Hi friends. Welcome back to picture love. This is the third time I'm recording this episode. The technology's been off the wall. Crazy. And the pets have been a little wonky too. Interrupting and being needy and. There is a full moon while I'm recording this episodes, the first full moon of 2025. So I guess. Emotions are running high for humans, technology and pets. But that being said, I named this episode loving the limbo because I am living here right now in the in-between and. I'm really, really excited about it. I'm very, very happy. And the reason I want to share this with you is maybe there's something that you can be really happy about in your own life right now. And maybe you hadn't thought about it, or maybe you're going to reach out to me and say, yes, Kris this is what I'm happy about And I welcomed those stories. So when I first launched this podcast over a year ago, I was in the thick of growing a certain business named reminiscence that had grown very, very much. Uh, part of who I am. It was very much a reflection of my heart for other people and my passion for sharing pictures and protecting them. And. Making making the beautiful tools for expressing the love in our lives. And the earliest version of my tagline was helping people cure, rate evidence of lives. Well lived. Well, I discovered recently in my in-between now that we have sold the house, we have moved. We unpacked. We celebrated the end of 2024 and the holidays. Hosted my adult kids in the new home. And now we're settling into the new year. Husbands travel for work kids back in their school and their programs. Now. My business is closed and my house is quiet. And I'm discovering, what is it really like to a, be an empty nester? And B. Live in limbo, you know, the, in between. I know so many people who are between jobs right now. I know so many people who, have moved or are preparing to move. Some were forced to move because of natural disasters and. Maybe not all of them, very natural, but that's another story. There are so many people in limbo or heading to some kind of in-between. And I want to suggest ways. That limbo can be something you love. Because nothing in this life happens to us. It all happens for us. Even if it's something we didn't choose to unfold the way it did. One of life's biggest truths that I hold firmly to is that the one guaranteed thing in life is change. And I really truly believe that we can trust that there is something for us and everything that happens. And for those who've been listening to this podcast, you've heard me reference a very narcissistic abusive client. That I had to release this client. It was, it was very abusive the way. I was being treated and, I can't even begin to describe it. I'm not going to, because. It won't help you. For me to rehash it. But what I will tell you is it gave me the gift of. Reaching a boundary. That broke something. That was really outdated. And I won't say reminiscence, my business was broken. But I will tell you that shoe just wasn't fitting anymore because of the worn out souls. So sad as I am to say goodbye to reminiscence, I'm very, very happy that the next chapter, whatever it's going to be called. We'll be a better reflection of who I am today and the work that I do today. And the boundaries set in place are I will not be your glorified. Kinko's. I'm here to craft beautiful things that curate evidence of lives well lived. I'm a creative always have been. And now I'm returning to the work that's going to light me up. So we've already covered that much. And the boundaries. But what happened to me today? What happened for me? Try that one more time. What I did for myself today. Was so healing. I have to share. Now you've heard me talk about letting things go that no longer serve. I've talked about that in many different scenarios. But what I wasn't remembering was that I had to do some clean-out from this project. And old projects that I had done for clients where I needed to temporarily how's their photos. And over time, if you think you take a lot of pictures or, you know, somebody who takes a lot of pictures, Imagine being a picture taker who takes that many pictures and works with that many picture takers in their life. Okay. The amount of images that I was handling on a monthly let alone a yearly basis. I can't even count. I, those would be some staggering statistics. But I went through when I realized, oh, you know, I deleted all the copies I thought I had, but then there was the cloud that got backed up. And the backup in the cloud. I was not happy. Reminiscing. It was evidence of narcissistic abuse. So what I did. I set a timer. And in the company of friends who were doing their own projects today, I went through. And I deleted old folders and I deleted old images and I empty trash cans. That is digital trash cans, recycling bins. And I finally wiped away. The smudgy muddy. Footprints that somebody had left on my metaphorical welcome mat. Those shoes are no longer. Welcome on my doormat. And. Nobody has to live with somebody else's muddy footprints and their metaphorical doormats. So coming back to releasing photos that no longer serve. That goes for professional. That goes for anything that is not part of our. Life legacy. Other people's family pictures are not part of my personal legacy. My pictures, my family photos. Those are part of my legacy. Oh, and I cleaned out a bunch of those too, because I do like to take about five or six. To keep one good one. And so I did, and I deleted old videos that just don't do what a really great photo does. And vice versa. It, it was freeing. It was liberating. And it was that last energetic step I needed. Two. Not only cut the court. I already cut the cord. Uh, this was to dissolve, remove and transmute those cords of painful connections into a newly empowered. And relieved self. And so, you know, what. I'm loving the limbo because the limbo is what gave me enough space to see something else that had to be cleared out. Had to be removed. It's so easy to go into overwhelm. When we have lists of lists. Or we think somebody else is going to take care of something and we think we delegate something, but those other people, it's not their priority as much as it is for us. So. Give yourself the gift of finding a friend who will hold you accountable to take care of something that you need to do. Even if it means you set a coffee date and you take care of what you gotta do and they take care of what they've got to do. And then you're both relieved because it's done. Or give yourself the gift of hiring that professional. Who's gone if finish it for you through the years. That's one thing that really kept me motivated in business. I loved the people when they would hire me. They say, you know, Kris, Maybe this is something I could do myself, but I know I'm not going to finish it. And I know if I hire you, you'll finish it for me. And that gave me great motivation. To push through and do things that yeah, I can do. And yeah, I'm good at, but. They weren't lighting me up anymore. So in this in-between I am redefining. What. Can I do. And what do I love to do? And asking questions like, Hmm. What else is out there that I'm about to learn? Or that I could love even more than what I've already done. So I want to offer you that question. Are you asking yourself? What could I do? That I might love even more than what I've already done, and I'm not talking about changing careers. I'm just talking about, I don't know. Travel hat. The cations. Eating habits. Exercising. Relationships, you ever have those things that. You feel like you're on a hamster wheel? Cause you're doing the same activities over and over and over. And while you might be getting some things done, it doesn't like accumulate to something that you feel satisfied by. Well, I guarantee you those metaphorical hamster wheels are really good lesson. How long can you run before you burn out and decide. Hmm. Maybe I could be doing something better for myself or for somebody else. But honestly, when we do something better for ourselves, Those that we influenced benefit to. So let's be the right kind of selfish, the kind of selfish that lets us grow and heal and be better people. So that we can turn our more loving, healed selves. Out to the world. To show up. And. Newer better. Excited more curious ways and allow ourselves to be in limbo without any shame. And a quick side note. While I am unemployed. And out of business at the moment, I did give myself a very healing timeout by soaking in a salt bath. And I am going to link up the show notes, my special recipe, just for you check the link in the show notes. Think of limbo as that party game. You know, you're at a party, people having a good time and that limbo pole gets lower and lower and the music is playing and there might be twinkly lights and there might be delicious food. And there's people laughing. And slipping and falling in that if they do that's part of the game. It's not, it's not a do or die situation. Let the limbo be the party game. The party game that gives you a chance to blow off some steam. And to regroup. And energize ourselves. So whether your limbo is a five minute. Break with your eyes, shut on the sofa or. Maybe it's a week away. Or maybe it's, uh, A weekend. Have a staycation, whatever your limbo is. I hope you savor it. I hope you love it. And I hope you rediscover new levels of happiness as you picture love in the limbo.