When I was young my dad convinced me by way of the Beach Boys that I am a California Girl through and through.
He even bought me the huarache sandals to prove it.
Born and raised on the Central Coast, I am now raising two littles of my own in Sonoma County – alongside my husband, Drew.
At 16, the local Los Osos Rexall gave me my first real job – and a new understanding of family.
Ever since, I have dabbled in dozens of entrepreneurial adventures from the nitty gritty of house cleaning to the prestige of hotel & restaurant design.
I don’t think I’ll ever complete my resume.
After the birth of my son, Ari, I maintained a relatively similar lifestyle – kept business moving, enjoyed date nights, indulged in creativity, showered and even ate mostly real, home-cooked food.
Going from none to one definitely rocked my world.
But, I still saw me.
I joined the SAHM’s club with the arrival of my second child, Amelia.
And everything changed.
I’d heard that kids are like parasites – taking everything you have.
They were right.
I didn’t grasp the giving that goes into raising children until I found myself in the middle of my own sinking ship.
I began throwing life’s luxuries overboard just to lighten the load.
Those home cooked meals? Gone.
Date nights? General adult conversation? Life as I knew it? Gone.
It’s all gone. Sinking underneath the needs and wants of these adorable parasites I would do anything for.
And yet, even as we are drowning – I can see through the lenses of this brother & sister duo and I’m inspired to build bridges in my community, within my relationships and in myself.
To grow. To be better for them – and for me.
So, as I sip my reheated coffee (that’s somehow still cold) and pour out onto paper the good, the bad & the ugly in search of truth – I hope these words will spark shifts towards growing something together and finding new ways to build bridges.