HAVEN CONFERENCE DECONSTRUCTED

Hard to believe that one week ago

 I was beginning what would become

an pivotal journey is my career as a blogger.

The trip to Atlanta and the Haven Conference.

It is an amazing thing...

to have done something...in a bubble,

to be an enigma to most who know you in your everyday life...

Kinda cool, kinda weird.

No bosses, no fellow employees.

No lunchroom, often, no lunch. 

The only person to answer to...is your toughest critic...

the person is yourself.

me and my bff Ana White!!!

...and then...to be amongst your peers...the handful on earth to whom

 you

do not have to explain who you, or what you do, or why you do it.

They know what you do. They do it. 

hmmm....smell something?

They too are Do-ers, and can understand the HIGH that comes
by doing it themselves
 and saving money
 AND/OR
with the placement of a lamp...

or the color of paint.

...they might also lose sleep wondering if the thrift store cabinet got away...

or if the varnish is dry

or if the color will match.

These faces, who you have seen only  one inch by one inch

thumbnails...

and look so very familiar... like a character in a movie...

or a person from a dream...

they understand what it means to be "followed"

or pinned or linked

and know how, like in tee ball, 

that we don't keep score but we

know the score... at every juncture

these friends, names you may not remember, 

 but whose smiles are branded to your heart, 

 who are immediately bonded

know the invisible sting of an anonymous 

comment that cuts deep or puts you in your place or 

makes you feel like a million dollars.

The connection to a person on the other side of the planet, in a tiny village

or a coffee shop in Paris, or a cottage in Scotland...

and how easy it is to weep when you feel the touch from so far away.

The Haven Conference was not just a Blogging Conference, 

but a 

conference specifically aimed at DIY bloggers, 

like a horticulture conference for gardeners who grow 

only baby carrots.

It was almost too much to take in.

Like a much too rich desert.

But so very sweet, that whatever morsel you could take in,

was heavenly.

I made friends for life.

Friends like I have not had the ability to cultivate since college...

what with the kids and the husband and the life.

I learned and learned and learned some more. and 

I miss it. I wish it had lasted longer.

I cannot wait to go back.

and learn some more.

thanks for the photo Roeshel!

THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU.

I did an embarrassingly poor job of documenting 

the journey in photographs.

Most I posted the other day HERE

and most I cannot name the subjects.

But THANK YOU!

The creators. The vendors. The sponsors and the

bloggers. 

Thank you to my husband for holding down the fort 

and to my sweet kids

Phoebe and Cooper 

for being such wonderful travel buddies.

Thank you.

Keep in touch.