I’m not sure I even really know how to qualify this year.

It started off slower than normal, and I thought that would be my biggest problem this year. Boy, was I wrong — with a capital W! St. Patrick’s Day brought the devastating fire in the building next door to mine, and the next three and a half months were a whirlwind of insurance headaches, immense grief, anger, rage, depression, and finally, rebuilding. I’d be lying if I said I never gave up on the shop. There were days that made me want to crawl into a hole and never come out. Days where everything felt insurmountable. And I truly believe that the only reason I got through it was because of my family, friends and loyal customers who never gave up on me (or the shop.)

We are finally back open and even though those months “off” were not at all a break, I think the time made me realize how to do something I have been struggling with for years: separate my identity from the shop. It was the forced separation that gave me the distance to really work through how I want to fit into my business, instead of existing in the same plane as my business. I no longer feel like it is me and I am it. And I don’t think I would have gotten there without the time that the fire forced me to take.

Looking forward to what I want Earth Spirit to be has given me a plan and a goal. And I’m taking steps in that direction by hiring more employees and delegating more of the day to day to my manager, Isabelle. With the opening of Ritual, our new pour-your-own candle bar, I knew I would need to give up some control over the retail side of the shop and the addition of more employees is giving me just that. It’s definitely a leap of faith to double my payroll obligations, but I believe it is necessary to my success and to the success of the shop. But it doesn’t stop there. I know people see me as the “face” of Earth Spirit, but I’m hoping and manifesting that the time off has given people a chance to experience the shop anew and I’m counting on the community to come out to the shop and support us even if they don’t see me on the floor. My employees are absolutely amazing and each offers something unique and special to the rebuilding of Earth Spirit. I encourage you to come in and get to know them as you have with me.

With the shop and candle bar open, I am settling back into a routine. It’s fitting that Lammas is right around the corner. The first of the harvests, Lammas gives us an opportunity to begin to take stock of the things we planted earlier in the year. It is the festival celebrating the harvest of grain and I alway think of grain as one of the building blocks of so many other good things. Lammas gives us the opportunity to see that growth is in full force and things are ripening and ready to reap. It’s hard to step back from the work of planting and tending and take the time to notice that the buds have turned to sprouts and the sprouts have shot up into something delicious and beautiful. The plans I made at the beginning of the year may not have manifested at all the way I wanted them to, but there is growth nonetheless and the harvest is just as sweet. I am seeing the flowers and fruit of what Earth Spirit is turning into in this new season and I am committed to enjoying this bounty in its current form.

So, on August 1st, for Lammas, I will be changing out my home altar space and incorporating items that remind me of the new direction and harvest that is underway with my life and the shop. This will include commitments to spend more time with my family and friends, a commitment to not overwork and overextend myself — a promise to take the time to enjoy what I’ve worked for, and a newly-found ability to let go and see where others can take the business, and maybe setting aside some time to break bread with those that have carried me through the fire. How are you planning on spending the first harvest celebration?

This year has been...