It’s been seven years since we packed up the top floor apartment we had in a brownstone in Williamsburg (Brooklyn, not Virginia). A lot has changed for this Country Mouse - Gone City - Gone Suburban.

None of what we’ve accomplished looks like we thought it would when we carefully tucked all our belongings into boxes. Seven years later, the family has grown from James, Biscuit, and myself. First came Bogart. Then my parents moved to Tennessee, and we built houses next to each other.

Then came Nora, the shining center of our universe. Nora prompted the addition of Kissy and Huggy, two very loud and very opinionated guinea pigs. And last but certainly not least, Thelma, the Russian tortoise who does not understand what all the fuss is always about.

Right before we went into quarantine, my sister Karlene and niece Kellani moved in with my parents, right next door to us. And my mother’s younger brother Uncle Rob moved in with my parents as well. (He’s the quietest and the best-behaved of the lot so he flies under the radar most of the time.)

And that’s you, mostly caught up on our lives. We’ve had a lot of togetherness over the last eight months. I left my corporate job running websites for Ingram Content Group to spend more time at home with Nora, and honestly we planned that just in time because a week later, everything shut down.

I finally leaned into my life calling, and got certified as an Integrative Nutrition Coach through IIN (with a secondary certification in Gut Health / Microbiome Repair & Health), and as a FASTer Way Health Coach. I’m working on my prenatal and postpartum certification through FASTer Way now, and plan to keep specializing in work that can help my friends and I as we try to keep our heads and our health above water while we manage our families, work our jobs, and live our lives.

Honestly, this is the first time I’ve stepped into “writing a blog” without a clear plan on what I want it to look like. The 15-year Content Marketing veteran in me is having a small meltdown. But I need a place to put it, all of it. Living next to my family is… a lot. Being half a country away from most of my dear friends is also a LOT. Parenting during a pandemic is a lot. Living in a very conservative place as a very liberal person is A LOT.

I suppose this is just the place where I want to ask questions. Put thoughts together and pose them to the world. Share what I’m learning as I push myself to improve as an antiracist and BIPOC ally. And as an LGBTQ+ ally. And as a mother and wife and professional. It’s been a crazy handful of years… but I’ve missed writing about it.

This is my love letter to this big, chaotic, overflowing, wonderful life of mine. And all the characters in it. My very own Country Mouse Confessions.