Big Dreams Take Time and the Return of the Snow Geese

The return of the snow geese this week tells me that spring is not far off. Soon the landscape will change from dull grey and brown to vibrant green and myriad colors. I already see the tulips pushing through the ground. By Easter they will bloom with vibrant yellow or purple flowers. Soon after that, the forsythia bushes will blaze in bright yellow flowers for a shockingly short time, before fading into a background of green leaves. As the weather warms, I'll hear the "peeps" of the spring peepers if I venture outside after dark. I'll watch the bleeding hearts and the daffodils come to life.

Each year, I seem to get better at noticing the signs of the changing seasons. They are subtle at first and if you're not paying attention, the signs can be easy to miss. In years' past, it often seemed like everything happened at the same time. One day the trees would stand bare. The next, they were bursting with green leaves.

But change doesn't happen all at once in nature or in our lives. I haven't always been happy about this. There have been times when I wanted things to change right away. I'd look at the lives of other artists, see the progress they'd made and feel like it all just happened for them all at once.

Now, after 3 years of a largely free schedule after my layoff at the start of the pandemic, I know that change happens a little at a time, even when it seems like you have all the time in the world. It comes with consistent work. It comes from showing up. From doing the work a little at a time.

I'll never be able to express how much this time has meant to me. How grateful I am to have had the opportunity to explore who I am and what I really want to do with my life. To explore my art, my illustration style and my voice as an artist. I've built a solid foundation and found the support that will carry me into the next phase of this journey.

But change is afoot once again...

I've accepted a full-time job in my local area doing the work I was doing at the start of the pandemic. I'll be writing content for websites and working with clients again. While this job isn't the vision I had in mind when I decided to reinvent my life during the pandemic, it's going to help me get there. I realize that what I need most right now is financial stability. That stability will help me continue to build my illustration business and create the art I really want to create.

At first, going back to a full-time job felt like a step back. In some ways, it is. Yet, I know I've accomplished a lot, particularly in the last 2 years. None of that progress will go to waste. I will still be in your inbox every week. I will continue to create new designs and new collections. I will add to my website. I will keep sharing my work with more and more people. And I will continue to share my journey along the way, if for no other reason than to disprove the myth of the overnight success.

And, the next time I see an artist's work online and it looks like it all came together overnight, I'll remind myself once again that big dreams take time. We just need to keep the destination in sight and enjoy the journey along the way.

I hope what I've shared helps you see your own journey in a different light, too. That you are proud of the progress you've made toward your biggest dreams and goals, no matter how long it may take to get there.

Here's to letting our journeys unfold in their own way.