Hello Beautiful Friends!
We are back from our honey-baby-moon in Oahu feeling rested and preparing for the big months ahead. Our little one is an acrobat in my belly these days and I’m so grateful to feel strong and healthy at 23 weeks pregnant. Ryan and I are so grateful to our family and friends who joined together to gift us some sacred, sweet time together on the island before the baby comes. Thank you Suz, Jeri, Steve, Linda & Cathy for making this trip unforgettable! We snorkeled with fish, dolphins and turtles, explored many miles of beauty each day and I even managed to squeeze in a couple of performances.
BIG MAHALO to HAWAII BLUE NOTE & PUBLIC RADIO
Big mahalo to my manager, Suzanne Koga and her partner Cha Thompson and all of the Blue Note Hawaii team for a wonderful show with local boy Tim Rose. I look forward to returning to Oahu again soon to collaborate more at this great music venue Also big thanks to Jason Taglianetti at Hawaii Public Radio for hosting me on his show, “Applause in a Small Room” which will be broadcast across HI later this spring. Y’all showed this mainland girl the real aloha spirit. Big love and aloha!
A Few Reflections & Take-Aways
News Fasting Nourishes the Soul
We took a social media/news fast during our time away. This may have been a more powerful shift for our well-being than any beautiful beach, exotic fish spotting, dolphin encounter or breathtaking landscape. I’m setting the intention to limit the amount of news that I assimilate weekly and take at least one or two days a week completely off-line. I don’t want to shirk my personal responsibility as a citizen, I just want to make sure that I can continue to recharge and be present with each day’s opportunities to grow, stay connected and do good work in the world.
2. Just Keep Walking
Oh the joys of simply walking. For almost 7 days consecutively we walked about 4 miles a day. Whether it was to get the car a mile away from the hotel where we found affordable parking in Waikiki or hiking to a waterfall, hitting a trail or wandering on sidewalks, we walked so much. And it felt so wonderful to simply put one foot in front of another, breathe deeply and take in whatever scenery showed up. Sometimes we talked, others we just walked and observed the world around us. So often, I stagnate behind a computer or steering wheel for days on end.
The gym is cool, but walking walking walking is something else for the soul.
3. Contemplating the Navel
After hustling hard with album prep and tour prep and Tips Concerts calendars, mega-budgeting and working in the community in Austin, taking some time in Hawaii to literally contemplate my navel and feel this child grow, move, stretch and become a little human was so humbling. I can’t help but wonder if I’m going to be a good mom, if we are doing the right thing bringing a baby into a world that feels so polarized and terrified all the time, if that one piece of sushi I tried is going to hurt it while it grows and kicks and rolls around in my belly. It is beyond humbling to believe that my body is incubating another little soul and as it comes to life more and more. So many thoughts and feelings.
4. Love is about the little things
We loved our time together in beautiful Hawaii, but it was the random conversation while walking, the laughter over the shape of coral, our horrible mispronunciation of Hawaiian things and places — the simple joys — that made the trip so sweet. We missed the amazing kids we have the joy of raising and living with here in Texas and were overjoyed to come home to their funny personalities, the dogs, and all the little details of life here that make it so sweet. Our life is messy, a little nuts and far from perfect, but it’s sweet. I even was excited to get back to work, cook and clean and prepare our little world for the baby here in Austin.
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