I did something very unusual yesterday. I dropped the boys off for school and hit the road for Murphy, Texas to visit my friend Alison, the founder of Get Your Pretty On. Let me first just say that Murphy is WAY further from Frisco than I’d always envisioned in my mind. But wow, was that drive was glorious. Big open green fields lined the road. Creeks overflowing with water and yellow flowers painted the landscape. Horses grazed in the pastures. Suddenly, the hustle and bustle that I typically create for myself right after school drop off was exchanged for a beautiful backroad drive. I knew I didn’t “have the time” for this, but my heart knew it was exactly what I needed.
And it wasn’t just the drive.
It was also the friend waiting on the other side. The plan was that Alison and I would meet to broadcast a quick video introduction to give a little backstory to the concept of the Confident Spring Style GNO fashion show next week. (And we did, you can watch it here.) But the real treat of my morning yesterday was the friendship, connection, and conversation that happened in the moments after we recorded the video. Alison and I have only been friends for a couple of years, and even though we don’t chat often, when we do, it’s always real. There’s no trying to impress each other.
It’s just real.
In less than 10 minutes sitting on her couch, we shared about our struggles, joys, hopes, and dreams, both professionally and personally. I kid you not. While I was driving home I couldn’t help but rehearse how that whole thing went down. How did we get to ALL of that so quickly? How is it that I feel like I’m 90% caught up on what’s really going on in Alison’s world? And how did I feel seen, really seen, in such a short period of time? Was it because we’re both in incredibly high growth stages of our business and we’re constantly focused on efficiency? That might be part of it.
But at the core, it’s about trust.
It’s about history. I know her. I know her heart, both for me, and for other women. I know that her desire to succeed in her business is all about succeeding in serving her family and the women in her community. She may look like a beauty and style blogger from the outside, and of course, she is. But she’s learned to be successful in ALL of those things because of her heart to make a meaningful difference in the lives of women who feel insecure about the way they look in this stage of life. Her desire to guide women to build confidence through a medium as seemingly surface as clothing, is the driving force behind everything she does.
Love radiates right through her.
Those of us who put ourselves out there “in the public eye” by choice, are often judged by others as prideful, or self-focused. It’s incredibly painful to feel misunderstood when you receive criticism for something you’re truly doing in service of others. But the flip side is that it also makes the feeling of being truly seen, known, and trusted, even that much sweeter.
That’s true, no matter what you do in your life.
Stay close to the ones who know you. Stay close to the ones you can be your real, true self with. Stay close to the ones you trust.
Make time for your people this weekend.
The friends who really see you are like sunshine for your soul.
to more love,
Crystal
(Today, it’s not too late to join us for the fashion show next week! Tomorrow it might be, but not today.)
