The Creative Nest

I live in the city. I feel like that is an important detail to establish because lately I have started questioning whether my address was accidentally entered into the system as “middle of nowhere.” I am not talking about seeing a squirrel. Squirrels are basically the interns of the animal kingdom. They are everywhere, and nobody is particularly surprised to see one. I’m talking about deer, raccoons, and possums. Actual wildlife. In my yard. Like they pay property taxes. There is something particularly unsettling about looking out your window and finding a deer standing there. Deer are not small. A squirrel can run across your yard and you think, “Oh, look. A squirrel.” A deer appears and your brain immediately goes, “WHY IS THERE A HORSE IN MY YARD?” And the deer doesn't even look concerned. Nope. It just stands there eating whatever it has decided belongs to it. Meanwhile, I’m standing inside my house looking through the window like I’m observing a dangerous criminal. Don’t make ...

Have you ever wanted something accomplished so badly that when someone tells you “no,” your first thought isn't, “Okay, I understand”? Instead, your brain quietly responds, “Hmm. Interesting. So that's the answer you want to give me.” 😂 I'm talking about those moments when you feel strongly enough about something that you suddenly become very creative. Not necessarily sneaky in a devious, mustache-twirling, I'm about to commit a crime kind of way. More like a perfectly innocent little detour around an obstacle that someone else apparently thought would stop you. Because sometimes “no” doesn't actually mean no. Sometimes it means, “You're going to have to figure out another way.” And apparently, some of us take that as a personal invitation. There is something fascinating about what happens when the normal route doesn't work. When someone tells you something can't be done, your brain can go from sitting quietly to suddenly running a full-scale strateg...

Do you ever wake up and somehow just know the day is going to be a rough one? Nothing has actually happened yet. You haven't spilled your coffee, nobody has annoyed you, and your computer hasn't decided it needs to install 47 updates before allowing you to do anything productive. Technically, everything is fine. And yet… there it is. That feeling. You look at the clock, take a sip of coffee, and your brain quietly whispers, “Oh, this is going to be a day.” I don't necessarily mean the kind of day where everything goes catastrophically wrong. Those are easy to identify. I'm talking about the weird days. The days where things are just… off. For me, one of the biggest warning signs is work. There are days when the requests coming in are perfectly normal. You read them, understand what someone needs, take care of it, and move along with your life. Then there are the other days. The days when the requests start coming in and you find yourself staring at the screen thinking...