Something you should NEVER do. And a few high fives.

You guys, I haven’t worn my hair in a sock bun all week.

Is the apocalypse nigh? Wasn’t that a movie in the 80’s or something? Apocalypse Nigh? Oh no, that was Apocalypse Now. Never seen it, but I know it exists. I think.

What am I talking about? I have no idea.

Let’s start over, shall we?

HAPPY FRIDAY, EVERYONE. Or is it “every one”? It’s everyone. I’m sure of it.

I’m really glad that you all could experience me talking to myself as I write this blog post. These are the kinds of things that go through my head on a daily basis. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call “Stream of Consciousness Writing” – or just being straight CRAY after a rather lengthy week.

Anywho.

It’s Friday. And I’m going to quickly (or not so quickly) recap my highlights of the week for you:

1. Had a BLAST on Tuesday at a little shopping event at Madewell that Kate and Lauren hosted! I got to hang with some fellow awesome triFABB bloggers and I even FINALLY got to meet Kristin (even though I sadly didn’t get a pic with her)!

That’s Kate, Lauren, Lindsay (awesome Madewell associate), Carrie, and me:

2. Remember how I said coffee and I aren’t friends, but white chocolate peppermint mochas and me ARE? Yeah, I may have had a few of these this week:

3. YAY 19th Amendment! That’s just me making Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton proud. Also, that’s me creeping out everyone in my tiny polling place. BTW: living in a small town = no lines at the polls, y’all.

4. Spent some time babysitting these two over the weekend. It was as awesome as it looks.

5. It’s official: our dogs contribute nothing to society, but I can’t stop looking at them. They’re so dang cute.

As I was thinking about what else to write for #NaBloPoMo today, I came across a prompt that read, “Tell a friend something that they should never do.”

And it got me thinking.

I mean, you guys – yeah, you – whoever is reading this – I like to think of you as my friend. Maybe you’re just an internet friend or a blog friend or maybe even an IRL friend, but you’re my friend.

So, I thought about what I’d want to tell you to never do. I mean, I’ve talked about making mistakes before and how I’ve learned from my mistakes and how you shouldn’t commit the same mistakes I’ve made.

But I’m not going to talk mistakes today. I’m going to talk about something that can be incredibly hard, but from experience, I’ve learned is so important:

Never give up on those you care about.

Maybe it’s a friend or a family member or a coworker – whatever relationship it is, you know the one I’m talking about. The one that’s frustrating or exhausting or a lot of work – well, I’m here to say, don’t give up on it / them.

I feel like as a society (and maybe I’m just projecting here, or something), but I feel like we give up so easily. I mean, look at the rate at which marriages are ending. I mean, Kim Kardashian – 76 days to Kris Humphries. She gave up. They both gave up. Sure, they’re celebrities – but they’re still human and they were married and they gave up.

When I said my vows to John on February 18th, I said them for life. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that will make me stop loving him. And there is nothing, and I mean nothing, that will end our marriage. Why? Because we love each other and we love Christ and Christ is bigger than both of us and our love is stronger than anything – I believe it can be tested – and I’m sure it will someday – but we won’t give up – and we’ll come out stronger.

I have a few friends that I have been friends with, quite literally, since I was a baby. And sure, we’ve been through rough times, but they’re my friends and I love them and I will never give up on them. No matter what.

Sure, some friendships will come and go and there will be some people that will walk into and out of your life – and that’s okay. But that’s life – that’s growing up and maturing. There’s a difference between moving on, growing up, and giving up.

‘naw mean?

No but for real. If there’s one thing I want to tell you to never do – it’s to never give up on those you care about. Because somewhere along the way, you’ve stumbled – and someone believed in you, showed you love, gave you grace, and didn’t give up on you – you were able to grow because of that someone. And now look at where you are.

We all need someone to believe in us and refuse to give up on us.

So yeah.

And, while I’m at it, why don’t you thank that person who didn’t give up on you today. Send ’em a text message. Write ’em an email. Or heck, call them on the phone. Tell them THANK YOU for not giving up on you… ever. Thank them for showing you the love and grace you needed at a moment when you might not have even known you needed it.

Word? Word.

linking up with lauren, allison, and jeannett.

40 Comments

  3. The Madewell event looks like so much fun! And I really wish I could wear my hair in a sock bun but for some reason it just doesn’t work…*sigh*
    It’s actually a lot harder to not give up on friends than it seems. I have great relationships with my friends but recently there is one that is making bad decisions and just doesn’t seem to listen or give back in the relationship. And my initial reaction is, “if you don’t care about this friendship then it’s not worth it.”
    ~Jessica

    Reply

  4. The event at Madewell looks like it was SUCH a blast and your doggies are so sweet! I say the same thing about my puppies. They’re total communists. 😉

    Reply

  6. Because I buy frivolous things, I found a product made specifically for sock buns at H&M. Which basically means it’s no longer a “sock” bun. But it’s awesome. Just thought you should know if you didn’t know already 😉

    Reply

  9. I’m completely with you, Molly. In most cases, I believe in never giving up on something or someone, no matter how hard the situation might be. Also, that Starbucks drink is seriously calling my name. Loudly.

    Alyssa
    The Glossy Life

    Reply

  10. The start of this post totally made me giggle. I love your stream of consciousness! I’ve never had a chocolate peppermint mocha, I should try it! And I love your reminder about loved ones, it’s so true! Hope you have a great weekend Molly! 🙂

    xo, Yi-chia
    Always Maylee

    Reply

  12. Word.

    Love it, excellent reminder. Love your personality that comes out with each post…it’s like we are having a conversation…but really only one sided. But I still feel like it was a conversation, and a good one at that 😉 you know?

    Have a great weekend!

    Reply

  14. First of all, you made Susan B. Anthony SO Proud by voting on Tuesday 🙂 YAY! I’m all about that whoot whoot! And your dogs literally make me squeal with excitement… too cute!

    Thank you for sharing this Molly. It can be tough sometimes to understand and I put so much into each of my relationships (for the most part I’m not perfect) and sometimes I feel like I don’t get the same in return and I want to give up. But there is too much there to give up on!

    Reply

  15. thanks for that, Molly!! I teach high school math and get so frustrated at my students. But I care for them, so I’m going to try my hardest not to give up on them!

    Love your blog! It’s on my bookmark to check daily 🙂

    Reply

  16. great post today! I just want to add that even though sometimes your friends “give up” on being friends with you – like after an argument, it’s ok to still love them in your heart as well. I have known some like this and I know that if I ever saw them again, it would be like water under the bridge. However, the flip side to that is, words are like toothpaste inside the squeezie tube; once they come out you can’t put them back in – you can’t take it back, but apologizing can start the healing process.

    Reply

  19. Hey, it’s totally okay that you talk to yourself. I start most of my posts the same way! 🙂 And your advice is great. I have people in my life that I feel the same way about… It’s not that they deserve second chances, but who does? If someone deserves mercy, it’s not really mercy, right? Okay, sorry… Long comment. Great post though 🙂

    Reply

  20. completely agree! all those things like friendships, marriage – take working at them to make them better! and I loved the pictures from that night – I want that fur vest that one of the girls posted a picture of you in!

    Reply

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