Gindi Vincent

The Dish on Career, Fashion, Faith, and Family

Women

One Year After The Bell

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That’s me. Today. 

My six month oncologist visit happened to fall today.

One year after my last radiation treatment. 

March 31st. 

It happened to be just before Easter weekend last year. Lots of analogies running through my head.

It’s been a bear of a week. (More on that tomorrow.)

I’ve been all upside down and inside out and it was all totally unrelated to this.

My friend asked me last month if I’d write to mark this anniversary. I wasn’t sure.

I went back and read what I wrote six months after the surgery.  On August 4th.

The side effects are largely gone. No more itching, thankfully. My range of motion on the right side is back.

But I’m having hot flashes from the Tamoxifen. And weight gain. I’m really heavy right now and uncomfortable about it most of the time.

My breasts are scarred up and I don’t like to see them. I’m super thankful I have them, mind you, but they’re a constant reminder.

I’m grateful. Regularly. 

I’m amazed that the cancer was caught early, cut out in the surgery and I didn’t need chemotherapy.

I guess I’ve wondered how to live in the in between. 

Part of what I’ve been doing is stepping back from my relationship with Christ.

It’s probably why I haven’t written. 

I don’t know how to say that. 

I’m not leaving the faith or anything, but I’ve sort of stepped into a selfish cycle.

Isn’t that terrible? 

After all of the goodness of God and others, I’ve been pretty self focused the past four or five months.

I’ve focused on my kids and on my job and on spending money and lots of things surrounding me and mine, but not so much on what God wants me to do next.

This tension has cropped up between sacrificing everything because God has been so incredibly faithful despite my faithlessness (the whole Samuel’s mother giving him back to God idea) and squeezing everything into this life possible because who knows when it will end. Whether or not it’s what God wants. 

It’s the ugliest part of how I’ve been processing. 

So I don’t have a rainbows and sunshine anniversary post. 

I’m struggling but I’m also okay. 

The doctor said everything looked good today and I was utterly thankful for that.

I can pray every day, which I do, and thank God, which I do, but still not live in a space where God wants me to be.

I tried to write a final line to this post a dozen different ways. To wrap this up neatly. I kept deleting them. Because everything sounded trite and untrue. I don’t know what’s next. But maybe I’ll come back here again.

Say Hello and Wave Goodbye

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It’s inevitable.

With each new door that opens, you leave the last room behind as you walk through.

I just left a room. A chapter. An era.

For nine years, I worked at a global energy company. I joined after 14 years in private practice. I moved to the position because I had toddler triplets and didn’t feel I could juggle the demands of business development and the billable hour while being a present mom. We’d waited so long to have a family, I didn’t want to miss out on watching them grow.

I was incredibly fortunate in that I had a great nine years. I served in different roles, including this last one of over four and a half years where I got to serve as the lawyer for a massive joint venture project. Cooler than even the work, which was really cool, were the people. These clients have been the most incredible ones of my career. They became dear friends and made my day-to-day work an absolute dream.

I loved coming to work. I loved what I did and who I got to hang out with.

That all made the walking through the open door harder.

I basically want to hold on to everyone forever. Add all the new people but keep all the old ones too. That can get tricky after multiple career changes and moves.

Before COVID hit last year, I started thinking about whether it made sense to move. But COVID hit, and all that went on the back burner.

At the end of 2020, I dusted off those thoughts. But cancer hit, and all that went back on the back burner.

So when I finished radiation and celebrated Easter, I started asking God if it was time to go. There were three things I was looking for (in addition to all the basics like wonderful people, competitive comp, etc.): a leadership role, a diverse industry, and closer to home.

The only job I interviewed for had all three.

I will go from a 33 mile commute, one way, to a one and half mile commute. I know, I drove it yesterday to specifically measure my commute home.

I will be doing a lot of different things, but it will be more technology focused. And… I will have the chance to serve as the Assistant General Counsel with lots of opportunity for career growth.

