Always curious, always learning

Live life day by day . . . and this is where I am today.
 

My children are stepping into their own lives and discovering who they’re meant to be. This leaves me at a beautiful crossroads—one that invites me to redefine my own identity with the same courage I've taught them to fall back on during moments of uncertainty and unwanted growth. I left a life I knew for 15 years to head West and chase a dream, not knowing whether it would become reality or if it was just something I sleepily embellished while dozing off each night 2,000 miles away. Leaving behind community, friends, and established routines is not hard for me as I moved around quite a bit as a child. Security questions that ask for the name of my best childhood friend make me laugh. Which one in which state? I usually opt for the make and model of my first car instead. It was, after all, a classic. 
 
So today I embrace each morning differently. Always have my cup of chai tea, really one of the only constants of my life as I’ve been drinking the same blend since I left home for boarding school at age 14. But after that last sip, the day IS MINE. Do I explore a new hike with my husky? Write for a bit in front of the fire? Book a trip to Croatia and cross yet another country off my bucket list? Take not just one but two hot yoga classes? I never know until I wake up and feel what kind of day I want to have. 
 
I should learn how to knit. It's the right metaphor for 2026: knitting together all the things I love and create something tangible to remind myself just how lucky I am. I get to balance the grounding practice of building a new community with the exhilaration of travel, camera in hand, capturing moments that reveal both the world’s vastness and its intimate details. I am unafraid of what’s ahead. My intention for this year is to make it EPIC, personally but more importantly professionally. It's time I rejoin the workplace, all cylinders firing.

Roses in snow are just as beautiful as the roses that bloom in a cultivated and tended-to garden.