Hello from the other side. I’ll preface this update with a little honesty: it’s going to get worse before it gets better, but I promise it’s worth the read.
I honestly can't believe it's been two years since we opened our doors for the last time on Charlotte. When I walked away from the biggest piece of my business, I was saying 'no more' to a company that ran me for several years and 'yes' to a life I imagined living. A life with space to breathe, explore and invest in myself and my family. What I walked through for the next two years was a fine line between complete brokenness on one side and pure survival on the other. I have questioned more than I'd like to admit, including but definitely not limited to, my faith. Not my faith in regards to whether or not I believe, I'm unwavering in that department, but questions around why so much and why for so long.
This is the part where it really goes downhill...
The last two years have included my grandmother unexpectedly passing away. Not from old age, but from an accident in an outpatient surgery procedure. Something that should have had her home that afternoon transpired into a life flight to a major city and watching her decline until we lost her months later. It was tragic and traumatic for our entire family. She was something fierce and someone incredibly special in my life. During her decline, I moved out of a building that I literally rebuilt with my own two hands AND moved out of our home to start a renovation we'd been dreaming of since the day we bought our home. The start of our renovation was exciting and helped me navigate a tremendous loss in my life. I love construction and watching our home transform was so exciting. We hired a team we believed could help us achieve our vision so I could focus on rebuilding my life without a big piece of OAK as part of it.
As most construction goes, it took longer than projected, but my original background is construction management, so I was prepared for that. What I wasn't prepared for was a six-to-eight-month project to turn into an eighteen-month project, which included me unexpectedly taking over the construction management portion of the project. During this time, long Covid's party gang of thugs took my immune system to the ground and put me in a position where I had to completely change my lifestyle and incorporate a more aggressive treatment plan, which was like a full-time job. Our son was also diagnosed with ADHD, and with all the things I'd learned about my own health over the years, I was determined to hit his diagnosis head-on naturally. I say I was determined, but it just about broke me. We also moved eleven times. ELEVEN, due to the constantly moving completion date of our home. On top of that, while entering the fourth quarter of last year and trying like hell to get us in our home before the holidays, we had our largest fourth quarter in twelve years with our candle line. I was extremely grateful AND completely exhausted. Oh, and I partnered with a friend of mine to flip a house (thinking everything was going to end soon - it didn't).
Here's where the story gets brighter...
We finally moved into our house in February of this year and we finished a beautiful flip (that's on the market if anyone's looking - wink wink). I am still putting together the pieces of what happened to myself and my family over the last two years. What I have learned and what I know to be true is that stepping away from the biggest part of my company was the best decision I've ever made. As difficult as the last two years have been, I know for a fact that God has been working on me and in my heart to help navigate me to where he wants me to be. I've learned my true passion around having a home is far deeper than furniture and accessories. I love bringing a space to life through the eyes of another by building a space that a family will grow in. I love being in my own home the way I always imagined it to be (a huge shout-out to LB for taking my dreams farther than I imagined), and I believe all those things are working together to potentially launch me into my next season. Our candle company has grown so much over the years, and I'm grateful to still have a connection to a community that has supported this company for almost twelve years.
Why I'm reaching out and sharing now...
Because I can. I honestly didn't have it in me to reach out before. I was literally trying to just survive every single day. I'm also sharing this now because I think it's important to connect with each other. Not connect through a sale, but to genuinely connect. Life is hard. It is also really beautiful and I'm grateful to be on the other side of a very difficult two years. I walked away from something I sacrificed a lot to build, I lost someone extremely close to me, we lost a lot of money during the construction of our home, I lost a big piece of my health that I'm trying to slowly build back, and I really lost a piece of myself. A really big piece. I'm entering a season of growth, change and perspective. I will continue growing our candle business, but I'm also open to other things naturally coming to me.
I don't know when I'll write again, but I'll leave you with this;
Thank you for always being there over the last twelve years and supporting us/me. It's been a journey and I know I wouldn't have had the opportunity to experience it without your love and support. And I pray that if you are going through a difficult season, that you know you will get through it. It will change you, but things can be better on the other side.
I can't wait for you to see what we have in store for you. Signing off with a grateful heart,
Ginny