. Storytelling

I can make a trip to Aldi sound like a high-stakes adventure.

I can make cleaning a garage sound like an Olympic event.

I can make standing in line at Costco feel like a survival documentary.

4. Cooking

Not just “I make supper.”

Professional cooking.

Menu planning.

Recipe development.

Food costing.

Kitchen operations.

Feeding large groups of people without anyone getting food poisoning.

You know… useful skills.

5. Teaching people skills (again other people tell me this)

I have a talent for explaining things in ways people actually understand.

Cooking.

How to survive on the random ingredients left in your pantry when payday is still six days away.

The important stuff.

6. Social Media Content

Apparently people enjoy reading the nonsense that falls out of my brain.

I don’t have a content strategy.

I don’t have a social media manager.

I don’t have a marketing degree.

I just type whatever chaos is happening and somehow y’all keep showing up.

7. Problem Solving

When things go wrong, I figure it out. (I am very good in an emergency and under pressure)

Maybe not immediately.

Maybe after a small nervous breakdown.

Maybe after a snack.

But eventually I figure it out.

8. Creativity

I can take a random idea and turn it into a project.

Or a blog post.

Or a business idea.

Or a completely unnecessary trip down an internet rabbit hole.

Results may vary.

******Things I Am Absolutely Terrible At

Networking.

Sales.

Corporate politics.

Pretending to enjoy small talk.

Answering phone calls.

Being in large crowds.

Acting normal.

I have accepted that “normal” is simply not in my skill set.

Ok, So What Does That Make Me?

Because when I look at this list, I don’t see one job.

I see about twelve.

Writer.

Chef.

Teacher.

Storyteller.

Content creator.

Professional problem solver.

Chaos coordinator.

And honestly?

Maybe that’s been my problem this whole time.

I’ve spent years trying to fit myself into one neat little box when I was never built for a box.

Maybe I’m not supposed to be just one thing.

Maybe I’m supposed to build something that combines all of the things I love.

A business.

A blog.

A brand.

A career that feels like ME.

Because I refuse to believe that my purpose in life is simply paying bills until I die.

There has to be something more.

There has to be something that gets me excited to get out of bed in the morning.

And if I don’t figure it out soon, I’ll probably just run away to Jamaica and become a professional beach bum. I did find a shack in the background of a house that is for sale that I am sure is close to my budget!

At this point, honestly, that still feels like a solid backup plan!

#family life