✨ “It Is What It Is…” (But I Still Hate That Quote)

Michele Renee
Jul 29, 2025
4 min read

✨ “It Is What It Is…” (But I Still Hate That Quote) ✨ originally written: Date: December 7, 2016

Today’s Message:

“It is what it is…”

Ugh. I hate that damn quote. 😒 But today? It fits. It stings. And it sits in my chest.

Lately, I’ve been going through it. So many health issues. So many mental spirals. It’s one of those seasons where the world feels heavier than it should, and my body isn’t exactly helping. But if you know me, you know this much: I don’t stay down for long.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHek0kaNXjY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=RDCjxugyZCfuw&v=CjxugyZCfuw

Because 2017? It’s gonna be different. It has to be.

Where I Come From 💼✨

The truth? My mom is a career genius. She had me as a teenager, but that never stopped her hustle. I watched her climb her way up through sheer grit and determination working as a Chief Financial Executive, an accountant, and even for Mr. Santikos himself, the movie mogul 🎥. Yeah, my mom didn’t just make a living she made a legacy.

She taught me that if you want something, you chase it down. You get up, no matter how many times life knocks you over. And you run with courage, with fire, with no apologies.

Running Mom, Becoming Her 🏃‍♀️💨

Me? I started writing with my dinosaur of a laptop, chasing dreams the only way I knew how with intensity.

I get my strength, courage, and relentless tenacity from her. No doubt.

But I also spent too much time searching for the mom I wished I had. The one who stayed. The one who didn’t run.

How ironic that I grew up and became the mom who loved to run. 🤷‍♀️

Full Marathon for Leukemia – 26.2 miles of grit and heart

I longed for a mother who’d sit with me, talk about the nonsense in my head, cry when I cried, and cheer when I won.

And yet what I got was a woman who wiped her tears, climbed the mountain, and said, “Let’s keep going.” She never told me not to feel. But she also didn’t let me stay stuck.

And for that? I’m grateful.

That Imaginary Mom 🍪🧠

One day in counseling, Dr. Claire Jacobs hit me with the truth bomb of all truth bombs:

“You’ve got to stop chasing imaginary people.That cookie-baking, sitcom mom in your head doesn’t exist.But the one you’ve got? She’s real. And incredible.”

Oof. That one shook me.

I was so bitter. I spent my childhood raising myself, and I carried this feeling of being robbed of comfort, softness, nurturing. And that’s exactly why I ended up craving a partner who’d “take care of me.” Because, deep down, I never felt like anyone truly had.

But Dr. Jacobs also told me something beautiful:

“You can be that mother one day, Michele.”

And I was.

Becoming the Mom I Needed 👩‍👧🌈

Marisa was my shadow, my twin flame, my little mini-me. I poured into her the things I never got. I was that mom in her early childhood present, loving, borderline obsessed with being everything she needed.

Then came the tween years… and I’ll be honest: I stumbled. I was in a messy marriage filled with division, anger, and silence. I wasn’t being the mom she needed then. But the moment I realized it, I shifted.

Because we all mess up. But if we’re honest about it, we can make things right.

The Bedrest Battles 🛏️💪

With Marisa, with Jay, even with Miley I was put on strict bed rest during pregnancy. Ten months confined to a bed? For an extroverted, mall-walking, skate-chasing wild child like me?! TORTURE. 😩

At the time, I was transferring to UTSA (go Roadrunners!) to finally chase that Psych degree. I was tired. Isolated. But I chose to see it differently. This was my moment to receive love. To be cared for. And honestly? That role felt foreign but it was beautiful.

(And let’s just say some parents never get a real taste of what I’d been doing on autopilot for years.)

For Candyce & Tim 💜💡

I actually started this blog with two people heavy on my heart my lifelong friend Tim (since 6th grade!) and his beautiful wife, Candyce. She’s battling some scary health issues right now. The kind where doctors don’t give answers. The kind where everything feels uncertain.

And to both of you, I say this:

You don’t have to know what the future holds. You just have to know that you’re loved. You’re held. And you’ve got people (like me!) ready to dance, sing Madonna, or throw darts at life’s nonsense with you whenever you need.

“Candyce, tell Tim to build you a stage. We’ll entertain you until the storm passes.”I’ll be the first one on it off-key and overdramatic just to make you laugh. 🎤💃 You’re not alone. Not ever.

Wisdom From the Mouths of Kids 🧠🎤

Just the other day, Marisa and I were talking about Kanye. Word on the street? He’s bipolar. And Marisa looked sad about Kim leaving him.

My response?