Welcome To The Community

Together, we’ll dive deep and find the strength to never give up because Great Things Take Time.

There’s probably a lot on your mind today—time to get it out.

You know I love Nana. She has influenced so much of my life (including the name of this newsletter), but did you know she could be more hard-headed than me? It’s an interesting concept when the people we love the most are the ones who are the most unswayable. They’re also the people we look up to the most who can share something that absolutely guts us.

Below, I want to take you on a journey to get to know my relationship with my grandmother better.

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Here's what's in today's email

• The Right Time To Talk About Things

• Moments with Maurice

• What's Got Me Smilin'

The Right Time To Talk About Things

My grandmother had strong opinions on who I dated and who my mother married. You can imagine the uncomfortable feelings I felt when I brought my first girlfriend to meet her or when she kicked our family out of her house because of my dad. She cared so much about our family, but she was also afraid of the hurt she imagined could come at us.

The best way forward with her was love and speaking my mind. There were a lot of uncomfortable conversations where I had to contradict what she was saying. My grandmother would always listen, even if she was firm in her beliefs. She was willing to at least hear me out, respecting that I might have a difference in opinion. 

In the moment, the conversations were hard, but it felt better than keeping it in, allowing it to fester, and turning me against my grandmother.

Over time, I understood why she held the fears that she did, and she began to soften her stance. She went from despising my father and demanding he stay far away from our life to becoming so inseparable that she was one of the last people he saw before he passed.

Everyone’s afraid of what they don't know. It takes time to change.  

But don’t worry, she never changed her stance that you should dress presentable or that if you’re outside, you should hug a tree (much to my embarrassment, she was literally never letting that one go).

To this day, I think back to the importance of getting out my feelings as soon as they arise. The sooner, the better. Sitting with emotions and hurt feelings can drag you down. So much so that eventually, you explode, and no one walks away feeling great from those conversations. In times I have bitten my tongue, I end up having an internal dialogue about the person or situation, creating something made up. 

We’ve all had those thoughts:

Are they looking to replace me as a friend, cut me out of their life, and steal everyone who loves me away from me? 

No, they just couldn’t make dinner because they felt burnt out. It’s not that deep.

Sharing understanding but a bit of disappointment in the situation allows you to honor your thoughts. It also gives others the security of knowing you care enough about them to support them, but keep it honest. It allows you to grow your relationship together.

In a way, I respect my grandmother because she didn’t hold back on her thoughts. She loved us so fiercely that she saw a world where both my mother and I would walk away harmed because of who we chose to love. But I respect her more because she listened. She didn’t make it about herself.

In the end, my mother and I got to love who we wanted without a fight, but we also had to hug a tree every time we were in nature. The most important part was that we all strengthened our relationship, evolving as one.

Moments with Maurice

This past week, things looked a little different.

Wednesday’s content took a pause for The Collective, so today’s reflection isn’t tied into a longer piece… for now… 😉

If you aren’t in Discord yet, I’ve realized that you may have missed this message. In the future, we’ll send out emails with events, announcements, and anything else important in addition to Discord messages. I feel horrible for this lapse and promise it won’t happen again.

We often don’t have control over our surroundings or the events in our lives. Ever the gearhead, I think about it like traffic. You can control how far away you are from the car in front of you, but that’s about it. When you don’t have control over your surroundings, I’m curious to know what you do to regulate and ground yourself. For me, it used to be wrecking myself in the gym. Now, it’s going for a drive in my car. The sound of the car humming and the vibrating of the road are meditative for me. It was a surprising thing to find comfort in

Below, I invite you to click the link and submit your responses to the prompt. Great Things Take Time has shown me the power of finding answers to one’s problems in other people’s stories and solutions.

Because no matter what, there is always something to smile about.

My Little Man

This little man with his post-bath snuggles makes my heart so warm and fuzzy. You know the feeling, like when your favorite shirt is covered in dog hair?

Nothing Makes Me Happier Than A Purring Engine

Like I said before, cars are my happy place, where I go to decompress. Pretty much every week I’m at a car meet where people are showing off their beautiful beasts. To me, beauty and art are mixed with power and gas (or electricity!!) to make a car. Beauty can be found in unexpected places, and for me, it’s right here.

Family Chats

My mom always sends us an uplifting message to start the week. This screenshot brings me so much joy, because it’s an example of our family just being family and meshing so beautifully.

Thanks for being with me on this journey. Over the last few months I’ve shared a lot of my life, and in turn learned so much about you all. It’s an honor to start your week and inspires me every day to hear about your wins. I know Great Things Take Time is far from perfect, but together I hope we can grow it into exactly what it’s meant to be.

Remember:

-Adrian