Get Your Sparkle Back

So, I am sure you are all wondering, "Why are we looking at a picture of a shower curtain?"

The short answer, "It gave me some of my sparkle back."

Let me explain.  I have had this shower curtain since I was pregnant with Wildman.  I LOVE it.  I love the bright colors, the sequins, it sparkles, it makes me smile.  I had it up at our last house because I felt it worked well with a kids bathroom.  When we moved to our current house, I planned on putting it up.  Then I thought I should leave the more subdued curtain up that was there when we moved in.  I thought it seemed more grown up and if we were to be making friends with people my husband worked with, I wanted to seem more sophisticated (yes, all of this from a shower curtain!).  So, I put it in a bag and put it in the attic.  I would think of it some times, but didn't bother with it. 

Fast forward to today.  I was taking boxes up to the attic from our garage sale.  I had taken down the subdued curtain to wash.  While in the attic I spotted the fish curtain and grabbed it. I stopped everything else I was doing, headed to the main bathroom (also the kids bathroom) and put it up.  When I stepped back, I couldn't help but smile.  I then said to myself, "I am getting some of my sparkle back.  Thanks Sparkle Mama."

I follow a great blog, The Sparkle Mama.  She is on Facebook and has a separate blog.  She writes about trying to get her "sparkle" back.  Tonight, this moment with the curtain made me stop and think about my sparkle, something I didn't think I was missing.

I have to say that I think everyone looses their sparkle at some point.  It can be short term, due to stresses at work, home, etc.  It can be long term, job loss, death, separation.  It can also just dull overtime and not be due to any one thing.  I know I have had times lately where I have felt as though I was floating along.  I love my life, but I didn't always feel as happy as I want to.  I was looking for that something to grasp that would bring my sparkle back.  This past week has been full of medical stresses (I will write about that tomorrow).  Add to that trying to deal with normal mommy stuff and preparing for a big vacation, it can be overwhelming.  What this curtain represented to me was the need for me to look in myself and find those things that make me sparkle again.  I need to be more true to myself and not worry so much about what other people think.  The funny thing is, I never found myself as someone who did care about what others thought.  This curtain gave me the "umpf" to realize I needed to schedule some more crafting time, more cuddle time and some more sparkle time.

You can do it too.  Whether your sparkle has dulled due to a temporary issue or because of something bigger, find something small that you can grasp.  Something that will help you shine up your sparkle, add some sparkle dust!  Heck, mine was a shower curtain, what is your thing?