Thoughts Today // Crickets, Mommyhood and a New Business
Wow, it’s hard to believe I haven’t blogged since November of last year?! Looking back over the last 9 months I have no regrets at all as to why you’ve been hearing crickets. Sometimes being still, being quiet and taking a break is just what the heart and mind needs although my absence was not intended at all. The last 9 months have been a whirlwind. If you didn’t already know, my husband and I were in the adoption process for the last 4+ years. We were supposed to fly out to Uganda last November to meet our son for the first time. We had been preparing ourselves for this life changing event for months, mentally and emotionally preparing our hearts, packing, getting our lives and businesses somewhat in order as we would most likely be gone for a number of weeks. We were so ready…
5 days before our departure date we got a call from our agency telling us to cancel our flights. Our court date had been canceled and the judge who was supposed to hear our case wasn’t hearing any more cases for the rest of the year. My heart sank and everything came crashing down. We had already been waiting 7 months to meet our son since we first saw his face in a photo. Instantly the light at the end of the tunnel seemed to get much dimmer. I became unmotivated to do anything and neglected many things…including my business. I just wanted to meet my son.
Our court date did eventually get rescheduled and we were all re-booked to leave at the end of January 2015. Phew…at least another date had been set! I just had to get through the next few months as quickly as possible. It helped that we had the holidays to break things up then as soon as the new year hit the count down began again. It wasn’t until we got on our first flight that I actually believed it was really happening this time. And off we went…
I don’t need to go into details of our trip at this point but let’s fast forward to 9 weeks later when we were finally on our way home as a family of 3. This was what I had been looking forward to for many years and it was finally here. Our son was 16 months old when we came home and I was totally not prepared for jumping into mommyhood with a toddler while managing a business and trying to keep our home and life in order as well. All my clients had been so gracious and patient with me while I was away but once I got home there was work waiting for me that needed to be done…like yesterday.
We’ve been home for 4 months now. The adjustment with our son has been a pretty smooth transition and we finally feel like we are in a decent groove. It has been a HUGE adjustment trying to figure out a good schedule to keep both my son and my clients happy. I’ve realized that my son’s needs come first, especially as he continues to learn to trust us, bond with us and adjust to this new place. I have to keep in mind that he has been through a huge life change being moved from everything that was familiar to him to a place where nothing was familiar to him…even his new mom and dad. I really need to be here for him as much as possible right now and I’m ok with that. I wouldn’t trade his hugs and kisses for anything. I’m so thankful for understanding clients who have given me grace as things have taken a bit longer than usual and I’ve come to realize that mommyhood and running a business is serious work and I wasn’t sure I was cut out for doing both. I had a big decision to make.
About two months ago I came to the point where I was either going to give up my business and be a stay-at-home mom or do some serious business restructure and management to keep my business going. My blogsite and business practices were already so outdated and neglected that people probably thought I wasn’t doing any business anyway but the thought of giving up everything I had worked so hard for made me so sad. Rebuilding my business after this long break seemed like an overwhelming task, especially now with a toddler around. After much thought and deliberation, I decided to give it all up…
and instead rebuild a new one…
…with new approaches, new workflows, new faces, new products and the best customer experience I can offer…
…the BRAND NEW Nicola Herring Photography!
There was just no way I could end it all and if I was really going to rebuild things I knew I couldn’t do it by myself. The last few months I’ve been working with Char Co doing some business coaching. They’ve helped me continue working towards launching a new brand, implementing new workflows, adding new products and revamping everything we do. PLUS….I am soooo excited to introduce to you our new Nicola Herring Photography Team! They say it takes a village to raise a child….but I also think it takes a village to run a business and I wouldn’t be able to do what I love without my trusty and beautiful team.
The last 9 months have been good for me to step back a bit and re-evaluate where I’m at as a business owner and mommy. I’m so excited to finally introduce you to my son. I’m even more excited to share with you soon the new and exciting things that we’ve been working on here at Nicola Herring Photography including the introduction of our newest staff member Leah – our marketing director! We are wrapping up some details and projects over the next number of weeks and can’t wait to share with you all the wonderful things we have in store. So stay tuned….we don’t want you to miss out. So for now…why don’t you enjoy some serious Ugandan cuteness. We proudly introduce you to our son!
photo credit: Sara Bittner Photography
