I May Identify As A Fat Bird Now

When wild critters are thriving more than your creativity is, it's time for a change.

Dear Bob Marley: Excuse me, but there were fifty little birds on my doorstep...NOT THREE. Nice try though!

If you read my final Wildhood Wanted post, you know I had reached a point where my big life update was hanging bird feeders and making seed donuts like I was auditioning for a very niche PBS spinoff.

I even shot actual footage of birds living their best lives while I stood in the window thinking, “Wow…so this is what I’m offering the internet now.” 😆

Listen. I love these fat little birds. They delight me, they show up on time every day, and they appreciate my efforts. They certainly did not ask me to rebrand and go all Martha Stewart with mini bundt cakes in my backyard. I added that bit of flair all on my own.

But somewhere between refilling bird feeders and watching them fight over sunflower seeds, it hit me that I had been circling the same themes for a while. Reinvention. Restlessness. Becoming. Unbecoming. Jamaica-ing. And so on.

All of it was valid and true at some point, but the stories were well-worn. I could practically write them in my sleep, which was sort of the problem.

Wildhood Wanted just wasn’t lighting me up anymore. And while writers are supposed to write for their audience, we first need to write what feels relevant to ourselves.

I kept trying to freshen it up with new angles and different ways of saying the same thing with different lighting. But dare I say, the truth became slightly annoying.

I couldn’t fathom the work involved in rebranding with wallpaper that would mask the original paint, but probably start peeling at the edges. Instead, I needed to ‘energetically’ move out so I could move forward.

Funny story: Last year, I watched another Substacker try to rebrand using actual wallpaper, and it just felt awkward and very 80s-floral. You feel me?

When you keep telling the same story in a different shade of paint, it might be a sign that the chapter has ended and you are trying to squeeze meaning out of the closing paragraph.

These birds in my backyard are fat and thriving because they don’t overthink things. They found donuts hanging in my tree and adjusted immediately using their wings, instincts, and forward motion.

That is how Homebody(ish) came into focus.

The funny part is, when I wrote my last post in my old publication, I hadn’t even fully considered retiring it, nor had I thought of this new name yet.

I just knew I needed to create a space where my attention was already living. Home. Work. Comfort. And ridiculously creative and FUN ways to exist in all three of those buckets.

Perhaps this is what “getting old” feels like. 😁 Or perhaps I just needed an excuse to use tiny houseplants as divider lines the same way I’m using them as real home decor.

Since I made this move on January 1st, I’ve had private conversations with several subscribers who followed me from old to new, and I must say, y’all have been so encouraging and reassuring that this was the right move.

If I may paraphrase one lovely reader:

“I was not your target audience for (Wildhood Wanted). Homebodyish feels like a much better fit for me, and the inclusion on your Wall of Fame sealed the deal.”

My best response, other than eternal gratitude, was that I felt like I wasn't even my own target audience anymore. Go figure.

If you’re reading this and feeling a low-key creative itch, the one that says something is stale but you’re not sure what, here’s some advice I wish I had followed sooner.

Pay attention to repetition.

If you keep reverting to the same story or redecorating the same room, it may not mean you haven’t figured it out yet. It might mean you actually have figured it out.

For me, growth no longer has to look like carry-on baggage rules that made me purchase $29.00 overpriced airport sunscreen because security threw out the tube I packed. And then I had to eat lunch before boarding and……

Can we just talk about how much money I save by being at home? 😆

There’s no prize for staying in something longer than you need to. Sometimes the most creative thing you can do is move your chair. Or your publication. Or your entire livelihood.

The birds figured it out…surely we’ve got this!

I often wonder how much more stable and predictable life would have been if I’d just done what most of my friends did. What if I’d been a homebody back then and put in 30+ years at a job with a pension?

I suppose I wouldn’t be here right now crafting little designer coffee-mug-and-pinecone embellishments like the one above. 😁

I’m certainly no stranger to totally random life choices. As a teenager, I didn’t opt for the starter pack in questionable decision-making, such as playing hooky and shoplifting. I skipped through all the junior mistakes and went for the gusto by getting pregnant.

Then there were the corporate quittings in favor of various midlife crises.

Then entering the restaurant industry on the brink of 40 and feeling like the old goose in a pond of young ducks. I sometimes wondered how the hell I ended up where I did.

It boils down to ONE thing: FULFILLMENT

And we should be constantly seeking it for no other reason than WE CAN.

In all the areas of life where we may have felt out of place at one point or another, choosing who and what we wish to be is now highly achievable thanks to the internet. Finding our own way isn’t as unconventional as we think it is, and following our creativity is an actual thing now more than ever before.

Five stars….I highly recommend it! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you’re sensing a chapter ending or a page turning but haven’t claimed the next one yet, you’re in good company.

Drop a comment and let’s normalize the weird ‘in-between-ness’ of it.