A little world where we don’t have to chase everything.
Lately, I feel like my life is becoming more chaotic.
It isn’t necessarily the getting up early. I can do that. I get up, have my coffee, say my prayers, get ready and get on with the day.
It’s everything that happens after that.
Sometimes I feel as though I’m standing in the middle of a room surrounded by several doors, and every single door is pulling me toward it at the same time.
Go through this one.
No, this one needs you.
Wait — you forgot about this one.
And then, when I finally choose a door, my brain immediately wants to know whether I chose the right one.
I think that's where the exhaustion comes from.
The danger isn't necessarily the chaos. Sometimes the thing that feels more dangerous is doing nothing.
My brain is constantly trying to auto-correct everything.
What needs to be done next?
What did I forget?
Who needs me?
What should I be working on?
Did I make the right decision?
And every once in a while, I would just love one entire day where I could wake up and do what I planned to do without being interrupted.
I love that my husband cooks. Truly. Because even figuring out what we're going to eat can feel like one more detail added to the pile.
I think I've reached the point where I'm simply tired of things that need to be done.
I'll think I have the day planned, and then suddenly — nope.
I have to pick someone up.
Someone forgot their lunch.
Something needs dropping off.
Something needs fixing.
Something needs answering.
Meanwhile, all I really want to do is sit down and create the next sticker for Letters from Mama G.
Or finish getting everything onto the June's Studio website.
And sometimes I look back at the entire day and think, What did I actually accomplish?
Well, today I managed to put up the December special. Someone can send the December Letter from Mama G to a friend for $10 — no subscription, just a little piece of special mail arriving in someone's mailbox over the holiday season.
And you know what?
Maybe that was enough for today.
Because life feels dramatic right now.
Astrologically, we have Mercury retrograde. Venus retrograde. Mercury moving toward its square with Mars.
We're questioning.
We're thinking.
We're reconsidering.
We're talking.
We're observing.
And sometimes we're thinking so damn much that we can't figure out how to turn our brains off.
Sometimes that's why I enjoy a glass of wine in the evening. It's that moment of saying, Okay brain, we're finished now.
Except somewhere in the back of my mind I know the alarm is going to go off again in the morning.
And we'll begin again.
Maybe that's also why I love disappearing into the world of GnomeBert and Gnomezilla so much.
Because somewhere in my imagination there is this beautiful little village.
There's a post office.
There's a tavern.
There's a beautiful little church.
There are homes scattered throughout the woodland.
And nobody seems to be racing quite as fast as we are.
Nole the Hedgehog is probably tucked somewhere with his glasses on and his nose in a book. He knows a little bit about almost everything because he's always reading.
Mabel the Cat is watching over the village, making sure everybody is doing what they're supposed to be doing.
Does she actually help?
Well...
That's debatable.
But she's supervising. 😂
Anthony is hanging around the tavern. He claims he works there. Nobody is entirely sure what his official job description is, but he's always there.
Fergus the Toad doesn't ask too many questions about it.
Anthony will go down to the basement and bring up the kegs when needed, so Fergus figures he's handy enough to keep around.
Then Freddy the Fox wanders through with that sly little look on his face, probably trying to convince somebody they desperately need a new trinket he's somehow acquired.
And somehow, inside this little village, there are layers.
Friendships.
Trust.
Stories.
People — and critters — who know one another.
There's a rhythm to life.
And I love going there.
Maybe that's what I'm trying to create through June's Studio and Letters from Mama G.
Not simply stickers.
Not simply letters.
Not another thing to sell or another thing to add to the endless list of things that need to be done.
A world.
A little place where we can slow down.
Where the mail still matters.
Where somebody takes the time to write something and put it into an envelope.
Where woodland creatures have personalities and neighbours know one another.
Where there's a tavern at the end of the road and a little post office where GnomeBert probably knows everybody's business before they do.
Where nature still feels magical.
Where imagination still matters.
And where we don't have to chase everything.
Because I think that's something we're missing.
The world keeps telling us to move faster.
Do more.
Build more.
Post more.
Answer faster.
Make more money.
Be more productive.
Keep up.
And maybe we don't have to.
Maybe sometimes we need to sit down with a cup of coffee, open a letter, read a story about a ridiculous little woodland village and remember that there is still magic around us.
That's the adventure I've somehow wandered into.
And I'd love for you to come with me.
Come sit with me.
The mail should be arriving soon.