#21 The Savoring - Pivot, Pivot, PIVOT

"But what if I did something I love," she asked.

I made a big decision this month and it has brought me such peace.

This week, I was feeling inspired by the character in my book who lived during the late 1700s and early 1800s. I wrote this in my journal:

Channeling my inner Martha Ballard from The Frozen River - February 27, 2025 - The chickens have been fed, the eggs gathered (there were 3 today). The garden has been hand watered as the drip system is not yet in place. I’m covering it each night because some creature has taken to eating the leaves of my budding broccoli plants. The sourdough has been fed for this weekend’s baking. The winds have kicked in today knocking over all the cedar J recently purchased for the new shed. The crashing startled me and the dogs. We restacked the wood and came inside and extinguished the fire in our fireplace. We have had no rain this year and the dryness outside in combination with the winds is quite a hazard.

I’m loving The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon and it was fun to pretend. I did a little digging and found a PBS movie about Martha’s life and my dreamy, modern version is a helluva lot more romantic than her seasons of “mud, snow and flies”.

Work that is done with my hands and of the planet eases my mind. My gift to myself this week was to slow down and focus on those things. Gardening, baking my own birthday cake, taking care of the chickens, feeding the sourdough, baking, cooking, working on a blanket I started two years ago for JJ and ordering the products I need to start dipping my own candles. It was a week of peace and a reminder that I want more of it.

I’ve written a few times this year about how January 1st is not my “make big changes” day. It’s around my birthday, when the days are getting longer and there are signs of spring all around, that I commit to the changes and goals I want to make happen in the year ahead.

I’ve been saying to JJ for years that while I love interior design, I don’t love the business of it. I love doing it for our own properties, but I don’t want to do it anymore as a profession. It’s full of pressure, far too many details, so many revisions and too many moving parts.

After much consideration and conversation, I am finishing up the handful of open projects I have and am officially removing the title, Interior Designer, from my resume.

That sound you hear is my open mouthed exhale and the swooshing sound my shoulders made as they dropped from my ears. My mood since making the decision has been giddy. Elated. It was long overdue.

I’ve been wanting to focus on a very different passion for a long time. Community has always been important to me but in August of 2023 I realized how significant it is to build one around yourself and your family.

There’s substantial science behind how important it is to our physical and mental health as we age. Creating a space for women 45ish and above around topics that are important to us is next up for me. Travel, home, life after the kids leave, cooking, gardening, financial security, staying young mentally (crosswords sure, but think AI education), hobbies, staying active, giving back, getting involved. Somebody STOP ME.

The list of topics is endless and I am excited to get started. More to come on that soon.

For now, thank you for being a part of THIS community. Thank you for all of the birthday wishes and as always for taking the time to read The Savoring each week.

This Quote
“Life has harsh peaks and deep valleys. To fully enjoy it requires a certain amount of malleability. Often an exhale and a pivot.”

This Cake I Made
As I mentioned above I made myself a birthday cake. I mostly just wanted to see if I could do it and I almost always feel like they are dry or have too much icing when I buy them. I used this recipe and the cake turned out amazing.

This Progress on My She Shed
”If I had been smart I would have said this was your birthday present,” JJ a week ago. Yes, that would have been smart. Instead I get the she shed AND he bought me the bag I mentioned last week. Yay me! Outside. Inside. The view from the little patio he built for me. I can’t wait to put a couple of rocking chairs out there.

This Item I Purchased
Doing dishes sucks a whole lot less with these cloth-lined dishwashing gloves. They soft on the inside instead of rubbery and keep your hands from getting dry and old before their time. It’s the little things.

These Fresh Berries
I try and go to the Farmer’s Market every weekend. I love supporting local growers and everything is fresh, in season and so healthy. The berries are incredible right now. Now to stop eating cake and start eating the berries.

This Clean Product
Dazzle Dry nail system is as advertised. Long lasting, dries in RECORD time. I mean within minutes. The color options are amazing. And it’s a clean product. I am a big fan!

This Birthday Pleasure
JJ makes a mean martini. Instead of going out to a loud restaurant on my birthday, he made me one, we ordered burgers from our favorite burger joint and we sat at home fireside and enjoyed each other’s company.

This Show
My good friend, Carrie, plowed through this series at record pace and then recommend it to us. Running Point is a great place to get lost at the end of a long day.

This Substack Read
I’m all for anything that improves our mental health and this post by milk and cookies is full of simple ideas and little pleasures that will provide a much needed mental lift right about now.

This Playlist
As winter starts to fade, my work playlists start to pick up in beat a bit. When I’m working I am usually focused on writing so I need my music to be more background style. I loved a light jazz playlist. Bonus points if it includes La vie en rose.

This Book Club
Our new The Savoring Book Club started on Monday. It’s not to late if you want to jump in.