“Happiness is not a destination or a goal to be checked off. It is learning to be present during the thousand everyday moments that often pass us by. A good life is happening all around us if we learn to stop and pay attention.”- Topher Kearby
It wasn’t a conscious choice. Not a “someday I will” goal to be tucked away and pulled out once my life was in a particular place. Instead, I think it came from a desire to fill my heart with something lighter.
Without actually planning it, 2026 has become my “Year of Yes”
In 2024, I lost my Dad. Before Mom passed away in October of 2025, my yearly calendars consisted of at least one trip north each month to see my parents. I’d plan my studio time, social visits and yard work around that one week. By the end of 3 years, I’m pretty sure my car could drive itself down the beautiful back roads of Virginia, through Maryland, over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and to the place Mom called home.
October ran into December. Holidays, a new great-niece and being moral support for my sister after her knee surgery kept me traversing the bridge. Then, one cold winter day, I looked at my calendar and realized it was blank.
Grief is a strange friend. One minute you are crying and the next a funny memory floods in that makes you crack up laughing. You often find yourself completely alone in a room full of people that say, “How are you?” I’ve learned, most just want a 3 second answer followed by a smile.
It’s truly a road you travel alone.
Somewhere between the sad shadows, I began to get opportunities to re-discover life again.
- Let’s go to Disney and be a kid again.
- Join us on a cruise around Greece?
- We really should visit around Italy if we are going that far.
- Sunset Sail in Saint Augustine?
- Let’s take a Southern road trip.
- Come see the ponies on Assateague Island
- Have you ever thought of exploring Nova Scotia on a motorcycle?
I should have said ‘No.’ I have a business to run, jewelry to make, a boat to fix, a garage to paint. But my slightly bruised heart told me that I needed to say ‘Yes’.
I put down my torch, picked up my suitcase and bought the plane ticket.
I can honestly say it’s been quite a year.
I’ve gotten lost in Venice, screamed on the best roller coasters, touched thousand year old ruins, watched sunsets that made my heart swell, reconnected with family after 40 years and stood 20 feet away from beautiful horses that descended from pirate ships.
Most important though? I took the memory of my parents along with me and shared the joy of every new experience that they never had.
Maybe you’ve noticed that I haven’t been as present on social. My new designs have been more sporadic. I may have seem a little “checked out.” I’m not going away. I’ve simply been having a year of “Yes”.
- Yes to new adventures
- Yes to healing my heart
- Yes to paying closer attention
Everyone handles loss differently. Some people throw themselves into work. Others quietly process the sadness. Me? I went out and filled my days with adventure.
I still have days when I go to pick up the phone and call Mom and then remember that there’s no one on the other end.
Like I said, it’s a process.
But I’m learning to be present during the thousand everyday moments that often pass us by.
Here’s to saying ‘Yes’