This last one wasn’t about the title. As you know, I’m incredibly passionate about leadership and diversity and development and corporate culture. I wanted a seat at the table because I wanted to invest this into a corporate law department.

However, all that excitement about the opportunity didn’t make the goodbye any easier.

Last week was hard. Amazing clients threw me some farewell parties and we got to swap our funny stories from our adventure together. I received kind notes and generous words. And I hugged a bunch of people and tried not to cry.

Now that the goodbyes have concluded, I drove away from my work campus last Friday at lunch with no work computer, badge, cell phone, or email, I’m ready.

I feel really ready.

So I’m running all my last minute errands today because tomorrow I’m going to be a new hire. With a fresh backpack and water bottle, ready to tackle the world. I get to meet new people and learn new things and I LOVE learning new things. I’m sure I’ll feel inexperienced and nervous too, because a lot of this is going to be new. But I’ll grow and stretch and test out a key tenet of my faith: My grace is sufficient for you for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

I’m excited to say hello now that I’ve waved goodbye.

Four Weekends: No. 3

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Here we are, already at Weekend No. 3! I started this four weekend series with No. 1, celebrating the kids. Then yesterday covered No. 2, family time!

Today, I’m talking about a favorite topic: GIRLFRIENDS! Weekend No. 3 was a much needed, much overdue girls trip.

I won’t get into the details of how it totally came together last minute for me, or how a friend of mine invited me even though I didn’t know the other women on the trip.

What I will say is that it was absolutely perfect. Six women. All within about a decade in age (with me being the senior citizen). All working momma lawyers. But even more, deep women of faith, with great interests, varied musical tastes, and a love of wine and coffee.

These were my people.

The crazy thing is, this is the only weekend that would have even worked. October is mayhem with work and sports and birthdays. But early one Friday morning, I hopped on a flight using my frequent flyer miles, and zipped up to Northern California for a weekend in Sonoma, my favorite part of wine country.

I really think we could have plopped down anywhere though.

We ate great food, drank great wine, and had important conversations about careers and societal issues and parenting and love and faith and more.

I feel like the theme of each of these four posts is uninterrupted.

Life, most days, is a series of constant interruptions. This time was uninterrupted. We didn’t have to pick a restaurant our kids would enjoy. We didn’t have to run interference for a fight (with kids or clients). No eating in a hurry at our desk.

Nope. It was leisurely. All planned out. We just showed up at each stop. Ate, drank, laughed and talked. In long unhurried segments of time.

I woke up in the morning and took my coffee and phone outside to a massive backyard overlooking a vineyard. I put my favorite praise music on the phone and sat. Took deep breaths. Ingested the beauty. Absorbed the peace.

We don’t do this. Especially we working mommas. We’re notoriously terrible at this. We’ll go years without sitting still. Even today, writing this post, I am MAKING myself sit at my computer while the kids are out on a Sunday afternoon. I have a ton of things to do but I really want to write. Love to write.

But there’s no time. To take deep breaths. To have deep thoughts.

Then we went out. To great dinners (highly recommend The Girl and The Fig). To great vineyards (highly recommend Repris for the experience and Merry Edwards for the pinot). We listened to 90s country and sang songs I didn’t even know I knew. I laughed so much. I don’t laugh nearly as much as I used to and I’m going to work on that.

This weekend was a gift. At a time that could not have been more perfect. Right before a major life change. Right before the frenzied holiday season, full of goodness but also chaos.

The women were a gift. Each of them was interesting, thoughtful, beautiful, funny, insightful, gracious, and really pretty fabulous. We just got together again this week to catch up and celebrate our shipment of wine by cracking some open.

I did nothing to deserve such a gorgeous, joy-filled weekend away, but I’m overwhelmingly, unspeakable grateful for its coming.

Fashion Friday: Fall Trends – Animal Print

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Happy Fashion Friday friends!

We are back with the third trend in this fall’s fashion: ANIMAL PRINT!

In the first installment, I waxed poetic about navy. Last week, we talked about all things plaid.

