Hi, it’s been a minute. I needed to take a little break. March was a doozy, you know? But I felt inspired to create again this week and here we are. I hope you enjoy.
Historically, I haven't been good with houseplants and therefore gave up on having any of our own. Then a few months ago, our wonderful neighbor offered to give us a propagated cutting from one of her plants and with her encouragement, it felt like time to give plant care another try.
When the cutting was ready, we brought it home and it was growing beautifully — I felt so proud! It seemed like there were new leaves every week.
But then something awful happened: soil gnats. Everywhere.
Apparently the best way to get rid of soil gnats is to change the soil, but that sounded really scary and hard. So I tried some other methods first, like sticky traps and insecticide.
They didn't work. The gnats continued to thrive and they were spreading throughout our apartment.
After weeks of trying to rid ourselves of gnats, I finally got the courage to change the soil. I was terrified of killing the plant on accident, but I had to at least try.
I changed the soil and felt so accomplished! The gnats were gone! But within days, the plant drooped. It lost most of its leaves. I was sure I had killed it.
Time passed and I mostly gave up on being a houseplant person again, although I continued to water it and hold out hope.
And then, weeks later, the unthinkable happened: a new leaf started to sprout.
I didn’t kill it after all. It simply needed time to start a new, healthier life.
lessons learned
*You can’t thrive if your soil is infested with gnats. Surface-level bandaids aren’t going to fix your problems. You know what you need to do. You’ll likely put it off. Eventually you’ll have to uproot yourself and change your soil entirely. It’s going to hurt. You may suffer some damage. But you’re going to grow back. And you’ll be healthier and stronger. New soil, a new life.
Gnats be gone.
*In case it isn’t clear, I’m talking to myself. I NEED TO CHANGE MY METAPHORICAL SOIL.
Is there gnat-infested soil that needs changing in your life? What does this allegory mean to you? Isn’t allegory a fun word to say? Is allegory even the right word for this?
a few fun things
A new friend of mine,
, runs a beautifully human creative studio called A Big Idea. She recently launched a card deck, Return to Center, with prompts that help you reconnect with your inner, wiser self. I genuinely don’t think I’ve ever bought something so fast. I use it regularly and love it so much.
Freddy and I have a new ritual of needlepointing together (you read that right) in the evenings and weekends and we’re a little obsessed. We’re using Wool and the Gang kits we got from a small craft shop, but we discovered a brand called Unwind Studio that’s ALL NEEDLEPOINT KITS and we’re excited to try it in the future. The below photo represents about 20 hours of my life.
The occasional warm spring day has led me to bust out the rollerblades! It feels good to be back (and it’s especially nice to enjoy with friends).
What are some fun things in your life lately?
Until next time,
Maryn (is here)
Great analogy! And I love the needlepoint you’re doing. You can use masking tape folded in half around the edges like seam binding to keep it from fraying…maybe the mindfulness of stitching is why I’ve always loved it.
Thank you for the reminder to tend to my own soil, and for the very kind mention, Maryn!!