Deconstructing Everything

OG Name, New Ideas, Same Mission

Oh hi! I feel like Taylor Swift returning from her year in hiding to announce Reputation, except I’m not Taylor, I’ve only been gone a few months, and I have no announcements. Ha!

Truthfully, I’m ready for a bit of a reboot after some time to “brain rot,” as my kids would say. It has been a summer of low demands. Low schedule, travel, and parenting demands, after my oldest child started experiencing severe burnout earlier this year.

And can I just say? What a relief. I didn’t realize how burnt out I was until our child’s mental health forced us all to slow down. This summer has gifted us time, boredom, and reflection, and we will come out of it very different people, I‘m certain.

For one, I’m researching out-of-the-box education philosophies after my neurodivergent’s burnout. Homeschooling never occurred to me until we all saw firsthand that the education system could not accommodate us safely (even with an IEP and advocate). It’s not the school’s fault. They did the best they could. We have a child who struggles to adapt to our education system’s structure and schedule.

This new reality has forced me to pivot from my previous identity as a “career woman.” I’ve been home now for two years, doing everything I can to support my kids, and I’m finally waving the flag: I won’t be returning to work anytime soon.

I grieve this admission. I do. I grew up with a mom who worked full-time as a dentist and business owner. She instilled in me the importance of never relying on someone else for money. And here I am scrambling to make a few extra bucks on Substack (would love your support as a paid subscriber) and social media to feel like a somewhat independent woman, while heavily relying on my husband’s income to pay for just about everything.

(And before you say, “Well, maybe he should stay home…” — don’t you think we considered that? We’ve weighed every option, trust me.)

But I haven’t been entirely idle…. (life updates below)