Hello!
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and long holiday weekend. I have so much to be thankful for this year, and I’m long overdue in an update to you! We’ve had a busy fall at the Olson house, with lots of exciting changes. Taylor started first grade and Ella joined him at the same school, in pre-K, achieving the coveted parenting goal of a “single drop-off and pick-up.” Of the countless challenges raising children, on the pure scheduling side there is nothing quite so complicated as having two working parents try to manage different drop-offs and pick-ups on a daily basis. Once they get to the age of extra-curricular activities kicking into high gear this challenge will circle back to us, but for the time being we enjoy and are thankful for the ease in which we are able to get them to and from school every day. They both transitioned into their new classrooms and environments beautifully, and love everything about school. The Darling and the Fig are growing up much too quickly. Those were the kids’ nicknames while I was pregnant, by the way, for those of you who haven’t heard the rationale behind the name of the blog. ( ;
First day of school, 2015.
As for me, I’ve had a big change in my professional life, which has impacted me personally as well. After nearly nine years of serving as in-house counsel with a company based in Minneapolis, I recently accepted an opportunity to join another company – still in Minnesota, still in the legal department. But that’s pretty much where the similarities end. I’ve never written much if anything about my “day job,” certainly when I was in my prior role, and I’ve been struggling with what to say about where I am now. However, there is this looming “so, what does this mean for Darling Fig?” question, and that’s hard to answer without sharing a little bit about how I decided to start the blog, what it has done for me this past year or so, and my thoughts about how Darling Fig may look going forward.
A little over a year ago, I took the plunge and started Darling Fig, after months of thinking and planning. I needed a project, a creative outlet, a challenge, a place for my brain to go in the evenings and on the weekends after the kids were in bed. I’m terribly lucky and fulfilled in my family life, but there is a personal space that at the time felt a little empty. Often in my life that “space” has been occupied by challenges at work, and at other times I’ve had house renovations or projects to keep my brain busy. But in the last couple of years I’ve felt a void, and not having opportunities to stretch myself in my career and not having the desire to have another porta potty in the yard for yet another house project, I needed to find an alternative.
Darling Fig filled that void in countless ways. I’ve learned so much over the past year, about blogging, WordPress, and social media. I’ve enjoyed practicing again some things that I learned and loved in the past, like photography and creative writing. I’ve cherished being able to connect with my mom on the creative aspects of the blog. I’ve opened my eyes to so much more beauty around me, from noticing colors and compositions in landscapes, to appreciating the lovely simplicity of a dish made with fresh and vibrant ingredients. I’ve realized the importance of getting out and about to make memories with Trevor and the kids, when staying inside and popping in a movie would have been the easier route.
So, what’s with this new job, and why haven’t I been posting lately? Remember my comment about needing a challenge, a creative outlet, and a place for my brain to go in the evenings and weekends? Well, I found it! Or, it found me. I’m not exactly sure, but I know that my brain is racing with new things to learn and my heart is full with gratitude over this new opportunity and the desire to make a difference. Darling Fig contributed so much to my life, but it also took an immense amount of time. I would work on it a couple of hours each night, and again a bit in the morning to launch a daily post. During the evening on these days I’m logging back on to email for a bit to prep for the next day or to address an issue lingering from earlier. Or, I’m connecting with Trevor over a glass of wine to talk about things that happened during our day – it’s amazing how little you do of that when your workday is dragging you down versus lifting you up. The space that Darling Fig needed to fill from a personal motivation, intellectual and creative standpoint is currently overflowing, and I couldn’t be happier.
So, what does this mean for Darling Fig? At this very moment, it means that Darling Fig is something at the top of my list for things I’m grateful for this past year. Looking forward, I want to continue the blog, but for a while it likely will be with far less posts compared to the time I was having a new entry every day. It has done too much for me personally to bring it to an end, and I certainly hope that it has brought an idea or two to you over the past year. I look forward to a time when I get my head above water in my new gig and can start thinking of fun things to bring to you again through Darling Fig.
Thank you so much for your support! Please stay tuned!
Kerry
