I had to double check my age. I think with COVID we all forgot a year so for a second I thought I was turning 32. I was a tad disappointed…
But now that I”m back on track I have been reflecting on the last year. Another big one for our household; another move and some big leaps with Manor Designs. This Summer we moved out of Minnesota permanently and started to settle our roots in Nashville, TN. Moves can always be scary but this one felt energizing. I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve done it so many times and I’ve become numb to the nerves of it, but I was excited to check out this town.
And while we have loads more to explore, what we have found has been amazing! I never imagined such a welcoming and supportive network when it comes to the interior design world. I think because there is so much development happening around here there are tons of designers and stores that have been amazing to get to work with. And let’s not forget the post important piece of the puzzle this year… Haverford Manor! Purchased a few months after I turned 32 and hopefully to sell a few months after I turn 33, this gem has been such an amazing experience already. Forcing me out of my comfort zone and constantly teaching me lessons that I know are invaluable. Every day I get more excited to reveal this bad boy this fall!
And it got me thinking about all that time that I wasted!!!! Years wondering if I should start a blog, years hearing friends tell me that they want help decorating their place and that I should do this for a living… and it didn’t register. I wonder if I had gone to school for interior design (way back when), where I would be in my career now. While I’m loving where I am and all the experience that I’m getting, I sometimes wonder how it would be different. I wouldn’t have had those miserable years working in an awful corporate environment, I wouldn’t have had those years in the gray area wondering what I’m going to do and when I’ll be able to do it… I wonder.
While I wish I could be all sunshine and rainbows on this birthday, I can’t help but feel this weight. A weight that I’ve felt all year that has slowly gotten heavier and heavier. The world we live in today seems to be going through a woodchopper and I have no idea what’s going to come out of the other side. Between the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the mass shootings, and oh ya let’s not forget women’s rights taking a giant step back about 50 years… I can’t help but feel that the human race isn’t getting it right. I’d love to sit here and eat my birthday cake with rose colored glasses about the future, but age seems to have that effect on people, or maybe just me. It makes you see things with a more concerned point of view; worrying about where we’re going to be in 10 years, worrying about what world our kids are going to be living in in 20 years! It’s not just about having fun and living your life like it was in your 20’s. You lose the luxury of naïveté as you get older.
Don’t get me wrong I am excited for the future and possibilities I’m facing in my 33rd year, but I can’t help but look at this year with concern. Sure I’m going to be thrilled to reveal Haverford to everyone when it’s done, and I’m going to love celebrating holidays with my family, plan some fun trips, and maybe even take bigger steps with Manor Designs. But at times that excitement is offset by fear and worry.
So this year for my birthday as I blow out the candles I’m going to wish that we can move forward, not backwards.
