Thursday, July 30, 2020

Long Time No Blog - Getting Back On The Horse

I’ve sat here for like 11 minutes looking at a white blank screen. In 2 years I have written 5 blog posts, five. I don’t even know what to make of that. Memories in a Box had gotten up to quite a good bit of followers and now I have let her dwindle down to 72. Sad, just sad, that’s what I am experiencing. I am recommitting to blogging. I want to say 1 blog a week but you and I know that may not happen. So how about 1 every 2 weeks? I don’t want to blame it on being a mom, but it’s the truth. Motherhood is exhausting, being a wife is exhausting. Being a mother and a wife during COVID is damn near a mental health crisis. But that’s no excuse, no excuse for not taking time out of my insanity to sit down and do something for myself. 

I’ve been pondering that for a while now, time for myself. This is going to seem silly to some of you but I am really excited about it.

My college years were filled with me working my butt off to achieve my own personal greatness. My BBA in Economics was stellar, my overall ‘major’ GPA was a 3.88 and my overall ‘minor’ GPA in Poli-Sci 4.0. I came .005 points away from graduating Cum Laude. I mean, hell of an accomplishment. I was in the Poli Sci & general studies honor societies. I had so many expectations for myself. I spent a year working for Congressman Jim Turner as an intern my sophomore year. It was a fantastic experience. My hopes and dreams were set as high as the sky.

Not sure where my life turned off the road of dreams but sometime in 2006-2009 reality sank in and I knew I had to adjust my dreams. Time passed so quickly that I woke up one day and I accomplished nothing. And I still wake up today feeling that at times.

Solution - doing for myself. Putting numero uno first. 

Some may think, that must mean writing, or maybe reading more (because yeah reading books kinda stopped too), but you’re wrong. I am donating my time to my small town’s local boards. Helping with a couple things. It’s a once a month commitment, sometimes more, but it is fun for me. 

Our little town nestled outside of Houston really is amazing, I can’t say enough great things about it. And finding a way to give back to the people here is making me happy. I started slow, joining the Parks & Rec board. Had fun seeing how little things make a real difference in the lives of my neighbors. Now I added a second endeavor, Charter Review. It sounds like a big deal, seems like a big deal, and I hope, I can leave an impact. Our first meeting is coming up in just under 2 weeks and of course I am nervous. But it is a good nervous.

I told my husband back when we first started dating I had wanted to be in politics since I was 7 years old. then I fell in love with the study of Economics and it changed my whole life’s course. Well Econ has gotten me this far ... time to go back to my roots. 

So now I am going to become more involved in my little town. See how far it takes me. Who knows where it will go. I would like to run for City Council in 2022. Maybe Mayor in 2024 or 2026, who knows. I’m not even sure which year the mayor election is held I guess I should look that up before I’m out here typing it into the internet world. 

But I am doing this for me. Something unique to match a dream this little girl had back in 1990 when she looked up in awe while watching President Bush speak before the nation. I don't want to call this part of my Bucket List, but in some ways it is. Bucket Lists are goals and my goal has always been to be involved in helping shape the world around me.

I should also say I am serious about me going to start blogging more. Because lord knows there is a ton of crap on my mind and it would be nice to put it somewhere. But I can hear my dad’s voice in my head telling me if I am serious about maybe running in a couple years I should probably keep my thoughts to myself.

Guess time will tell if the world is ready for Ashley Nemer. I can be pretty fierce and it’s time to see that version of me out and about again.