It’s Been a While. Let’s Catch Up!
Over the last two years since my last blog post, a lot has happened. For once, I wasn’t busy starting and running another company (although I prematurely tried that…more on that another time). I wasn’t filling my schedule with client calls, speaking engagements, meetings, or side projects. Instead, I’ve been focusing less on my professional life, and more on myself, my relationships, and cultivating a full, vibrant, and rich personal life. Here is a quick drive-by of all that’s happened in my life since we last connected.
We got a dog!
Meet Vito - our beautiful, silly, soft, slighty psycho chocolate Labrador Retriever. Born on January 31, 2022 - the first, and heaviest of his litter, we fell us love with this little guy as soon as his breeder sent us his first pictures. We got to meet and pick him when he was only 3 weeks old and could barely open his eyes. We brought him home at 8 weeks old, and he’s been a wonderfully chaotic, but sweet and cozy addition to our family ever since.
We got pregnant!
The puppy was practice for another cute new addition that was soon to follow.
On a beautiful day in May 2022, I learned that I was expecting our first child! Unfortunately, just the day before, Will left for a work trip to Colombia, and wouldn’t be home for another 5 days! Of course, news this big needed to be shared in person, which meant holding in this massive secret for nearly a week! I’m terrible at keeping secrets…especially good ones. As soon as he got home from the airport, though (at nearly 2 AM), I surprised him with a newborn onesie and a positive pregnancy test. His reaction was well worth the wait.
Soon after I shared the news with him, we had a little scare around the 6-week mark. We thought for a moment that we’d lost the baby. But, to the surprise of our lives, our little buddy had a strong and steady heartbeat. To be on the safe side, I had to cancel upcoming travel to Mexico and Boston. Thankfully, by 12 weeks, baby was thriving, we’d shared the news of the pregnancy with family and friends, and were cleared by our doctors for takeoff. Naturally, we booked the first flight we could.
We spent the Summer in France
I kicked off and spent much of my second trimester in the best possible way - summering in Paris, Provence, and the French Alps. After being depleted of energy in my first trimester, I finally had some pep in my step again - perfect for endlessly meandering through the streets and over the many bridges of the City of Lights.
Will and I worked remotely in Paris for the first three weeks, staying at Airbnbs, hotels, and Sonders near the Champs-Élysées, Montmartre, and Pigalle. For the last two weeks of our trip, we took a train down to Marseille, rented a car, and hopped around Provence, the South of France, witnessed the majestic beauty of Mont Blanc in the French Alps, and then drove back to Paris for a final stint before returning home.
Obviously, recalling a 5-week trip through one of the world’s most magnificent countries in such a way doesn’t do it justice. But, despite how much I wanted to blog during my time there, I decided to simply be present and enjoy this special moment. After all, it would be one of the last long, international trips we’d be able to take as just the two of us for a while. I soaked in that sweet, quality time with my husband, savoured pains au chocolat with my morning coffees, and cherished the little croissant growing and kicking inside me.
We had a baby!
After the sweetest third trimester spent over a cozy autumn and a joyous Christmas season, our beautiful bundle of joy finally came into the world. On a snowy, January morning, Jordan Samson Ramirez was born.
During what I thought would be a routine OB appointment, it appeared that my blood pressure was higher than normal. I attributed it to the Chick-fil-A I’d had earlier that day for lunch. Turns out my doctor wasn’t buying it, and decided it was best to induce me, given that I was already at full term (37 weeks, 6 days). What followed was days of back and forth between the labour and delivery triage, home, back to triage, and then finally admitted for manual induction and birth. I’ll spare you the details, but the result was my sweet, blue-eyed, chunky baby boy. Will and I are smitten by his smile, and are excited to bring him along on the adventure of our lives, as well as to steward God’s plan and purpose for his life as best we can.
How’s that for an update?! I told you I was busy! This season of change hasn’t been without its ups and downs. It’s taken a lot of intentionality - letting go of some things while taking hold of others. Regardless of whether it’s good or bad, I’ve never done well with change. So, needless to say, the adjustment from being an entrepreneur juggling my own company, a full-time job, and just being the two of us, to now having a dog, baby, being on maternity leave, and barely having enough time in the day to shower has been a major one. Thankfully, though, I’m starting to get my bearings, and feel like I have some margin to write again. I hope to share more of my journey, thoughts, and feelings on this corner of the internet more frequently. At least more than once every two years! If you’re interested in hearing more from me, let me know in the comments below. Since I’m no longer on social media, I’m looking forward to staying connected with folks on this platform.
Until next time, friends…
Cheers! 🥂
