Adult life has never felt so real.
One year ago, I had just completed an exhausting and culturally humbling work trip in Russia. The media both under and over exaggerating the circumstances. With colleagues just miles away as a proxy, we learned quickly the extreme disparities from neighborhood to neighborhood. Was the city "prepared" to host?! My room had been built just weeks prior in the basement of a seaside bed and breakfast ... sounds fabulous. Queue sob story: my room had a healthy ant population, no locks on the windows, gasoline-infused plumbing which I just had to learn twice. Once when I chugged a glass at 3am like an idiot and puked on the bed. Secondly, when I complained to the front desk - "it's safe, just don't get it on your face." We were beyond thrilled for the Park to open simply to count on a meal that day. All wellness aside, the experience was both dire and obvious, extreme and beautiful (look at that view?!), terrifying and friendly. Happy to have had; happy to be home.
My roller-coaster in Sochi was immediately followed with a swift stealing of my father, years before his time. In our profound loss I know he fought a great battle, teaching us all along his journey.
“Families are the compass that guides us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter. ”
By July we were on the move. Brett accepted a position at Jolby & Friends - a kind and supremely talented brotherhood. We learned the hard way how overpopulated our new city was. After loosing 10x of rentals, we bought Ole his own backyard! We packed up our lives and trucked it across the country. A week later and on my birthday, we received the keys to our first home.
In September we learned another valuable lesson: when planing a wedding, make sure you budget in airfare to actually get home for said wedding... Surrounded by big hearts, Brett & I exchanged vows on the shoreline of my families property in Waupaca, WI. My little smart-ass brother was there to walk me down the isle as Papa Cronce orchestrated the skyline. The forecast called for thunderstorms and high winds all day; Mark wouldn't allow it. We partied into the night at the Indian Crossing Casino. The historical relevance of that building, that town, the cabins - a perfect crossroads of my past and my future. <3 you Brettie. Oh PS - ... Ellagraph Studios!
I closed the year off with another humbling work trip; another fabulous team accomplishment!
And with that, Hilda is ready to take on another year. (You wouldn't believe how many projects I've archived that are busting out of the closet.) Continue to grow and heal through making - sincerely your adult life.