After 3 years of living at home and saving up our money, we bought a small “fixer upper,” a term which is a massive understatement for the neglect our new home had seen.

This past October 13, marked the 18th anniversary of my dad being Killed In Action in Mosul Iraq. Our family misses my dad every day, but somedays and sad anniversaries are harder than others.

I could feel those old familiar feelings of sadness start to loom, and while I did my best to push on, I could not full escape the weight of my emotions. My heart told me to: Surround Myself in Nature, Climb a Mountain, and Wait for The Birds of Prey to Soar overhead.

Sometimes, the challenge of attempting to grow something new is thrilling, like unraveling some mystery of nature.  Sometimes, the growing is rewarding enough.  Just to wander past the flowers in the garden or know that you finally succeeded at sprouting a new plant can spark joy.  But, THE HARVEST, is an entirely new level of satisfaction!  Not only did I watch something appear out of the dark depths of the underworld, and marvel as it grew mighty, but to taste the spoils of victory, is THE BEST!! 

So to wage war with the elements of nature, and dare life to triumph, and then allow the glorious victory to go uncelebrated, seems like a crime, and indeed it is!  Sadly, we committed that exact crime a few years in a row. Maybe I should back up…

The first time I slipped on the jacket, I heard a rattle in the pockets, only to discover my dad’s bowtie & shiny shamrock necklace waiting there for me to discover!  I could just see his grin, as I found them, and slipped them on!  I added my own little twist with my boutique’s first ever St. Paddy’s Day leggings collection, and a crazy top hat, and a tradition to share the story with my friends inside the boutique, but my FAVORITE PART of this story, (UNTIL this morning), was…

The meme went something like this: “don’t expect a resolution from me, I will remain the same loudmouth, delightful…”

Like I said, it is cute and funny, but after overhearing several conversations this past week, where people were complaining that they don’t make resolutions for various reasons and seeing several other posts referring to resolutions being a waste of time, or negative in some way, my brain started being triggered.

What would follow is one of those moments that happens so fast, but simultaneously your brain processes it in slow motion, and at the end of it, you feel equally relieved & terrified by what just took place!

Yes, 2020 was hard, and I do not wish for us to EVER repeat it; however, there were some magical moments that came out of the darkness, and out of those magical moments, came some hard learned lessons for myself and our family.

Here, I am on the precipice of another new beginning, and that means, I need to pick the proper cape! Today that cape is crafted out of denim, and buckles! As we prepare to fully launch this blog, our YouTube Channel, and Sunshine & Happinest Adventure, I decided that my uniform (or cape) for the task will be, OVERALLS!

As the climax of the Snow Queen's dance came to a close, I tried my damndest to not cry (like ugly cry), because I thought the other parents would think that I was absolutely crazy (vulnerability is hard for me)! Tears still leaked out, but I played it cool and hoped they would dry on their own!