How it came to be...

On the precipice of my 50th birthday, and the beginning stage of my empty nest, I found myself working my full-time job every day and watching Netflix every evening. At some point I began to wonder, is this it? Is there nothing more to look forward to in life but a steady paycheck and movies? Was I at the beginning stage of a mid-life crisis? I don't know, but I didn't want to find out, so I began to create a list of all the things I still wanted to do in life. Get a mother-daughter tattoo, fly in the sky with my dad, memorize my mom's apple pie recipe and return to Ireland with my husband. Worthy and fun activities to be sure, but they were all short lived. I wanted something that was going to be on-going, something I could leisurely develop and create. Something that was my sanctuary. A she-shed found its way on to my bucket list, but what was I going to do with it? I didn't sew like my mom, play music like my dad or dance like my daughter. The only thing that had ever been a hobby for me was photography, but I had given it up a lifetime ago and as the song says, "a dream won't chase you back." It turns out a dream doesn't have to chase you. Sometimes it fills every corner of your world, sometimes it is pulling you along when you want to give up, sometimes it is in the stands cheering the loudest for you, and sometimes it patiently waits in the shadows for you to remember it has never left you because it is a constant companion. A dream is devoted to you, whether you give it life or not. I am blessed to have an encouraging husband, who is also handy, so when I broached the subject of a she-shed turned studio, he was automatically on board. July of 2021 the she-shed was delivered and we spent the next several months turning it into a cozy cottage where my photography could blossom. My studio is inviting, calm, creative and cozy. I look forward to spending time with you at the cottage.