A December to Remember
This month seems to be going by in a blur. Perhaps its the culmination of a pandemic period that distorted our sense of time, space, and pretty much every routine marker that we took for granted in our busy modern lives.
For me, it is also the first holiday season with two young school aged children in a typical in-person schedule of school, activities, holiday concerts, Christmas parties, seasonal flu… We entered the pandemic with a young toddler and while we may not have exited technically, we have made our way to the other side leaving in our midst the strollers, diapers, bottles, and baby-pace of life that was the necessary rhythm to our family’s (mad) orchestra. So this new pace is truly new.
That coupled with my own change of pace in recent months, when I hit pause on my longtime professional life to pursue my dream of creative entrepreneurship. For those who know me, this wasn’t a post-pandemic pivot bundled into the silent quitting we have been witnessing - although two years of working from home with more flexibility definitely helped tip the scale for someone who absolutely loves being at home.
These were seismic shifts that were happening over years, minute movements that others can’t see but significant in their final effects. All leading me to embark on this journey and start building a brand whose seeds have been planted through years of travel, work, learning, and exploration.
And what that means in real terms is that the past few months have been an incredibly exhilarating yet exhausting mix of mental, physical, and emotional work that feels closest to the great risks and rewards of motherhood. So maybe I am back in the newborn baby-pace, but without the known accoutrements of strollers and bottles. And I’m just a touch older.
An article published in the Harvard Business Review indicates that “the probability of extreme startup success rises with age, at least until the late 50s.” I hadn’t read that before taking this step, but I think it captures my intuitive sense that this is finally the time.
Time for a new pace, a new year, a new chapter - what did you take from this system reset that we all faced in some way or another? Part of this pace for me is this wonderful return to writing that encourages me to pause and reflect in the midst of this chaotic month. Thanks for reading along, for your support as I share this journey with the enthusiasm of a new mother - after all, it takes a village.