Today though, we celebrate the bounty of animal print. 

I’m partial to leopard myself, but there is a lot more out there than your basic tan with black leopard spots.  Oh mercy yes.

There’s giraffe and zebra and cheetah and tiger, OH MY!

Today I’m going to feature everything from super affordable to not remotely affordable. Ha! A girl’s gotta dream.

First up, let’s talk giraffe print. It’s utterly underutilized. And in fact, it wouldn’t have made an appearance today except I was just in a meeting with a client who had the most fabulous black and white giraffe print dress.  I couldn’t find one online like it, so we could all go buy it, but I did find this inspiration piece. When I find an inspiration piece, it’s way outside my budget (this is over $500), but it gives me a style to look for at more reasonable shops. Of course, if you regularly frequent Diane von Furstenberg, then by all means pick this number up (or the top in this same fabulous print that is a tiny bit less expensive…)

How about heading to the polar extreme? Target! I love me some Target! And they’ve really been killing it with on trend fashion this fall.  Check out my best friend’s cute leopard print sneakers. Not only are they a cute (and reasonable) add to your fall wardrobe, they’re comfy to boot.  Or throw on this little tee from Old Navy that you can pick up for LESS THAN $10!?!?!

Still working in a more formal work environment where you don a blazer during the week? I am nuts for this tone-on-tone animal print scarf neck shell.  If you work in a casual environment, this would still be great under a blazer with jeans and boots for your Saturday night out.

I have an unhealthy obsession with the long cardigan. I have for years. I love it. It’s my uniform on winter weekends with jeans. And oh to incorporate the animal print trend with the long cardi – um yes please! Y’all are going to need to take my wallet to keep me from picking up this gorgeous tiger print number (and I’ll even forgive her for wearing a denim pantsuit – a trend I can’t get behind).

My very fav pair of work shoes are chunky leopard print shoes (not available at DSW anymore but I adore them).  Shoes are the absolute easiest way to incorporate this trend. Browse DSW now and you can find cow print, snakeskin, cheetah, and more. I recently picked up these printed TOMS wedge booties but now I’m wishing I’d grabbed these Vionic booties instead.

What say you? Do you love an animal print? What’s your favorite trend out there right now? Send me a link to what we should all buy this week!

Fashion Friday: Fall Trends – Plaid

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Welcome back to Fashion Friday and our four part series on fall’s latest fashion trends.

Last week we discussed the glorious resurgence of NAVY!

Today, we discuss the trend there is NO WAY you have missed: PLAID!

Plaid, plaid, everywhere is plaid.

Now I wouldn’t typically fall for this lumberjack look, but it’s being incorporated in interesting ways and interesting colors so it feels less “lumberjack-y.”

If you have bought any fall clothing, you got assaulted with plaid.

I’ve not seen such a universal trend since the attack of the prairie dresses during COVID (and they linger still…). 

How can you incorporate it into your fall look?

Well, if you’re not nuts about the trend, try something small like this cute boot from DSW or a little accessory (and do you see all the plaid incorporating navy?!?!):

If you’re willing to go bolder, I just picked up this wonderfully vibrant plaid wrap for a steal at LOFT (and not only does it incorporate the plaid trend, it also incorporates the navy and wrap trends!).  I’ve got a girls weekend to the wine country in a few weeks and thought this would be a fun addition:

My best friend nabbed this adorable plaid jacket from Target and makes the typical lumberjack ensemble look feminine because of colors and styling.  And also, she’s gorgeous which helps (my daughter announced from the back seat when Kristin was in for the icepocalypse, “sorry mom, but she looks like she’s in her 20s”):

I’m also exercising all my self-restraint not to pick up this Hutton blazer from Ann Taylor – I love this look so much! Making plaid professional and pretty:

Are you wearing plaid? How are you incorporating it into your fall wardrobe (which is super hard in Houston this week at 90 degrees!)?  Any guesses as to next week’s trend?  A hint – roar…