Lemons into Lemonade

Although this is an extension of Silk Road Pearls, I've been hesitant to include personal experiences. I don't want this to be an outlet for whining. But after this, the first of many plane rides back and forth from Boston to LAX on JetBlue, I felt compelled to write about an experience I had today.

I'm sure many of you can relate to being caught off guard and have been shocked when someone, a stranger or a friend, openly comments on your lifestyle or decisions. Having had a lot of exposure to the Amish growing up, I like to think I'm less likely to do this myself - but I'm sure there's someone in the woodwork who could attest to the opposite.

When a recruiter told me today, 'Well I hope he (Tall Guy) is worth it because you'll miss a lot of opportunities here in Boston by moving across the country,' I was speechless, embarrassed, and stripped of my confidence all at once. Only close family and friends would be told to allow for catharsis via text message.

VanityFair.com

But I knew I can't have been the only sorry soul to be the recipient of someone's unintentional insults. A few recent serendipitous quotes changed my mind: first the cover story of Vanity Fair - Angelina Jolie discussing her leap into the director's seat with the film 'In the Land of Blood and Honey.' She talked about having, up until this point, hid behind someone else's words in films she's been in. But the author, Rich Cohen, points out 'To get big, risk big,' something my professor for business turnarounds said yesterday  when he explained how some companies have managed to come back from the brink of failure (this is a secret obsession I'm sure will be of topic later).

Then as I was mulling the day later on this five and a half hour flight, I tried to distract myself with the movie Julie and Julia on my iPad (our iPad really); something about films that take place over long spans of time gets me, like Gone With the Wind or Big Fish. The movie featured enough butter-laced dishes that got me ready for a late dinner in Manhattan Beach.

Cooking while wearing pearls.

But I also saw two women - in different times but both in pearls - making the best of their not so ideal situations: Julia Child as an American new to France with little to do, and Julie Powell  new to Queens, NY and stuck in a career rut. Both were a little lost and took some time to find their stride, not without a few hiccups. Julie's husband remarks that for all that Julia Child made herself into, she wasn't always a world renown chef.

So with the Angelina article and the movie, I moved on from composing nasty emails in my head to writing this post, still with some hesitancy. The real kicker that convinced me this was actually a good idea to write about was a recent NYTimes article detailing some intimate thoughts of the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis while she was a resident of the White House. Although the article revealed some very off color remarks for our time, two things surprised me: President Kennedy had 45 minute naps he changed into pajamas for them, and he cried after the botched Bay of Pigs incident.

Always classic in pearls.

I've always thought of President Kennedy as this stoic, larger than life person. It was almost a sigh of relief to bring him to the level of the common man; knowing that if he could take naps and cry, then certainly I can - more importantly I shouldn't be so surprised to feel weakness or be unsure at times, and I shouldn't be so quick to judge others going through those emotions.

I work at not wearing my heart on my sleeve, but I also don't want to aim for perfection. So as my good friend told me, 'Tone down the lemon' on this blog (aka don't always be Suzie Sunshine), I too will not hide stumbles. It just takes a minute (sometimes longer) to realize how funny/ridiculous little things are. And to remember all the hard work you've done; even if others may not notice, I have enough faith in good karma to let it go and focus on things to be grateful for (yes it's a little lemon of me).