My new life motto is simply; life is too short to barely exist. Those seven words inspire and motivate me to live my dreams and not waste my time, because I know one day I will wake up and there won’t be anymore of that precious time left. I want to live bravely in the world. In the midst of changing diapers and raising babies, I have a few things that keep me balanced; writing and photography. Words, maybe more than anything, are the keys to our souls. What is said, what isn’t said, how it’s said. Words drive us to action, bring us to understanding, teach us about life, and touch our hearts. Do you ever find yourself driving and see all these breathtaking things and want to pull over just so you can photograph a tiny magical moment? An old barn peeking over a lush green hill? A sunset lighting up the world with flares of magenta and purple? Tall evergreens lining the winding rural roads to home? That’s me. Sigh. I see the world very visually. I told my husband my ultimate date would be getting iced coffee and him just driving me around to photograph beautiful things. So basically, words+photos are my jam. It’s easy to see why I love a good blog.
So other than all the heavy and philosophical ramblings there above, I’m a woman whose heart belongs to one red-bearded man, and two precious little souls who chose me to be their mama. My family is my light and joy, and while the call to motherhood has been one of self-sacrifice, it’s enriched my life and taught me about love in entire new ways. My son was taken from my body in a cold operating room, and even though the surgeon stitched together the place where he was born, they left my heart wide open on the table. It was a traumatic experience that took months to heal from, fighting my way through postpartum depression. My daughter was born 2.5 years later in a birthing pool in my bedroom, storm raging outside and rain beating on the windows as she floated beneath me and took her first earthly breath in my arms.
I dig earthy things and birthy things, and love supporting women. I’m a fast and obsessive reader, and fantasy fiction is usually what I devour. I like growing our own food and I’m obsessed with our garden. I’m an introvert and I struggle with anxiety off and on, but it’s nothing a dose of mother nature and getting my thoughts from mind to paper can’t fix. I have a tattoo, or two. I’ve been skydiving twice and lived a lot of really good days in the mountains, sleeping under the stars. I love adventures and traveling, and I fear there will never be enough lifetimes for these people I love and places I want to see . Through the heavy, I have gratitude for this good, good life.
In terms of writing, I try to be witty, but I’m thinking most of the time I probably fall short. I should probably just stick with vulnerable; it’s working for me. If you’ve made it this far, we might as well continue on. Back in the early 2000’s, I was an editor on the college newspaper, spit out those human interest stories like nobody’s business, and even had a few poems published (you can visualize me sitting at a poetry jam with all the other free spirits). Then I entered the infamous ‘real world,’ and…womp womp. National Geographic didn’t come calling. After interning at a non-profit organization, I took a very very (like teeny tiny) paid job with them to gather facts and statistics on horse races, write a few historical pieces, and take photos of random things. I did get to ride a few polo ponies, but it wasn’t pushing me to be the writer I envisioned. So I quit, and decided to pursue my dreams slinging polish dogs at Costco. After one big breakup and hard reflection, I went back to school to become a teacher. I have a Masters in Education, but left my 5th grade teaching job behind to stay home with my littles. And now I teach two small people how to do things like make animal noises, sleep through the night, and count to ten. I’ve loved all these roles, but I feel continually called back to creative outlets. And in case you missed the first paragraph about me not wanting to wait a lifetime to do all the things I’ve wanted to do, I’m pursuing the hobbies that make my heart sing. You can navigate your way on over to the ‘contact’ page to send me an email and let me know you want to hire me to travel around the world and write stories for you.
“We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, “O me! O life!…of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless…of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?” Answer: That you are here-that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be? No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.” -Dead Poets Society
The Whole Sky 