2020 was the year I thought I would get it all, but it's actually the year I already had it all! What do you do when all events are canceled and no residential construction/design can take place? When all of a sudden the world, your business, your alone time, all gets put on hold? You become a 3rd-grade teacher, a full-time mom, and you can't see your family or friends. Kids can't play, go to school, all sports are canceled, and your husband gets the virus that everyone is talking about.
I will not say that the lights did not get turned down low for me—this was a big adjustment. But what was my choice? How was I going to show my 8-year old how to look a pandemic in the face and kick its ass?
We danced. We danced a lot, I drank a lot, and might have even locked myself in my bedroom (more times then I would like to admit).
When the summer came and restrictions were lifted, we were able to see friends/family (socially-distanced, of course). I heard the sounds of children laughing (the best sound), and I can remember their 1st hangout seemed to last forever. The lights slowly started to get turned back up, and I knew it was time to reinvent my business. I was determined to make this pandemic work for and not against me.
I received a call from a contractor for a house he was building and the client needed help! Boom, a job since the pandemic hit. A JOB! I could not leave my house fast enough for my 1st meeting with the client. When I arrived, the client said "you look so nice for a construction site", and I said, "I have not been to a client meeting in months—you are lucky I don't have a prom dress on!" I was not kidding.... LOL . This meeting gave me hope!
Then another call came in from a bride who was having a micro wedding outside and wanted to talk to me... ME... ANOTHER JOB! A JOB! (play it cool). I call this wedding The Wedding That Brought Me Back to Life. This wedding allowed me to be me, not a mom, not a 3rd-grade teacher, not a wife, nor a cook. Just, me. I was able to create again and I didn't want this feeling to stop!
I was reminded of the very reason I started my own design business, my art canvas was right in front of me and I was able to see it clearly. The site already had a live, edge-long banquet-style table that overlooked the lake with a beautiful backdrop. The bride selected the color palette and it was time for me to make it a truly magical night of revisiting cherished memories and creating new ones, setting a warm and intimate atmosphere, a night that no one would forget.YES, that is the power of a beautiful set table/room/venue/ church.
The flowers were a mixture of blue and white with anemones that created a soft and dreamy feeling while highlighting the sophisticated brass vase. I accented the table with three different size brass candlesticks for romantic light. Black chargers emphasized the ombre dinner plate that enchanted with clean lines. The black and brass silverware was sleek and luxurious, but nothing compared to the organic dusty blue table runner, napkins, and vintage goblets that not only called attention to the wood table but added a warm and intimate feeling to the overall design. Each one of these elements are important to the overall look and feel. They tell a story and give each other strength and confidence. Now can each piece can stand on its own, of course, but it will not have the same effect as it does when all of these pieces are together and sometimes, the pieces you might think wouldn't work turn out to be the missing link. This table was my family and friends through the pandemic, the calls, the face-times, the waves/conversations on our walks around the neighborhood, the cocktails in our driveways. Each person (each piece) allowing me to see just how important one is to another.
I knew after executing this wedding it was time to start manifesting again. It was there at that moment that I decided this summer was not going to be my busiest for business but it was going to be the best summer with my family. I have never had a summer (or winter for that matter) where I wasn't working. I knew after this project, that I needed to lose and find myself all at the same time. I wanted to teach my little boy to listen to the advisors on how to live life through a pandemic, but at the same time to not allow something like this to make you live in fear.
So in the words of Eleanor Roosevelt “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” And that is exactly what we did!
So here is to you, Summer of 2020. I am forever grateful for the time I got to spend with my family and friends, for all the new adventures, for allowing me to find myself again in the midst of a pandemic. For a new take on life and business, to looking ahead into this new chapter, to great clients and design opportunities to come.
" Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover"
-Mark Twain
Thanks for reading and catching up with me. Stay tuned for more updates.