Hey Birches!
Remember all those times around the table when you looked at me and asked, "Honestly, how do you work full-time all day, teach workshops at night, and do it all?! Granted, workshops are normally only full-on from Fall to Christmas, but still..."

Well, Birches… plot twist. This is officially the year I don’t.
For years I’ve been over here pulling rabbits out of hats—holding down a full-time day job, hauling signs and supplies around in the dark, and playing your quirky creative hostess by night, all while keeping my sanity duct-taped together with caffeine, wine, sheer will, stubborn determination, and my trusty Ryobi nail gun.

People call that "superhuman," but even superheroes eventually smack headfirst into the brick wall of reality. "This is the year I don't" deserves to be plastered as wallpaper across my cute little house.

So consider this my glorious, long-overdue surrender to being a regular human being with actual limits. (I know, right?! I was shocked too when I found out. Devastating news, really.) The superhero cape is officially hung up on the hook right beside the paint aprons.

This BIRCH is practicing "work-life balance" by only working two jobs instead of three. Workshops return in 2027!  The wood, stencils, and paint aren't going anywhere—I’m just taking a breather now so that next season we can properly take over the world.

Who knows? Maybe you’ll catch me actually attending someone else's workshop for once. Maybe I’ll do wholesome "Fall things." Maybe I’ll bake Christmas cookies (don’t hold your breath). Can you even fathom a world where I am NOT sprinting into Shoppers Drug Mart on December 24th at 5pm to buy panic gift cards for my entire family before collapsing into bed for two solid weeks? You all know the story!

Thank you for always cheering me on, laughing till our sides hurt, and making every glorious mess worth it. We'll be back at it in the blink of an eye, but for now this is the year I "don't".