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Showing Up Anyway (OOTD)

 

Showing Up Anyway — A Local Festival, Two Outfits, and One Very ND Menopausal Brain - keeping it real reels. (Extension of my Art)

Tomorrow - I’m heading to a local festival in Palmer Park — a little slice of Nashville energy dropped right into Reading. Sunshine, music, people milling about, and that soft summer feeling that makes you want to try something new, even when your brain and hormones are doing their own unpredictable choreography.

Just getting myself ready feels like its own achievement. Trying new things when you’re navigating hormone chaos and an ND brain is never straightforward. Some days I’m steady, some days I’m foggy, and some days I’m pressing pause instead of start/stop and laughing at myself because… honestly, what else can I do.

So I decided to lean into it. Two outfits. Two moods. A tiny voting system because if my brain is going to be chaotic, I might as well make it part of the fun.

Outfit One: Lazy Western / Trucker Girl Cool

Red and black western shirt. Red and black ROC boots — my OG Urban Outfitters cowboy boots. Denim shorts, white vest, and the old H&M horse print scarf I’ve had forever. Busy Bee trucker hat. And my bag with badges, because remembering a bag at all is a win.

This one feels like sitting on a hay bale with a cold drink, listening to guitars, letting the world slow down. Easy, dusty, western energy.

Outfit Two: Classic Cowgirl Festival Mode

Ariat cowboy hat. Same shorts. Marks & Spencer support vest. And my beloved boots from Cody, Wyoming — the ones stitched with memories.

This one feels more line dancing, more festival ready, more “I’m here for the music and the moment.”

But the real story isn’t the outfits. It’s me showing up.

I’m pressing pause instead of start/stop. I’m laughing at myself because this is supposed to be fun. I’ve got two outfits because my brain is doing its own thing. And I’m still turning up, even when I don’t know if the dip is coming in an hour, a day, or next week.

This post is for every ND woman — diagnosed, undiagnosed, ignored, dismissed — riding the hormonal rollercoaster and still trying to live a life with joy, clarity, and a bit of sparkle. For the ones trying to understand their own bodies while the world tells them to “just get on with it.”

I don’t know if my old brain function is ever coming back. But I am learning to live this new rhythm. I am finding clarity and joy in between the dips. I am human, and I’m doing it beautifully — even on the days I feel like I’m not.

Today I’m showing up. I’m trying something new. I’m laughing at myself. I’m wearing cowboy boots in Reading and making it a moment.

Now it’s time to vote: ❤️ Red boots or ? Blue boots — choose my festival fighter.

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