Well hello, there old friends. It’s been quite a while. Let me start by thanking those who reached out to check in and let me know you missed the meal plan. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your kind words. I could give you a whole blog post on why I “disappeared” but the long and short of it is I needed a break. The creative process I once craved and loved started to feel like a chore and I finally gave myself permission to step away. Well, now that I think of it, you kind of need the story. So…..
My initial reaction after taking a break was to close up shop. It felt right. I went back in time in my mind to when I started Dinner with the Duffys and evaluated what drove me to start in the first place. Initially, my answer was money and freedom. In 2019, I was in a dead-end job that paid peanuts, offered zero flexibility, and pretty much no support to my area so I was frustrated and hopeful I could grow DWTD to allow for it to be my main source of income. Spoiler Alert – it never happened!!
Once the realization set in I wasn’t going to be a million-dollar influencer, it was time to put my focus on finding a new job. I typed all of that in one sentence like it was no big deal but it wasn’t an easy thing for me to do. There were a number of reasons I was hesitant to leave and to be honest, I was scared. My generation is still part of the “the grass isn’t always greener” mentality when it comes to work but y’all, it’s time we catch up with Gen Z and embrace change. Case and point – fast forward nine months and I’m in a job I LOVE surrounded by wonderful people who support me, challenge me and cheer me on. Damn it feels good to be a gangster. (not sure why I typed that but it just felt right)
And that’s why I decided to close up shop. Makes sense, right? Wrong. While all of the above is totally accurate, I misevaluated a huge component. The “why” of why I started DWTD in the first place. The money and freedom piece came after. What came first, the whole reason I started sharing my meal plans with all of you, was because I LOVED meal planning and I wanted to share my knowledge to help other busy women tackle the dread of weeknight cooking. Once that light bulb went off, I knew I wanted to keep going but without the pressure to “perform.”
What does that mean? It means I’m not going to worry about posting on Instagram thirty times a week to drive engagement. I don’t care about engagement – I care about sharing content that will help make your lives, and mine, easier. I’m also not going to spend an hour a night trying to get a perfect picture of a bowl of rice – Jesus, no wonder I was so angry all of the time – I’m just going to post the damn picture. Lastly, I have to accept that what I’m doing here is a courtesy not only to everyone who follows me but also to myself. It’s a creative outlet I love but it’s not worth sacrificing time with my family or time for myself. So some weeks I might have to step away and hope that you will give me the grace to do so. I trust that you will. Because y’all are amazing.
So, there you have it – the inner workings of my brain over the last few months. I had planned to stop after the first paragraph but this ended up being the therapy session I didn’t know I needed. I’m off to take the girls shopping for appropriate jeans so I’ll circle back with the actual meal plan later today or first thing tomorrow AM. I promise it’s coming.
I love you guys,
Kelly D.
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