Well, it’s been a minute
Hey hey! I haven’t blogged much this year…
The end of July has me in a weird place. I’ve basically taken the summer off, with my kids home from school, they’ve been the priority. And What a summer it was. We adored our second year of the Summer Swim Team in our neighborhood, which has my older two incredibly motivated and signed up for year-round. We spent hundreds of hours at the pool this Summer. Not only for practice after practice after practice— but also for leisure and fun! Many days, we went to the pool in the morning for 3 back to back practices (they’re all in different practice groups, based on age), home for a snack and back to the pool, home for lunch and some "rest time” then returned to the pool again after dinner. I’ve LOVED watching my boys turn into strong swimmers and cheer one another on. They’ve also enjoyed every moment they had WITH EACH OTHER this Summer. Nothing makes my “mama heart” happier than seeing them enjoy being friends on top of being brothers.
The swim team ended as July began, and we finished summer off with some travel. We enjoyed a family vacation at Lake Wedowee, where the boys became pro paddle boarders. THEN came Mexico. My husband, Jack, and I were finally able to make a “big trip” for our 10-year anniversary (it was in 2020…enough said). We’ll celebrate 13 years this September, but we decided an all-inclusive in Mexico for 5 nights was the right way to go. We’ve never done anything remotely like this. It was pure bliss. Our marriage needed it. Our sanity needed it. It was restful, refreshing, and blissfully boring. We sat and talked or read or listened to silence, for hours on end. No excursions, just the beach, the pool, and tiki drinks handed to us before we could even finish the previous one. I returned home, like many, with some sort of Mexican stomach bug (perhaps I let my ice melt a little too much) but I’ve fully recovered.
This weekend, I had one of those moments where I started to question everything I’m doing here. After a summer with hardly a moment to create, I’ve become incredibly burned out by doing all the business things and none of the painting things. My “work” schedule has been incredibly limited, so I’ve only been able to put in the bare minimum. It’s left me feeling burned and weary because I’ve had no creativity filling my cup. ANYWAY. It all culminated last night in a bit of a tantrum/meltdown. This morning, I woke up and did what I always do after a night like that. I reminded myself of my why— I remembered that I MUST keep going. Being a creative entrepreneur isn’t for the faint of heart. I often get faint-hearted. But, the thing that keeps me going is being rooted in the knowledge that I was created to reflect beauty. I was given a gift to be USED. I was given strengths [and so many weaknesses] that make me the right person for this calling. Because of that, I’ll keep showing up. Even in my doubts and insecurities. I’ll keep bringing you beauty.
I want to do better, as always, with documenting where my heart is at with this creative journey. It always feels good to get the words out, and it’s always nice to look back and see where I’ve been, and how I’ve grown.
In just two days, the boys return to school, and I’ll return to the studio. I can’t tell you what I’ll be up to this fall, but I know I’m excited to see where creating takes me.
