I’m starting to feel energized about the idea of closing this chapter of my life, putting things in order and finishing some of the work we started here together, so something new can unfold.

One thing that feels complete right now is my art. I have used this particular style of art to pull me through to a new place over and over again. Each message I’ve painted is one I desperately needed to know down to my bones. I’ve held on tight to my art over the years, feeling anxious about letting it go, wondering if it could mean as much to someone else as it means to me. I know now that all that doesn’t matter as much as being willing to let it go, so I’m preparing this week for an online sale of over 30 original paintings. I’m not sure exactly how I’ll sell those pieces (in an auction? by donation? by drawing? for a fixed price? feel free to leave your thoughts on that) but I’m trusting that solution will come to me, along with a cohort to help me pack and ship in a super timely manner. (Please God.)

Hand in hand with that goes this overwhelming thankfulness I feel for every single person who has ever encouraged me about my art–either by reading this blog or buying something or leaving me a comment or writing a handwritten note. I’m wondering how I can say thank you or what tangible thing I could do to express how deeply I carry around all that kindness. I’m convinced there needs to be something specific and tangible, and am musing on that often right now, waiting for a spark of ingenuity.

For Putting Things in Order (Part Two), I want to let you know what’s up with Odette, the girls and things in Rwanda, because it looks like some of the dreams we shared in that story are about to come true, too.