I've Been a Little Quiet Lately.
If you've wondered where I've disappeared to lately...
First of all, thank you. That's actually really sweet.
Second... I haven't fallen off the face of the earth.
I've just wandered into one of those seasons where real life requires both hands.
In about thirty days, several long-standing projects came to fruition all at once.
Bought a house (while still dealing with the two we had before)
moved out and in
had a wedding
left one job and started another
my husband expanded his business
we blended families
So if anyone asks, we are done with family milestones for a while.
I’d say we’ve had enough major life events to last us the next few years at least.
And if I look tired…
it’s because I am.
One minute I'm researching antique furniture restoration, the next I'm knee-deep in house projects, trying to keep six chickens from committing crimes against each other, reminding a seven-year-old that honesty is still the best policy, watering the rose bushes, answering work emails, moving furniture yet again because apparently every room has to be wrong three times before it's right. And somewhere in there attempting to remember whether I've eaten today. And then I look up, and it’s 4:30. (But real talk, why is always 4:30?)
So social media has just kind of... slipped. Not because I don't enjoy it. Not because I don't have things to say. (Ummm, hello? have we met?)
Mostly because by the time I have something worth sharing, I've already spent the day living it. Some days honestly feel like I'm barely keeping all the plates spinning. Other days I step back and think... "Wait... I think we're actually building the life we used to talk about."
And that's a really strange feeling when you've spent so many years just trying to keep your head above water.
That's the weird thing about dream lives. They don't usually arrive looking like a beach vacation.
They show up disguised as therapy appointments, grocery lists, mulch, hard conversations with your spouse, teaching kids to wash the dishes correctly for the 437th time, and wondering why nobody warned you that owning acreage means every project somehow multiplies into three.
Turns out dream lives are surprisingly administrative.
It's messy. It's ordinary. It's exhausting. And somehow... it's exactly what I wanted.
I'm realizing there's a difference between a life that photographs well and a life that feels good to wake up to.
Right now, I'm choosing the second one.
So if you've noticed I've been a little quieter... It's because I've been busy becoming someone I actually like. Not in a dramatic "finding myself in Bali" kind of way. More like, becoming the kind of woman my younger self would've wanted to learn from.
Turns out personal growth is significantly less glamorous than Instagram might lead you to believe. There aren't any cinematic montages. Just a lot of Tuesday afternoons making small choices that, hopefully, add up to something beautiful.
Anyway. I'm still here.
Probably just covered in dirt, carrying a coffee, and halfway through another project I definitely underestimated.
So that's why I've been a little quieter lately.
Because it turns out the life I spent years trying to build...
is finally asking me to live it.
(Side note to self: new blog post signature for my new last name, and eventually new website and logo. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Baby steps, Whitney, baby steps. But eeeeeeek, I still can’t believe I’m Whitney Brawley now. Someone pinch me.)