I Am an Onion....

I am a wife, a mom, a daughter, a sister and a friend.

I am a lawyer, a writer and a thinker.

I am silly, friendly, inquisitive and talkative.

I am judging, irritable and sensitive.

I am a Texan, Oklahoman, Iowan and Minnesotan.

I am open-minded, controlling and determined.

I am shy. I am worried no one will talk to me. I am uncertain. I am sometimes lonely. I am tired. I am ignored. I am vulnerable.

I am loved. I am noticed. I am important {to my kids and husband}. I am complex. I am accepted. I am imperfect, which I'm told is the new perfect. I am me.

I am all of these things every day. There are many layers to my being. Some layers are thin; some layers are thick; and sometimes it's painful to start slicing through the layers. I was all of these things and more this past week at Blissdom Conference in Nashville. I have found that a gathering like this brings out the best and worst of me.

Blissdom unlike BlogHer, did provide more opportunities for networking and conversation. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of business cards I exchanged with other attendees. I was also delighted to meet and connect with a number of really lovely people. There were some who intentionally struck up a conversation with me because I was alone {and perhaps looking tired and dejected}; who shared a smile, a kind word, a tweet and a hug with me. I am forever grateful to those ladies who at various times plucked me up and made me feel included and loved.

I was in awe of the amazing keynote speaker, Brene’ Brown, author of The Gifts of Imperfection. Let Go of Who You Think You Are Supposed to Be & Embrace Who You Are. I know that I am a better person for having heard her words of wisdom. I am certain that if I gained nothing else from this trip, Brene' Brown's speech was more than worth it. She's a lovely fellow Texan with a penchant for relating stories and research in a heartfelt, meaningful manner.

Was Blissdom worth the money, the time, the expense? I'm still processing the entire experience to decide this. I'm still deciding whether I will plan to go to Blissdom in 2012. If I do go next year, I know I now have #Blissdom friends. Thank you Shan {sorority sister from my chapter}, Alycia, Kristina, Alethea, Kristina L. {in photo above}, Joanna, Abby, Heather and Sarah. I would not have laughed or cried {in a good way} nearly so often without these girls!

The last night was a bit of a fiasco and a whole post unto itself. Thankfully, Kristina L. was there along for the ride and helped provide some comic relief to the situation. I'll tell you that story another time. Over and out...

Anna

 You might also like:

#Blissdom Day 1: What I Learned Today ...

Motherly Advice {Reflections of Motherhood ~ www.nummies.com}

Mixed Feelings: Next Week

Comments

[darcie]

I can't imagine myself *fitting in* or enjoying one of these larger conferences...
I have a hard enough time saying hello to all of the folks locally that I want to when we all get together here...there's never enough time to visit with everyone I want to, etc -
Investing so much time and money on a bigger conference, with the chance of feeling, um, less than 100% about it - it's just not for me right now -
Welcome home!

[Kristen @ High Heels and a Hammer]

Well said Anna! I had many of these same feelings this week. Expectations, hopes, interactions, and emotions can all collide at events like Blissdom. I am delighted to count you as a friend! (I hope your hotel that last night was ok! :) )

[Joanna]

Great post, Anna! I would describe myself as most of those things too (except the Northern stuff!) :)
I am so blessed that I was lucky enough to meet such a cool person this week at Blissdom. You rock!

[Heather]

I so enjoyed meeting you and your stories! I do hope you decide to come next year so we can get together again.

[Kristina]

This is great! So glad you became my Blissdom buddy! And you're welcome for the comic relief on Friday night, I still think it was all my fault! HA!

[LoveFeast Table]

I'm so thankful you are a blogger. With out blogging I would have never have had the pleasure of meeting you! I would also add funny, kind and encouraging to your list...

So glad to count you as friend~
~Chris Ann

[Anna]

Darcie

I think you would do well. You are always good about chatting with people! Thanks for reading!

Anna

[Anna]

Kristen,

Thanks for the comment. These conferences are difficult to navigate and find the right place to be and people to be with, but I have been glad I have gone to both BlogHer and Blissdom!

I'm so glad you had an inspiring experience (I saw you tweet that!)

Hope to see you soon! You are always such a blessing to me!

Thanks, Anna

[Anna]

Thanks, Joanna! You rock too! It was such fun meeting you and hanging out with you. Thanks for reading!
Anna

[Anna]

Heather, You made me laugh so much! You are so funny & I love your laugh! If I come again, we will definitely hang out again!

Thanks, Anna

[Anna]

Kristina! Friday night would have ended in tears rather than laughter if you had not been with me! Thank you so much!

Anna

[Anna]

oh Chris Ann - you are too kind yourself! You are just such a lovely person. I feel the same about you! Hope to see you soon!

Anna

[Alethea]

I just want to know if you got it signed off with Kristina to use her face on your page. I may have to check my Legal Workshop notes to see if that's okay :)

I LOVED meeting you, too, and you'd better come back. I know three ladies who'll be crying in their red wine if you don't!

[Anna]

Alethea,

Thanks for checking with me, but I did get Kristina's OK! :)Glad you learned something from the sessions! I would love to come back to Nashville for any reason!

Anna