Maybe the better thing to say is that I will stand here right now on this day, in this moment, and declare that I will never let that happen.

I will always keep the joy and excitement alive when it comes to loving, living, and using what I’ve grown.

I spend a lot of time and put a lot of thought into what I plant each year. And every year it gets better and better. I learn and grow along with the garden.

Something I realized early in the planting season this year is that “growth” is something I stand for in all areas of my life so the fact that I’ve become such a plant mama and gardener over the years isn’t surprising.

I put my “hands in the dirt” with every client and business I touch. Everything I choose to put time and effort into- I’m cultivating, learning, planting, nourishing, watching, harvesting. It’s all the same.

There’s no wonder why having my hands in the earth, my care put into a small seed or plant and the whole process feels so “at home” to me.

It’s the best and most magical representation of everything I stand for.

And to bring it all home, full circle in the way I can with using the items like in this delicious green salsa I made last night with tomatoes and a variety of peppers (look at the comments) that I harvested from my yard. (5lbs of tomatoes!!!). The hours spent in the garden and in the kitchen were all a labor of love and man, I couldn’t be more humbled and fulfilled by the result. And every step along the way. Even the herbs I used to season the salsa came from my personally harvested collection from last year’s season.

Canning and preserving has become something that makes my whole body take an exhale…like “YES, THIS is the work that fuels your soul”.

This life really is pretty freaking cool, y’all. You just have to learn to create the cool pieces for yourself… and then cherish and acknowledge them.