Time To Pivot

Happy Wednesday!
           
Am I the only one that has become slightly obsessed with all things gardening over the past few months?? Please tell me I am not alone. Maybe it is just that I have been looking for distractions (healthier ones) or perhaps it’s just that I have had more time and energy to pay attention to what is around me.
           
For the past 4 years, I have (attempted) to grow veggies in a raised bed and year after year, I have slowly gotten the hang of it. This year was off to a bang and I actually grew most of it from seed, for the first time ever. However, with all of this heat, my “babies,” as I so lovingly/obsessively call them, are struggling in all of this heat!! If there are any avid gardeners out there that are willing to share tips on survival right now, please feel free to contact me!!
           
Every day is a new start

Around my yard, I also added new flower seedlings that I was given by my mother in law. She too, was looking for some sort of healthy place to focus her energy during the quieter times we were forced to have earlier this year. Sunflowers have been taking over one corner of the yard and it is SO wild to watch them literally follow the direction of the sun - from sunrise to sunset.
           
Another one that has captivated me is the Evening Primrose. One or two individual blooms, open up every night at sunset. Then they close up in the morning, fall off, and a new one gets ready to open the following evening. You can watch this flower open up in a matter of minutes!
           
I love the idea of this. That every day is new bloom - a new start. Even if the previous one was pretty darn crappy, you get another chance to do things differently in the morning. It’s amazing what a new dawn offers to us.

Allowing it to soak in

I have to share that I had a really rough night last week. I got the news that the school system my girls are in will be 100% virtual through the end of January. I completely understand and support this decision and I knew that there was a really good chance this was going to happen, but when the reality of it set in, it hit me pretty hard. I tried to rally and repeat my mantra for 2020, “time to pivot,” but I needed to let this one really set in and allow myself to feel.
           
This news meant that I now would be taking on the role of co-teacher for the next six months and keeping the doors to my esthetics practice closed for longer than expected. The night I came to that realization, I let myself grieve the loss because my practice is something I have worked hard on for 15 years, and for now, it truly is a loss.

I have had that internal struggle with wanting to “get back to normal” and also knowing that right now my family needs me, especially my girls, more than ever. Although my products are an extension of my physical practice and are something I will be putting even more energy and focus into, it is tough to let go.

When one door closes…
           
However, the next morning, I woke up and realized that I am getting another chance- the possibility to start over, or start something new. This isn’t the end of a chapter, it’s just the start of a new one. Like the Evening Primrose flower, one door (or bloom) has closed and another one will open. It will. I know it.
           
This was a tough entry to write this week and I know it was very different than my past ones. Maybe you can relate to it or maybe not. Feel free to share your stories with me, if you’d like. As always, I am here to listen.

“We cannot start over, but we can begin now, and make a new ending.”
- Zig Ziglar

As always, thank you for reading.

With so much gratitude,
Rachel