Making a Come Back

Hey everyone, I know it's been a while since my last update. I disappeared for a year and then turned around and did it again. A lot has happened in that time but I think I'm at a place now where I can slowly make a come back.

As you may already know, I had my son in 2020 and that brought on a lot of huge changes. Everyone sort of knows that becoming a parent changes you, but I guess I just never anticipated how much it would change me. I was absolutely one of those people who thought I could continue to do all the things I was doing before and that I could make it all work... those of you with children are likely chuckling right now. It doesn't work that way.

I want to be transparent in saying that I had postpartum depression after my son was born. I refused to accept it for a long time, but I hit a wall where it was unavoidable. I gave up everything I loved. I wasn't drawing anymore, I didn't want to be involved in anything anymore, I was living solely for the purpose of keeping my son alive and safe. I basically lost my identity and I'm honestly still working on getting it back.

I'm spilling my guts out like this because I know how important it is for people in the agricultural community to address their mental health. I know too many people who denied they had a problem for too long until it got out of hand. Now I'm one of them. It's incredibly terrifying to take the first step to ask for help, but you have to do it. For me, it took the news that I was pregnant again to boot me in the arse and make a change.

That's right. I'm pregnant again. I'm actually due very soon, this time with a girl. We are very happy to welcome another wee one to the world and we can't wait to meet her. I've been very focused on trying to be the best mother I can to both my children. Right now a big part of that is finding myself and learning to let go a little more.

I started drawing again this year. Whatever I could just to get back into the swing of it. I was very nervous to start making strips again because I wasn't sure I could continue to make the sort of content I was before. Like I said in the beginning, motherhood changed me. I mean, at my core I'm the same person, but now I have so much more going on. I didn't want to change the formula but the fact is that I'm less of the 'Farm Girl' and more of the 'Farm Mom' and I've finally decided, or rather accepted, that's okay.

My role on the farm has changed a little, unfortunately, but my passion for agriculture is still in here. I may not be able to do as many things as I did before but I'm still here, I'm still trying. That can never be changed. I'm going to continue to create my space in this community and continue with my goals as an artist and a farmer. Now, there may be a lot more to relate to for the farm mothers out there in my work, but I hope that won't turn anyone else off. Just as I am learning and growing my art will with me.

Thank you all for being so supportive and for sticking by me when I went ghost for so long. It means so much more than you know. I have a bunch of comic ideas that I have been sitting on for the past year that I cannot wait to share with you all!

Cheers to a new chapter!

The Gap Year

As my boy comes up to his first birthday, it occurred to me that I haven't dropped a single update. So here I am, a little late, and feeling really guilty.

I took an unexpected hiatus from comics for a while due to the surprise early arrival of my little boy. He was a full month early so we spent some time in the hospital with him... I can admit now after a year that it was a very... changing experience. All the thoughts I had about how I was going to be as a mother went right out the window. I was hurled into a world of paranoia, anxiety, and fear right off the bat. I lost all creative energy and/or motivation. I was just razor focused on keeping that tiny bean alive.

With some time, I've recovered pretty well. I've been working on other projects to get that artistic flow back and revisited some things that brought me joy and inspire me. I've shied away from social media but I'm starting to come around again.

Thank you for being patient with me during this past year. I appreciate your support and kindness, and I'm ready to get back to work.

A year of Just being A Farmer

It's been one whole year since I published my FIRST children's book: Just A Farmer! Now I'm sitting here reading it to my very own future farmer... though he won't be able to see the pictures until early December.

The book talks about the many hats a farmer may have to put on in any given day, teaching children that a farmer is more than just anything. Farmers should be proud of what they do and this book celebrates that. You can buy it for yourself, or the kiddos in your life in my shop.

And YES, it's true! I'm super pregnant, haha. I know it doesn't look it here, but trust. I'm due on my birthday to have my first, a bouncing baby farmer and The Husband and I couldn't be more excited (or terrified). This is why I haven't been very active on my website most of the year. My chores around the farm have lightened, more-so in the very begining, and now again as I come to the end. Hay season was fine, but I was busy then on the tractor. Also, with Covid there isn't too much to talk about that wasn't a bummer.

Adjusting to life as a pregnant farmer has had a lot of challenges, maybe I'll do a seperate blog about that. I can only imagine what sort of changes are going to come when The Babe is finally here. There are no mat-leaves in farming! Maybe I'll write about that at some point too...

Hope all is well with everyone. Hope your harvests are going smoothly and you're all staying healthy and happy during this crazy unbelievable year. I'd love to hear what you've been up to this summer!