and then there was one

It's been awhile. I know. I really don't have a good excuse either. In a lot of ways, not much has changed in our little world...but in many ways, everything has. When I started out this journey with our business, I was living off grid, homesteading, growing our own food and homeschooling my three children. We were milking cows, making cheese, and spending a lot of time learning skills from our Amish neighbors. My children spent their days just being kids...the warmer months were filled with mud bakeries with intricate dried flower decorations, pine tree forts that offered much needed shade and solitude, and hours just splashing in the creek when it was really hot outside. Come winter, we had stacks of library books to get through, fresh games to play from the winter fairy around Christmas time and lots of free time to draw, color and craft. There was never much traditional schooling done at our house and because of this, my children grew up with a deep love for learning. Learning at our house came in the form of long discussions around the family dinner table, cooking together, and just living our life. When the children showed a deep interest in something, we dove in. This led to weeks of immersing themselves into computer coding (my now 21 year old just built his first computer), guitar lessons (which was quickly dropped as no one in our family is musically talented), and unusual diseases (that my now 19 year old still can't get enough of). We traveled and worked at markets together for our family business, which gave them them more math and social skills than any one day at school could have ever provided. We visited the Grand Canyon, soaked in the hot springs in Colorado and hiked through New Mexico. We went to shows in Las Vegas, swam in the Atlantic and visited more zoos than I can remember. We slept in our car at times, lived in a barn for a summer and spent the good majority of my children's younger lives without electricity or running water. And it was a sweet life.

And I am reminded now, as our lives have evolved, that our life is still so very sweet, but in a much different way. My 21 year old son lives in Minneapolis creating a life with a very sweet girl. Parker still does our graphic design for our business and has his eyes on buying a house in the cities. My 19 year old is a freshman at UW Madison and is double majoring in Psychology and Criminal Justice. I have never seen someone so organized (Virgo) and dedicated to getting what she wants. Presley is a gifted writer and when she has time, she sells our body care at the Madison farmer's market...sometimes better than me. There is no better honor than being able to witness your children's journey into adulthood and walk with them throughout their young lives.

Which leaves me with one. The last little one to watch grow into her own being. The last one to admire the beauty of childhood and learn from the lessons of just slowing down to appreciate all that is around us. To soak up the wisdom of having a child at home that loves to just be. To watch my 13 year old, YaYa sit at our kitchen table and craft for hours on end. To walk out of my office in the morning to see her immersed in her favorite book first thing in the morning. To come outside and spy on her making straw dolls out of the dried up long grasses from summer. I am reminded in these moments how sweet life can be,

But soon I will wake up and there will be just me. I suppose that is just the way things go though, right? We raise kids to be awesome adults. We invest in them, we love them, we teach them (not as much as they teach us though), and then they are off on their own journey leaving us with the memories and gratitude of being able to be a part of their lives for this short amount of time.

And it really is short.

But this is not where the story ends because as much as I love being a mom and have centered the last 20 years being a good one, my life, on it's own is pretty damn sweet as well.

I have a rockstar partner who continually shows up everyday for us. Every. Day. We have created a little Brady Bunch family that melts my heart sometimes. Our love is so deep and genuine that it takes my breath away most days and for this, I am continually grateful for what we are creating together. I love you Jimmy and appreciate this little world we are diving into.

My two lifelong and best girlfriends are a continued safe space for me. They are both so different but bless me in so many ways. Rosanne has heard every little detail about my life over the last 20 years and still shows up even when I haven't. We have had beautiful babies together and she has witnessed my ever changing life without judgment and has always been there to remind me of who I am when I get off track. Patti has been my go to girlfriend who I can count on to surprise me with a six pack of beer on a hot summer day just because, or take me out to lunch when life seems to just...well suck. We travel together, eat amazing food and sometimes dance the night away in out of town cities where no one knows us and no one will remember where the night has taken us. They are both solid friendships and I honestly hope you have a couple people like this in your life.

My business continually amazes me and I sometimes look around at all I have been able to create with it and I wonder who actually did this. I love what I am doing for all of you and I always pause just a little bit when you tell me how much you love it too. So thanks to all of my Blue Egg Farmstore friends for shopping with us, supporting us and telling the world how much what we do makes you happy.

And that really is all we ever need as we enter into this next phase of our lives, right? It changes so fast and sometimes so hard that we are left holding onto what we can. We all have bumps and bruises from our journey. We all have learned many lessons and have made many choices that either set us back or have propelled us forward in life. We have surrounded ourselves with shitty people. We have surrounded ourselves with wise people. We have married, had kids, divorced, changed jobs, moved, loved deeply, hated even more so, learned, cried...and here we still are.

And here you still are.

You might still be figuring it all out, You might still be grieving, learning, growing. You might be flirting in the unknown and the what-ifs and the possibilities. You might be struggling or feeling stuck. You might know what you need to do but aren't quite ready for it yet. We have all been there. I have been there. I have visited all of these places before, some staying longer than I really should have. But one thing you need to know, my friends, is this...these experiences, good or bad, one by one, create who you are and who you are becoming. They define your very essence and help carve out who you really want to be. And as long as you genuinely step fully into this process, you have the potential to live your best life.

And really, what is more exciting than that?