Ash & Evergreens

Here I am. In the final hours of my 20's, wanting to reflect on an entire decade full of life. What have I learned? What is even worth sharing? So, here's what I've come up with. These are some of the biggest lessons I learned in the last 10 years of life and I hope maybe they'll help you (or the twenty-year olds in your life) in some way. So let's jump in. Lesson 1: Go to bed . That text can probably wait. That late night conversation or phone call can probably wait. No matter how "about your whits" you feel, the emotions or thoughts you're feeling and thinking are most likely lying to you so don't act on those later at night. Just simply go to bed and see how you're feeling in the morning. I would have saved myself some heartache and frustration if I would have done this sooner. Lesson 2: Two Sips. In other words, give things a try more than once. This is a long standing family rule. Whenever we’d try something new (typically a food), our mom...

Tragedy is not a new word. And tragedy involving children isn’t a new concept (unfortunately). Yet for some reason, this particular one has struck a chord in my heart - possibly because of my camp counselor background and this story of young lives lost while attending camp. When I first heard about the flooding, I didn’t know what it would entail but as I dug in, tears filled my eyes. For the last few days, my reloaded browsers have shown me the numbers 41, 27, 10 and 1. Meanwhile the overall death toll continues to rise and the young girls missing from camp remain missing - and if they’re found, they are becoming heartbreaking recovery missions rather than rescue.    So, it makes me think about camp. I was a camper when I was a kid and it’s a massive part of my story, shaping me into who I am today. Both the environment and counselors were reasons I wanted to be on staff somewhere someday. When that day came, it was a high honor to prepare to serve campers each summer. For 5 ...

I've been sent a few reels over the last couple months talking about singleness and the different feelings around it. One said that people will talk about 4 major relationship categories,  1. Married and happy 2. Married and unhappy 3. Single and happy 4. Single and unhappy And how one of the categories is talked about the least... can you guess which one?  It's #3: Single and Happy.  I've not done the research, so maybe that discounts all of what I'm saying or about to say, but as someone who routinely checkmarks the single box, my life and experiences are the research. Why is it that so few people talk about what it looks like to be single and happy? In my observation, it's because there often is one goal and one goal alone to strive for: "get married, have kids". And if those things are not happening then how could one possibly be fulfilled, whole, happy, or thriving? A good question.  But what if I told you there was something else? That single people ...