Image: MaryKate McKenna Photo
I have a feeling this year is going to be one of unpredictability. 2018 felt tumultuous thanks to the news and sometimes horrible things happening in and out of government AND the fact that my immediate & extended family was in a huge state of flux (we had a baby! we grew to a family of four! Evie went to SCHOOL! my little sister got married! my mom retired! my parents officially closed the NJ chapter of their lives! my older sister moved! we threw my mom a surprise party! my father in law turned 70!). It was insane, and even more so now that I reflect on it – but other than the news, the family stuff was all planned, known. I was pregnant going into 2018, therefore I knew I would be having a baby, we knew Evie would be entering school, and my parents would be moving, and my sister getting married … and so on and so forth. Things were still epic, but at least I could (mostly) plan for them.
I don’t think 2019 is going to be like that – and I think I am OK with that. If our New Year’s Eve was any indication (we spent it, unexpectedly in the Children’s Hospital ER with a sick kiddo – he’s on the mend!), 2019 is going to be full of the unexpected.
I had GOALS for 2018 as I always do, personal and business ones. Most of my business goals centered around growing my ecommerce arm & getting into wholesaling (yay! I did those things) and some were supposed to be my maternity leave projects (re-editing and issuing the Capitol Romance Wedding Planner – boo, I did not do those things). But for the first time in a long time, I don’t actually think I am going to set goals for this year. Neither personal, nor business related. I think for 2019, I am going to focus more on the HERE, the NOW, and the REACTIONARY to whatever comes my way (in life or otherwise).
I think 2019 is going to be a year of pause, a year of reflection, a year of getting back to basics. If 2018 was the storm, 2019 is the aftermath – and I am just going to simply revel in it.
Having Baby #2 has changed my life way more than Baby #1 did, and I am not sure I have fully admitted that to myself until just now. It’s changed my mindset, my energy levels, my body, my emotions, and for sure my outlook on life & business. I think I expected everything to go as easy as it did after Evie (life, business, body) – and it really hasn’t and that is OK. But, I do need some time, maybe an entire year, to reflect and understand what that means for me & this business of mine.
So what does that mean for me and this here blog? Well, it means things will likely be volatile here for a bit until I really get a hang of this two kid, full-time job, full-time wedding brand/business thing. The blog took a back seat in 2018, and it might again in 2019 (but I’m going to try hard not to!). It means I am not looking to grow Capitol Romance in any new areas (well, at least for now) for the first time, in a long time. We’re going to focus on the blog, our wedding coordination services & team, and a bit more on the ecommerce/wholesaling stuff (I’m not ready to give that up yet!), and that is really it. Our #1 priority are our wedding coordination clients, and the rest is going to be fun cherries on top.
So Happy New Year to you – my readers, who have stuck through with me and this brand through the ups and downs. I am looking forward to learning more about myself this year, finding small ways to reflect on CapRo and what it truly means for me and the best way I can impact the world with this business, and as always, I cannot thank you all enough for being here with me, along for the ride.
Bring it on, 2019.
