Just Misti.

I’ve worn quite a few hats in my life. Mother, grandmother, teacher, artist, designer, songwriter, and a handful of others I’ve collected along the way.

But looking back, I recognize a common thread running through nearly everything I’ve done, every interest I’ve pursued, and every meaningful relationship I’ve invested myself in.

Freedom.

Not the freedom to escape responsibility or live without obligations. I’ve never been particularly interested in a life without either.

What I’ve needed is the freedom to decide what matters to me, and to be fully present inside every situation I’ve chosen as important.

Sometimes that means sitting alone in the early morning, watching the sun rise without feeling the need to do anything else.

Sometimes it means spending a ridiculous amount of time watching chickens be chickens, learning their individual personalities and finding myself endlessly entertained by creatures who have absolutely no concern for my schedule.

Sometimes it’s listening to a song that nobody else can hear yet, giving it the time and attention it needs to become something real.

And sometimes it’s setting everything else aside to spend hours, days, or longer with someone I love, or in a situation I’ve decided deserves my presence.

I’ve never believed that everything worthwhile needs to be productive, profitable, or even particularly understandable to anyone else.

Creativity has been one of the most visible expressions of that philosophy. Painting, photography, jewelry, design, writing, and music have each given me different ways to explore the world and express what I find there.

But creativity isn’t necessarily the thread that holds my life together.

It’s the freedom to follow what matters, and to give it my undivided attention.

Of course, life has brought responsibilities, compromises, unexpected detours, and seasons when my time was hardly my own. I’ve made room for other people’s needs, sometimes at considerable expense to my own.

But I’ve learned that being needed and being present are not always the same thing.

I want to be where I am because I’ve decided that being there matters.

I want to lose myself in a conversation, a melody, a sunrise, a creative project, or the company of someone I love without constantly feeling pulled toward whatever demands my attention next.

I don’t need to accomplish something extraordinary every day.

I just want the freedom to be fully present in the life I’m living.

There are loose ends in the fabric of my life, some uneven stitches, and more than a few unexpected patterns.

But that thread has always been there.

And I’m still weaving it.