Letter From the Editor

 

A Different Kind of Fall

This fall feels different.

Our family recently celebrated a pretty big moment—the grand reopening of Countryside Florist in its new home. For as long as I can remember, Countryside has been part of our family story. Now Mom and Dad, Karla and Aaron, are stepping back. And, in a way, so am I.

Uncle Shane and Aunt Lora are becoming the new faces of our family tradition, and they have their own “people” coming up right behind them—my younger cousin Zoe.

Watching that happen has made me realize just how much all of us are stepping into a new phase of life.

And I don't think new phases are always as neat and exciting as we make them sound.

Sometimes they're exciting. Sometimes they're a relief. Sometimes they're exactly what you've been working toward. And sometimes you find yourself standing there thinking, Okay...what do I do with myself now?

For the first time in a very long time, I have more control over my time. I'm building Unapologetically Diverse and The Visibility Project, working with clients and figuring out what this new version of work and life looks like for me. But I also finally have more room for all those things that have spent years living on the when we have time list.

Apparently, “when we have time” has arrived.

Which means we're redoing our houses. We're fixing things at the ranch that we've always meant to get to. We're mending those fences we've been patching for years—both literally and figuratively. 😂

We're making dinner and actually sitting down to enjoy it. We're planning gatherings and ridiculous theme nights at home simply because we finally decided to make time for them. We're taking trips. We're getting outside. We're picking up projects and hobbies that have been sitting patiently in the background while life demanded our attention somewhere else.

And I'm learning that making room for those things doesn't necessarily mean having more time.

Sometimes it just means deciding that they're worth some of the time you already have.

That's really what I want this October issue to be about.

Because whether you work from home, punch a clock every morning, run a business, raise a family, are entering retirement, or are somewhere in the middle of figuring out what's next, I think most of us have a version of that list.

Things we'll do when work slows down.

When the kids get older.

When the house is finished.

When we have more money.

When the weather cools off.

When life isn't quite so busy.

The problem is, life seems to be pretty talented at staying busy.

So maybe this season isn't about waiting for everything else to settle down.

Maybe it's about making a little more room for the life we're already living.

That's why you'll find a little bit of everything in these pages.

I want to make our homes feel good—not perfect, but like places where we actually want to gather. I want tables worth sitting around and food worth slowing down for. I want theme nights, books, movies and popcorn on the couch.

I want to curate a wardrobe I genuinely love—something that works whether I'm meeting with a client, working around the house, heading to the ranch, going out with Alfonso or spending a Saturday exploring somewhere new. Clothes that make me feel tied into the season, comfortable in my own skin and confident about wherever the day happens to take me.

I want adventures and camping trips and Halloween costumes and reasons to get out of the house just as much as I want cozy nights inside it.

And, yes, I want pumpkin.

Just maybe not pumpkin spice everything.

More than anything, though, I want to be present for this season instead of racing through it on my way to the next one.

September reminded me how easy it is to make plans for a season and then get so busy trying to accomplish everything that you barely notice the season happening around you.

I'm not interested in doing that with October.

So this issue isn't a guide to creating some perfectly curated autumn life.

It's an invitation to look at the life you already have and ask:

What have I been waiting to make time for?

Maybe it's finally inviting people over.

Maybe it's fixing something you've walked past for three years.

Maybe it's taking a weekend trip, starting a project, wearing the outfit, cooking something new, reading the book, calling somebody, getting outside after work—or finally mending one of those fences you've been patching.

Literally or figuratively. 😂

Whatever your answer is, I hope you'll make a little room for it this October.

I plan to.

Keep Discovering,
Mariah
Unapologetically Diverse