Morning Walk Reflections

On our morning walk, I found myself reflecting on this wild ride that is life, that is being a wife, a mom, that is Ever + Alder.

What started as a little glimmer—a dream I barely knew how to name—a name that changed twice—has slowly grown. I remember sitting on the couch, postpartum haze heavy, baby girl curled up next to me, and feeling this urge to just begin. I didn’t have a solid plan. I didn’t have a marketing strategy or a full product line. I just had vibes and the tiniest flame of belief that maybe, just maybe, it could become something. So I created the Instagram page. I started posting. I designed a few things that felt like “me.” And now here I am—hosting our very first Ever Moms Meetup next weekend. What even?! 

But let me be veryyyyyy clear: this season hasn’t been all flow and alignment and clarity. Postpartum has been a rollercoaster. It still is. I’ve wrestled with anxiety. I’ve struggled to find routines that actually stick. I’ve looked around and felt like everyone else has it figured out while I’m over here dancing to my own messy, chaotic beat—barely surviving some days.

Even now, as I start making time for myself again—gym sessions, morning walks, a few slow sips of tea alone—I feel the guilt creep in. I question myself. I wonder why some goals feel so slippery. I was talking to my trainer this morning about how I still don’t really know what’s holding me back from certain things. I want to move with more intention. I want to fuel my body in ways that feel good. But it’s hard. I’m still learning.

And maybe that’s the point.

Motherhood, in all its exhaustion and intensity, has taught me to be okay with evolving. To loosen my grip. To trust that I can begin again at any moment. I can show up for the version of myself I want to become—even if I’ve fallen off track a hundred times before. That’s the beautiful, messy truth: we get to choose again. Over and over.

 

Some days we watch Moana twice and I eat too much cake and cry in the bathroom for five minutes. And it’s fine. That’s still a life. That’s still a day where I showed up.

 

So I’ll keep putting one foot in front of the other. Keep creating. Keep manifesting the dream, even when it feels far away or too big. I’ll keep sharing the process—the good, the gritty, the real.

 

Thank you for being here. For cheering me on. For seeing the beauty in the chaos and choosing to walk alongside me.

 

Motherhood is wild. Toddlerhood is intense. But in the middle of the messes and meltdowns, there is so much magic.

And I’m really, really grateful.

— MaryKathryn