Oops, I'm a day late and a dollar short it seems. Or at least I'm 2 weeks and a day behind my normal newsletter schedule, but what can I say, I honor my need for rest more than I honor my desire to write a newsletter.
I hope you've been well over the last bit, and are ideally finding some whimsy and joy in your day to day. I'm in southwest Ontario and it is finally warm enough to trust the weather won't turn on my plants, so I'm deep in my gardening era. Last year I swore I wasn't going to try and grow vegetables again, and even as recent as 3 weeks ago was saying the same thing.
Well I lied. I am trying a few vegetables. We'll see how they go. I'm trying cucamelon, purple bush beans, butterbush squash, green and yellow zucchini and maybe cucumbers. I have a terrible track record but I'm committed!
Gardening has been such an incredible exercise in relinquishing control, and helpful my pursuit of letting go of perfectionism, which is always a work in progress. We spend so much of our lives, and careers, trying to control every last detail, just white-knuckling our way through life. Thinking if we just keep those plates spinning perfectly enough, we can keep the charade going.
Guess what though? We can't. There is no such thing as the perfect time. There is no such thing as being able to account for every last detail, even if we built our entire careers off trying to do just that. As every zen spiritual leader has spouted at some point, there is only there here and now, and what we do with it is what matters.
So what have I been doing?
Working with a client lately, who is going through a divorce. After years of being a mom and wife, with very little help, she's burned out. And she needs help navigating the next step of her journey. She knows that she already has too many plates that she is spinning, and taking on another is going to make the whole thing collapse.
Together, we're working on finding her a new home, in her budget, in her preferred neighborhood. I don't just pull listings for her, I am able to screen from the jump if this is going to be the kind of home that is going to allow her to heal in her new life. Together, we're able to build the foundation of where her next chapter begins.
When people ask why I stopped teaching tech to my admin peers, the simplest answer is reflected in the work that I do now. The work that feeds me, that helps me continue to heal and grow, is the work that I am doing now. I love being able to use the skills I gained in corporate, mixed with everything I learned while healing from it, it to help others through the nitty gritty in life.
Are you working through the muck? Do you feel more like butterfly goo than human some days? Maybe it's time to have someone help you through. Check out my offerings, here.
Weekly R.E.P.O.R.T.
What I'm Reading, Eating, Playing, Obsessing, Recommending and Treating.
Reading: Okay, I'm going to level with you, I haven't been reading anything. It's a little weird, I'm kind of in a rut with all my media. The closest thing I'm getting to reading or listening to an audio book is video essays on YouTube. One I really enjoyed was "The Mass Production of the IT Girl" on YouTube.
Eating: Many, many sweet potato fries. I bought the giant bag at Costco and they're delicious. I love putting them in the air fryer and having a little garden happy hour.
Playing: I'm very much enjoying making decorations for my garden. I made these little fairy wands as well as name plates for some of my plants, named after my friends.
Obsessing: Over the bumble bees coming to visit! I don't have much blooming right now but they're making me so happy.
Recommending: Have an ice cream. In a cone. Or a sundae. Anything is fine. It's hot most places, and you deserve a sundae.
Treating: I treated myself to the rare "dress like a grown up" night. A friend of ours is running for city council in my ward, and we went out to celebrate his entering the race.
The end.
As always, wishing you the best, easiest, most joyful week possible. Fight your best to be happy in 2026.
xoxo
Jessica
