Ripe

A Love Letter to Life — Issue No. 1

Welcome to the very first Love Letter to Life. There's a lot happening in both my personal and professional world (but honestly they are one in the same) that made this moment feel like prime-time for pouring into this medium. So if you're here, which you are because you're reading this, thanks for taking shotgun on this wild ride with me. If you're the passenger princess type like I am, I've got you covered. Buckle up, Buttercup.

I just turned 38. Whoa. 38 feels like the ripe side of my thirties and brought some feels I wasn't quite ready for. When I was a young adult, I thought late 30's was the chapter when all the things were lined up, all the ducks in a row, and the rest of life was meant for just cruising in the beautiful life and identity I had worked so damn hard to create.

Woooof. Yeah no.

Part One: The Horizon That Keeps Moving

What I'm continuing to learn day by day (and it's so flippin' cliche but here we are) there is no end point. No smooth sailing from here on out. The only constant is change. Yeah, that's the one. And it can be a brutal reality.

So many moments as an entrepreneur feel like I'm scratching for the horizon constantly. If I get the new computer, or invest in this program, or land that one client... then. But what about now?

That idea doubles down when you're a parent. We have these little visual timelines getting taller, hitting their own little life milestones, growing up right before our eyes. I often tell myself "they are my why" but sometimes it feels like my business gets in the way of being a Mom in a big way. I continually remind myself that the way I navigate my business is so I can spend more time with them. It's the whole point. Even when it doesn't feel like it.

Part Two: The Annual Design Retreat

Every year, I make it a point to book an Airbnb for a few days (sometimes solo, sometimes with friends, this year with my Huz) to tap out and tap back in to the things that satiate that ever-evolving creative mind of mine.

This year we're headed up to Julian for 5 whole days, just us two. With a very specific intention to rest, retreat, and (for mostly me) to create with zero expectations of outcome. We packed the Subaru with my potter's wheel (yeah, who does that?!), a few canvases, a ton of paint, and a clear schedule.

I've found that by doing this, I'm literally filling my creative cup. On-demand creativity is only possible when I carve out time to freeform express as often as I can. Sometimes it's a sexy dance class. Sometimes it's barefoot in the garden for a while. Sometimes it's skinny dipping in our stock tank pool, sometimes it's skinny dipping at night in the ocean. (Damn, there really is something magic about skinny dipping.) Sometimes it's breathwork and freeflow yoga in the living room. And sometimes it's just dropping into full play mode with the kiddos. On all fours, bucking like a donkey, being as goofy as possible.

Part Three: The Peach Tree

Our neighbors (turned uncle and auntie) gave us a tiny peach tree about five years ago as a gift. When we planted it, we joined hands, I gently placed the last few placenta capsules I had left from my youngest's birth, and said a little blessing as we hand-scooped dirt onto its roots.

The peach tree is absolutely thriving now.

It sits on the hill near the road in our front yard, and this year has been especially abundant. The kids and I picked basket-fulls and handed them out to the neighbors. We've made cobbler, jams, and tarts. The whole neighborhood has had some of those peaches, and there's something really special about that. Something wholesome. Something that speaks to the deepest parts of my soul. We've had strangers come up asking for peaches and then return a week or two later with some kind of peach treat.

This is it.

The peach tree is a testament to that. To planting things. To tending them slowly. To the abundance that shows up when you stop waiting for the horizon and just put your hands in the dirt.

If any of this resonated (especially the mother-founder chaos of it all) jump over to Voxer and find the Wayfinding Mother series. A group of super creative entrepreneur mamas talking about the trials, tribulations, and wins of living a mother-led founder life. It's a weekly series I am so pumped to be a part of.