Party Time...

Chapter 1 

She walked into work after a morning of missed alarms, a thrown-together outfit, mascara applied at stop lights, and an inhaled protein bar. Needless to say, it was a rushed morning. She adjusted her shirt, loosely tucked into her skirt, hiding underneath an unbuttoned jacket. She felt like a hot mess and she was sure she looked like one too. Today was her three-year anniversary at this company. She couldn’t believe she had made it this long, and had grown and learned so much. She loved this job, although it was monotonous, frustrating, and daunting at times. And occasionally she produced some files that were not her favorite. She, overall,  was happy with this family she was building and proud of the work she was producing. Her work best friend taught her how to believe in herself, and she felt herself being settled into her role in the company. She didn’t expect anything other than what she hoped was going to be a low-key morning of emails where her brain could de-frazzle itself into its typical frazzled state. Where her hands could relax, and her heart could remember she was too young to have a heart attack. Her head was down as she moved on from adjusting her shirt to digging in her bag for her lip balm after a quick wave and smile to the receptionist. The office was quiet…too quiet. Her head remained down in place as her eyes projected a silent question to the dark room frozen in place. The window illuminated only half the room, and her friend's desk didn’t hold the normal soft island sunset glow that his lamp was accustomed to. Was her morning so frazzled that she ended up coming to work early instead of late? But, no… the receptionist was at her desk… or was she? She looked and waved too quickly, and her mind was somewhere else entirely. She could have created a hologram of her in her imagination. She began questioning everything. Was she even awake? Yeah, no, she definitely remembered almost being T-boned on her way in adding to her already disheveled self. “Interesting.” She mumbled to herself as her eyes went back into her bag where her hand remained still from the search.

Chapter 2 

“Happy three years!” A mix of voices shouted as the lights took to life. Her co-workers all bound out of their spots behind the cubicles.

“Ahh” She shrieked and threw up her purse in a startled state. When her eyes came back into focus she could see her best friend, her boss, and her boss's assistant standing in front of a few other co-workers. The company that she worked for wasn’t a large one; they enjoyed celebrating different milestones. But after everything that happened that morning, her mind was far out of reach of any possible party plans, thus explaining her deep reaction of surprise. They all stood there as laughter infused the air around her as her heart pounded through her chest at a racecar pace. “Oh my goodness!” Her hands swooped up to her heart and joy moved up to her face. Her friend moved out from behind the cubicles that were hiding them as the rest began to migrate around the room. Some went back to their desk, and others fell back into conversations with each other. 

“Thought we stopped your heart for a second there.” He laughed as he patted her shoulder and then crossed his arms over his chest. 

“I thought you did too!” She moved her hands from her chest to her hips. A few moments later she felt a hand on her upper back. 

“We are so happy to have you on our team.” Her boss stood next to her. 

“Happy to be here! I love being a part of this family!” And she meant every word. Her boss gave her shoulder a light squeeze that was punctuated with an endearing smile before she turned and walked back towards her office in her stiletto heels.  

“What do you think, you have another year in you?” He asked, dressed in warm humor, but bathed in honesty. 

“This place has grown on me, some weeks might be more of a challenge than others, but I don’t see me giving up anytime soon! It challenges me, and it’s also fun seeing where I started and where I am at now.” She looked around. 

Her friend collided with her side. “And I couldn't possibly leave my best friend to suffer here alone because that would be selfish.” He said to her in a voice mimicking her own, insinuating he was her with his mocking gestures.

“Exactly.” She smirked up at him. “Although… three years is not that big of a deal.” She looked around at all her co-workers standing and chatting.

“What are you talking about? Of course it’s a big deal! You have made a big impact here and I wouldn’t have enjoyed working here nearly as much if I didn’t have you to conspire with week by week! You need to learn to celebrate your accomplishments because you have earned them!” He looked at her with an “I know you you know” look. 

Chapter 3

March marks three whole years of The Allie-Way!!! Are you excited because I am excited!! In case you couldn’t tell by the exclamation marks. I’ve said this before, but I started this blog as a way to share my story in the hopes of helping and inspiring others. To be an outlet for me to write, and in a way vent. It has grown more than I expected and I have grown more than I could have imagined. And I am excited to celebrate it with you! It is important we celebrate little moments because sometimes we tend to undermine our success by feeling like there is too much attention on us, that maybe we aren’t where we thought we wanted to be yet, or that we aren’t where others are. We push ourselves into a corner, but let me remind you, every step toward your goal or desire is one for celebration! It takes courage to try, and it takes even more to fight for it! So celebrate your accomplishments! You deserve it! It is so fun getting to celebrate with all of you; to celebrate our growth, and each little shared obstacle that we have learned together. 

I am excited to see where this new chapter takes us, and I hope that you follow along. From moving, overcoming depression, and celebrating big personal milestones to everything in between. God is and was faithful, and I am so glad we got to walk through this together!! I hope you had an awesome week, and have an amazing weekend! Don’t forget to leave me a comment, follow on Instagram, share The Allie-Way, and subscribe for more of season four! Thanks for reading Allie-Cats! And here is to 3 years! 

• Dru Allie