Hop On Board!

This is the first post for Georgia Grey, a bi-weekly blog by Niki Cordell which has found its home at Rockette. 

When Carrie & Al originally requested input for the Rockette Blog, I instantly said yes!!! My heart was racing; I was so excited to share…what? I guess I don’t really know but in the back of my mind I have always thought about starting a blog. Not that I think that what I have to say is all that important, but I have lived my life with curiosity and want to share with all of you, whoever you are, wherever you are, with the hope we can all glean new and different perspectives to lead a happy, balanced (ha!), more mindful life.

So here’s a bit about me as I hope you follow along…shit’s gonna get real. I am a 32-year-old woman living in Chicago married to a supportive and loving husband for nearly five years. We have a 20-month year old daughter Olivia, a four year old fur baby Rooney and I am officially in my second trimester with baby number two. I work full time and really enjoy what I do – call me crazy, but leasing regional shopping centers is my jam. Me in a nutshell: type A, task-master, huge zest for life, wanderluster, materialistic (hard to admit that one), thoughtful, stubborn, decisive, relentless, honest, road-rager, gummie bear lover. I truly have the most amazing family and friends, often tagging my Instagram posts #ittakesavilliage because in my opinion for two full-time working parents trying to raise a family in the city of Chicago, it honestly takes everybody and their mother to keep you sane, clothed & fed. My best friend of all might be dry shampoo, sorry I’m not sorry.

This past year has been filled with unimaginable pain. My dad suddenly passed away at 65 on July 15, 2015.  I still cry when I say that. Like right now. It goes without saying that I miss him terribly and some days are serious struggles not having him around. Other days it feels like he is on vacation or in his shop working. As if that wasn’t insane enough to deal with, my aunt (my mom’s last living sibling) passed away from cancer; my grandma Emma (my dad’s mother) passed away at 86; and one of my dearest friend’s husband’s suddenly at 32. Too much loss in one year. Sometimes it feels like I'm not handling it well, suppressing my grief and pushing it down beneath the surface. Other days, I just plow through the never end list of to-do’s, hoping I can give my brain a rest at the end of a long day.  Yearning to take some sort of control over all the emotions I started seeing a therapist. I see him every 2 weeks and feel my sessions have brought clarity, calmness and the chance for a good vent sesh.

As if life isn’t crazy enough, a few girl friends and I have started a small entrepreneurial endeavor – RingHero, the athletic accessory to protect your ring while crushing life. Launches live on Kickstarter on October 5th! More on that later…

My goal is to contribute every other week. (There – I said it). Hold me accountable. I have some discussion topics up my sleeve, but if I get lazy or overwhelmed, you’ll have to settle for pictures of my sweet peanut Olivia.  

xo

Niki