Latest / Letters from Jeannie: Hosting and Intentional Living / I’m Learning to Let Go

Transcript

I’m Learning to Let Go · Letters from Jeannie: Hosting and Intentional Living

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Hi, it's Jeannie.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Letters from Jeannie.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Pour yourself something warm and stay a while.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: This week's letter is called, I'm Learning to Let Go.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Learning to Let Go, Confessions of a Micromanager.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: I have a confession.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'm always organizing my refrigerator.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's a weekly thing.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone in my house knows it's coming and moves out of my way.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: The doors fling open and the drama begins.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Every shelf gets wiped down with Clorox.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Every container gets washed.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Eggs, condiments, and milk are organized by expiration date.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: The bins are cleaned and arranged.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: Food is tossed out and replenished.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: If someone puts the OJ in the wrong section, I notice and it gets fixed quickly.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: It sounds harmless.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Trust me, it's not.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: This ritual costs me more than I want to admit.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: The price.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: Time.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Time I could spend on my own wellness.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Time with my friends.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: More constructive time with my family.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: Less time fussing at everyone about that darn refrigerator.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: Less time on Instacart or at H-E-B.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: More time just sitting down and doing nothing at all.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, money.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Keeping it all looking just right means I spend more on groceries than I should.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: I get it honestly from my mama, who remains the master micromanager even today.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Watching her showed me how easily caring for everything can turn into controlling everything.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: I've always loved Chaka Khan, and my favorite song is I'm Every Woman.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: The line, I'm every woman, is all it be, resonates here.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: The song highlights a woman's natural capabilities,
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: emotional intelligence,
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: intuition,
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: unapologetic self-confidence,
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: and independence while celebrating the many roles women navigate daily.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: As women,
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: we are friends,
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: partners, caregivers, and whatever else we need to be to keep life going.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Guess what?
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: These are far too many roles to assume at one time,
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: yet we consistently take them on,
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: believing that no one else can do everything the right way but us.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: We micromanage to survive impossible expectations because we fear failing
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: or disappointing others, even at the expense of our well-being.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Why it's hard to let go?
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Because it won't be done right.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: Let me be honest about that.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's not that it won't be done right.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: It won't be done my way, the way I'm comfortable with.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: That's the real problem.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not just the refrigerator.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's my business too.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: I've been the one checking every caption and fixing every little thing.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm stepping back by hiring help to help handle these daily tasks,
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: freeing me to be unapologetically myself.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: This will take time and I will have to check my micromanaging at the door.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: What I'm learning is I have to let it go.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: I have to let other people carry some of the weight,
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: do things on their own terms, and trust that their way can work too.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: The last part is the hardest because, again, who can do this right but me?
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: I've got to let that intrusive thought go.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to miss out on any more meaningful time.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: I must build on the skills and knowledge I gain from others.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: If I refuse to let go, I will never become my full self.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: What I'll do with the time I get back,
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: take better care of myself,
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: spend more slow evenings on the couch watching TV,
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: call my friends and actually see them more often,
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: tap into more of my creativity and bloom into something beyond what I ever imagined
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: for myself.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: That sounds like a pretty good trade for a perfectly lined up refrigerator.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: So tell me, what's your refrigerator?
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: What are you holding onto that someone else could carry?
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: Leave a comment on the letter.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: I read every one.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: Live with intention.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: If you would like more of my table,
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: My cookbook,
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to My Table,
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: and my pivotal moments, Candles, are linked in the letter on Substack.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're listening on Spotify or Apple, follow along so next Sunday's letter finds you.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Until then, take care of yourself.