Category: growth

cheers to the good, cheers to the release

Jocelyn CoffmanLeave a comment

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We were temporary
Momentary
Yet I miss every little thing about you
The good things
The things that made me feel
Safe
Cared for
The look in your eyes like I was the only one
In the morning
The way you would wrap me up
Pull me as close as you could
Make me feel secure
Safe
Your nose against mine
Your kiss on my forehead
Neck
When you thought I was sleeping
Your sweet smile
Not knowing the entire time it was empty
On your behalf
Not listening to those who said
“he’ll never change”
Hearing the words that tore me down
Pushed me away
Feeling weak yet strong
Because I saw more in you
More than you even see in yourself
I am picking up pieces from something
That never was
Picking myself up and learning that sometimes
You care for someone who will never feel the same
But to keep going
It will come and you’ll be appreciated
That it’s okay to feel
I’d rather give it all
Be broken and mending
Continue giving
And for that I’m grateful

taking responsibility 

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One of the biggest lessons I’ve been learning recently is how I come across to others, and how to make sure it’s positive. For a long time, I would think, “sorry if they don’t understand my sarcasm or this or that…it’s not my fault they got offended.” Which is a crappy, crappy way of thinking. I would make excuses or not even realize I was saying anything hurtful.

There’s been such a stigma placed around feelings…having them, expressing them, showing them…heaven forbid you make someone uncomfortable by any of this. It’s turned into the fault of the person with the feelings instead of those who wronged them.

Lately, I’ve been mending a friendship in which I was the one hurting the other person. I wasn’t listening like I should’ve been and I was taking things out on a friend who cared about me. It wasn’t intentional, but I took ownership of my jerk behavior and things have gotten better. Had that person not spoken up, I may not have ever realized how much hurt I was causing.

Just recently, I dealt with this on the receiving end. I was told by someone I really care for, “sorry you got your feelings hurt.”

No, I didn’t “get” my feelings hurt.

Your actions hurt my feelings.

Taking responsibility for how we treat others seems to be lacking these days. We do what we can to remove ourselves from responsibility in order to not feel bad about it. All this does it hurt people more. I’m grateful that I have the capacity to love people, even when they hurt me, but also know when I’ve done all I can do.

If someone in your life isn’t treating you well, then speak up. If they truly care, they will accept it and you can work through it together. Not everyone knows when they’re hurting another person. What really matters is how they respond when you tell them.

Louis C. K. gets it, so you should, too.

“When a person tells you that you hurt them, you don’t get to decide that you didn’t.”

“When someone opens up and reveals that they have been hurt by you, they are being vulnerable. It’s not always easy to admit that you’ve been hurt, and if someone tells you that you’ve hurt them, the least you owe them is your respect and acknowledgment of their pain. The worst thing that you can do is make them feel bad for opening up to you, make them feel like they’re the one who did something wrong, or tell them that you didn’t actually hurt them. You don’t know their feelings. If they’re telling you that you hurt them, then you hurt them. Accept this and apologize.”

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a christmas reunion

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this christmas is already turning out to be one for the books.

my entire life there has been this empty feeling inside not knowing my father or his side of the family. luckily, i have my mother and our amazing family i’ve been loved by since day one. still, that curiosity has always been there, in the back of my mind.

i have random memories of him (which is crazy because i was about 2 the last time i saw him) and a home video from christmas that year. other than that, i haven’t seen him since and knew nothing about him other than his name.

on my 16th birthday, as my best friend and i were working at the community pool, we pulled out the phone book (probably the last time i used one) and searched for his name.

we found it.

within a few minutes, i was talking to my biological father and learning about my family, including my brothers, matt and jacob, and sister, morgan. i can’t remember what else we talked about, but it blew my mind. a few days later, as my friend and i were driving to jonesboro, my phone rang and it was my brother, matt. we ended up meeting him and his girlfriend, ashley. i haven’t seen them since, but ashley and matt married and i have two adorable nephews, brooks and beck. we would randomly keep in touch, but moving to utah hindered us seeing each other.

as time went on this would be something i wouldn’t talk to many people about. i’m not sure why, really. it could be because i didn’t know where to begin or what to say. or maybe i wasn’t wanting to accept it. either way, it’s just been something i’ve kept to myself. with that being said…

flash forward to saturday, december 19th.

after hearing from him on thanksgiving and unable to meet him, i talked with my father and told him i was interested in meeting with everyone. he was so happy and more than willing. then, last night as i was driving the 3+ hours from fayetteville to my hometown, i decided to see if he would want to meet when i went through harrison. he did. and we did.

i can’t explain how it felt because i think i’m still in shock.

it’s a very surreal thing to think about. having this entire side of the family you’ve never known and who has never known you, but i’m grateful.

so, thanks to those who have listened to me freaking out over the last couple days, even if you didn’t know what to say. it’s definitely shown me who is there and who cares, and for that i’m grateful.

it seems like i’ll be meeting a few others this week, so we’ll see how it all goes haha.

until then, here’s a photo of my father and me, 27 years later.

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merriest christmas to you and yours

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Jocelyn CoffmanLeave a comment

 
i’ve seen this so many times and as much as it makes me laugh it also hits home on another level.

as i’ve said before, i’m an empath and a fixer. i care deeply for others even if i’ve known them for a short time. i can see their potential for greatness and it’s hard when they’re looking through blurred eyes, unsure of what they actually deserve.

i was recently asked by someone, “why are you so nice to me?” it was kind of in passing and the conversation went on to something else, but all i could think was, “why wouldn’t i be as nice to you as i can be? do you not know you deserve that?”

oddly enough, that person hasn’t been as nice to me as of late and it’s been interesting sorting through those emotions.

i was unknowingly forcing something because i thought i saw potential. maybe there was potential, but nothing in life can be one sided. there are so many reasons why things happen and why people come into your life. there are cop outs and excuses for why things don’t work. but that’s all they are. if something is good then it’ll work. it doesn’t make you doubt or bring negativity into your headspace. no forcing, replaying, questioning or analyzing will be necessary.

let things play out how they’re supposed to but also set boundaries.

you deserve to be happy and loved in the purest, most uplifting form without the weight of past mistakes or baggage getting in the way. i’ve written about toxic things before, but it’s something that affects everyone so i’m going to touch base on it again. we must know when something is toxic and when to let it be. it could be years in the making or something you just came across, but sometimes we must walk away. i know too many people who are surrounded by toxic people or things but are unable to release themselves. forcing something for the sake of comfort or familiarity isn’t comfortable at all. you can love someone and have a history with them, but if the history is filled with negativity, then it’s just not worth it. whether they are romantic or platonic, relationships aren’t supposed to be that difficult. ups and downs, yes, but manipulating and hurtful words, no.

learning to accept when something is no longer good for you is heartbreaking at times, but i hope we’re all able to see our self-worth and move forward to better things. the sooner we’re able to do this, the more time we have to be completely happy.