Spring Awakening

Having an online persona is an interesting thing. People assume they know you, but–as a friend of mine once pointed out–they know about 15% of you. You get to pick and choose what they see of you…the good, the bad. You decide. And, when you are running a business attached to that persona…well, sometimes you have to be careful what you say. That is part of the reason why I started this blog. I wanted it to be a place where I could just. be. me. No filters. Because, quite frankly, I don’t really operate properly with filters

Winter is always the time when I stop and reflect. Take stock…because, well, I don’t work much in winter. I always find it funny when people ask me how many sessions I do in a week. I’m like really? What time of year? Because in February I did the same number of sessions all month that I would do in a week in October. People aren’t banging down my door to have their picture taken in 5 feet of snow and -20′C weather. Shocking I know…so, I work really hard from May through December and then…I hibernate a bit. I figure out how I am going to run the next year, I replace worn out gear, update software, get new samples…do the boring business stuff that has to be done…and think things through.

Balance is always one of the things that I think about…how to better acheive it within my family. I’m not good at it, but I constantly get better. Lately, I’ve been putting down my iPhone. Leaving it maybe even for an entire day. Much to the shock of my friends and family. I’m even trying to move that to walking away from social media and my work every once in awhile. Cause when you run your own business and YOU are the business, it never stops. You can always find things to do. Or, you can schedule and slow down and enjoy your life. So, 2011 is all about slowing down a bit. And enjoying my kids before they stop letting me

A big part of that is our family trip to Iceland. I cannot wait to go. We have planned out a schedule that includes so many cool things my head spins just thinking about it. It is the first time we will be hostelling it for two whole weeks with the kids. And, in our planning, we kept asking ourselves–what did people do before ‘google’ and ‘wikipedia’? How did they know? Can you believe only one of our hostels could not be booked online? We actually had to wait to see if we could get it. It felt so strange not having that instant knowledge. But, we rejoiced when it was confirmed because each hostel guest gets their own horse so that they can truly experience an Iceland horse. And, they give you a guided tour to a seal cove to watch the seals. I think the kids are going to go crazy. I can’t wait to blog it all…

So, the snow is finally melting. Spring is coming…and this year, winter was LONG. Personally, last winter was harsher for me. Truth be told, I considered giving up the business as it takes so much from me…this year I am emerging from my hibernation feeling revved up and ready to go…I have big plans and can’t wait to watch the changes unfold. I am finally in such a good place. And, I am so happy to be here…now if the spring flowers would just start to bloom, I would feel absolutely right with the world.

~ Dana