After the Dust Settles

Nobody really talks about what happens after you finally accomplish the thing that has consumed your entire life.

For the last three months I lived and breathed this expansion. I worked seven days a week. I woke up at four in the morning. I went to bed thinking about paint colors, shelves, inventory, lighting, construction, budgets, brands, websites, and a thousand tiny details that nobody else would ever notice. Every single day there was another list. Another problem to solve. Another decision to make.

Then one morning I woke up and it was just…done.

I remember laying there thinking, “Now what?”

It almost felt a little sad, which honestly made no sense. This was everything I had worked toward. I should have felt nothing but excitement. Instead there was this strange quiet after months of constant chaos. I had spent so much time chasing the finish line that when I finally crossed it, I didn’t quite know what to do with myself.

Now I do.

Yesterday one of my best friends was in the salon while I was working. She has listened to me talk about this vision for years. She watched me stress over every detail and question every decision. But yesterday was different because she finally got to see it happening.

Women kept walking through the door telling us how beautiful the boutique is. They talked about how much they love their hairstylist. They looked around with that smile that says they instantly feel comfortable.

Then my favorite part started.

Someone would grab a shirt and I’d say, “Wait…try these jeans with it.”

Another person would ask about skincare, so we’d start testing body oils and lotions until they found the one that made them stop and say, “Oh my gosh.”

Someone else needed earrings.

Someone needed an outfit for a trip.

Someone just wanted to feel good in a pair of jeans again.

Without even realizing it, I wasn’t just doing hair anymore. I was helping women see themselves a little differently. I was styling them from head to toe. Watching their confidence change right in front of me.

At one point my friend looked at me and said, “Oh…this was your vision all along.”

Yep.

It finally clicked.

That sentence almost made me emotional because she got it. She wasn’t looking at a boutique or a remodeled salon. She was watching the dream actually work.

This is why I did all of it.

Not because I wanted to sell another sweater or another pair of earrings.

Because somewhere along the way women stopped taking care of themselves.

We spend our lives taking care of our kids, our husbands, our jobs, our friends, our parents. We make sure everyone else feels loved, celebrated, and put together while we convince ourselves we’ll figure it out later.

Later turns into months.

Months turn into years.

Pretty soon we don’t even know what makes us feel beautiful anymore.

Getting to help change that, even in a small way, is the coolest part of my job.

A haircut is amazing.

A great outfit is amazing.

The perfect pair of earrings can somehow make you stand a little taller.

None of those things change who you are, but they can remind you of who you already were before life got so busy.

I worked unbelievably hard to build this space.

Now I finally get to enjoy it.

I get to spend more time with my family. I get to slow down a little. I get to watch this place become exactly what I hoped it would be.

Turns out the dust settling wasn’t the end of the story.

It was the beginning of the part I was working so hard to get to.

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