First off, thank you to Anuj Agarwal for including Emily: Out Loud in Feedspot’s list of the Top 20 Introverted Mom Blogs!
Secondly, seeing that inspired me to write a quick update (Note: I thought it would be a “quick” update when I began writing it. My writing brain had other plans.)
Back in March, I pulled away from the blog when a friend unexpectedly passed away. I have a rule that I don’t like to write from pain or turmoil. My writing is never at its best and I over-critique myself when editing.
My journaling practice got more introspective and I found I didn’t enjoy writing for others as much as I needed to write for me to process my grief. You may have noticed I didn’t update my Instagram as often. Looking back, I was at a place where I was using my brainpower to adjust to life without a dear friend and process what had happened.
And I didn’t let myself feel guilty about it. In fact, I learned from my friend Tawny Platis from Death is Hilarious that there’s no wrong way to grieve if it’s right for you (and, you know, doesn’t harm anyone else).
And one of the ways I found myself finding little spots of joy throughout that time period was with Fairy Hair. I had the idea for a Fairy Hair business for years, but because of a very in-your-face pandemic, the idea of going to parties was very much out of the question.
But now, as the spring is finally in full swing, there are more outdoor gatherings being planned. And I also started to see more interest in my Fairy Hair. So I decided to revamp my Instagram account I had created for my future business idea and see what happens. I promised myself I would do it for fun and if it wasn’t fun or didn’t bring me joy, I could call it quits.
So, for my 39th birthday in April, I started my second business, Fairy Hair by Emily!
I’m still in the beginning months and actually, my calendar got booked pretty quickly that I’m only taking on a few more dates in July, and I’m taking off August because I’m already feeling a bit “people’d out.” #IntrovertProblems
I’m also going to be slowing down more in August to get the family prepared for starting school in the fall. I’m hoping in that time, I get into another month-long challenge to prepare for a shift in routine and hopefully get to write about it more!
As far as my word of the year, Courage, I think starting a second business and working on that for the last few months took me very much out of my comfort zone. Mark has been incredibly supportive and encouraging, which I think helped me out with my confidence and motivation. He is usually quick to find out babysitting arrangements when a last-minute party request comes in, PLUS he was the one who bought a two-tone wig for me to practice on and display at events — we named it ‘Moira’ and she’s fabulous!
Anyway, thank you to everyone who’s found the blog and has reached out about past posts! 🙂
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