This is the time of year when many of us are watching our babies move up and move on. Whether it is transitioning from elementary school to middle school (like my young gentleman), from high school into university life, or from college into the wild world of adulting, this season is abundant with transitions. Our lives are as full as our days are long. Soon this long season of growth and upward progression will have its day in the sun. Well…not that much sun…it is the PNW in June-uary after all 😉
Alongside it all, my other baby, Eastside Natural Medicine, is moving on as well. Many of you have known, seen, and felt it coming for quite awhile. I transitioned to teaching more over the past few years and ultimately found myself happily situated in a full-time teaching position at the University of Washington Bothell School of Nursing & Health Studies. As it turned out, I was going to need to be home with my son for 18 months as we all navigated the twists and turns of this pandemic. Thus the shift was well timed for his needs, and also mine.
I have needed to slow down for over a decade. Frankly, I have been going non-stop since I was 16 years old! I will be celebrating 46 full and adventurous years of life this July and I would say that this is as good a time as any for Eastside Natural Medicine to be passed on to other, capable hands. Luckily for many of you, the hands that will receive my baby (who is now nearly a 15 year-old adolescent!) are the in-house team that you have come to know and love over the years. And I will step all the way out and hand it completely over to them.
This graduation comes with a great feeling of relief and celebration for me. After many years of literal blood, sweat, tears, and losses, what has remained is strong, independent, and willful. I feel proud of that. I built that from nothing and with everything I had. And like our adolescents, sometimes it’s just time for them to have some other cool adults in their lives.
I hope that you will celebrate with me in sending Eastside Natural Medicine and the team on this next awesome ride!
I will keep you posted here on what comes next for me. For now, it’s enjoying the Summer whenever the heck it shows up in the PNW and being with my son for all the things that I can.
Thank YOU for all of your incredible support, love, patience, and just being awesome patients, colleagues, allies, and community. This was built with and for you, and for that I will be grateful always.
