“She stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her away, she adjusted her sails.” Elizabeth Edwards
When this magazine was birthed I was living a comfortably predictable life in Kentucky with three small boys and a hardworking husband. By all accounts, I was the traditional stay-at-home mom. Over the course of a decade I created a haven for friends and family. We hosted dozens of parties each year under the big maple tree in the back yard. I started a blog to chronicle all those milestones in a mother’s journey. I kept myself challenged by upping my domestic know-how and eventually became a businesswoman by profiting on those skills.
When the idea for CAKE&WHISKEY came to me like an Oprah “ah-ha” moment nearly two years ago, it was unforeseeable how much the skill of adaptability would need to be cultivated (sometimes internally kicking and screaming) if I were to see this idea through.
No longer was my morning coffee the first thing that got me out of bed, for a rigorous schedule that started well before the boys tumbled down the stairs for breakfast became the new norm. And no longer was this slightly-introverted girl able to slip quietly into preschool to pick up my son, for national speaking engagements pushed me far outside my scope of ease. And no longer was I able to devote the same energy to keeping up with friends as nights and weekends became my ‘no phone’ time, allowing me to wholly focus on my family. Ultimately those adjustments, ever so slight, became the crucial catalyst that allowed the potential for CAKE&WHISKEY’s growth possible. Without them, you would not be reading this letter.
This morning I write this from a small hotel room. It’s before dawn and I’m barely tapping the keys as to not wake my sleeping boys and husband beside me. For the next three weeks this hotel room will be our home as we head into the biggest transition as a family, to date.
That maple tree we hosted dozens of parties under is now someone else’s maple tree. The neighbors we shared garden bounties and baked goodies with for many years are no longer our neighbors. The life and business we built in a sleepy Southern town now needs to be cultivated in a northern city we had never set foot in before. Things change in life and business. Malleability becomes a necessity.
By nature, we tend to buck change, even though what we want more than anything in life is to not remain the same forever. We’re funny creatures that way.
As each feature story in this issue came across my desk, the theme of adaptability and ultimately, resiliency, became my take away. Maybe because as I was reading these stories, I was looking deep for my own source of resiliency and strength. We do tend to glean nuggets of wisdom where we need it most, don’t we?
This magazine gives voice to the stories of businesswomen who are on a journey. And that would be each of us. It’s what we relate to, because no one lives a simple life. We all face tragedy and heartache and chaos at some point and although it may pale in comparison to those you’ll read of Misty Copeland or Annie Kruyer, when read through the lens of your own story, whether now or in ten years time, the messages resonate deeply.
I am certain that we can learn from and champion each other when we understand that every woman we meet in the boardroom, the locker room, the school parking lot and the negotiating table is likely also adjusting her sails to weather a storm.
