New year, new vibe

Prior to COVID I was doing really well with my health and fitness goals. I was exercising multiple times a week, which was my time to recalibrate so that I could show up as my best self for myself and for my family. It allowed me the alone time I crave and helped me reclaim my body after three pregnancies, three births, and tons of trauma. After COVID hit I became the sole provider for our family of four. This was stressful for numerous reasons.

In March I was about 7 months postpartum and just finding a balance between taking care of a new baby and finally focusing on my business like I want. When the quarantine started I started making face masks on a donation basis, because I didn’t anticipate that it would be such a big demand. Eventually I started focusing almost exclusively on masks and fitting everything else as I could. But this meant lots of long days and nights. But it kept our family with a roof over our heads, even if it didn’t cover the loss of my husband’s income. Then we were hit with another blow and had to move suddenly.

For months our family was struggling to stay afloat while maintaining some sort of normalcy. It wasn’t working. And I was quickly burnt out. But like everyone, when the new year comes I like to reset the clock. I spent months thinking about the changes I want to make. And now, in a January, I FINALLY feel like I can treat my body and my business in the ways they deserve. So this morning I took Zella and went on my first walk if the new year. And for Kwanzaa I supported a local Black woman owned business, and purchased a fitness plan since I won’t be returning to the gym any time soon. My husband and I will returning to our four day work schedules. (This allows each of us one full work day where we don’t have any distractions.) And I will no longer give myself excuses to blur the lines between work and home time. We’ve planted our fall/ winter garden, and have even been harvesting already. I’ll be doing more themed cookbooks. And I’ll get back to seasonal textile work. AND I will finish processing my cotton and make something for myself in honor of my ancestors as I reclaim cotton cultivation.

I hope you’re excited about this year, because I am, and I have tons of things planned for the shop.