No one tells you how long the middle lasts.
They tell you how brave it was to start.
They tell you how inspiring it is when you finally “make it.”
But no one really talks about the middle.
The messy, emotional, confusing, beautiful middle.
The place where your dreams are real enough to chase but fragile enough to break if you breathe on them too hard.
That’s where I live.
I’m a mom of two amazing kids, a wife, and the keeper of a mini urban farm that hums with life. There’s soil under my fingernails, tea cooling on the counter, and laundry waiting that probably won’t get folded tonight. And even with all of that chaos, I’m grateful.
Because it’s mine.
This little life with the plants and the chickens, the laughter and the hard days, this business I’m building from scratch, it saved me.
It taught me things I never could’ve learned sitting still.
It taught me to bend, to rebuild, to trust myself even when I didn’t have proof that things would work out.
It taught me that the middle is not a punishment, it’s the training ground for the person you’re becoming.
Creativity Isn’t a Hobby. It’s Oxygen.
If I didn’t have the freedom to create, I’d lose myself.
Creativity is how I process the world, how I make sense of the mess. It’s how I heal.
It’s not about paint or plants or pretty things, it’s about expression. It’s about taking what’s inside of you and giving it somewhere to go.
Without creativity, life flattens.
Without freedom, creativity dies.
That’s the part so many people don’t understand, especially when they start putting rules around other people’s art, other people’s work. The second someone tells you, “You can’t do it like that,” a little part of your spark flickers.
And maybe they mean well. Maybe they want things to look tidy or consistent. But what they don’t realize is that the moment you take away someone’s creative freedom, you take away their ability to discover who they are.
Because creativity isn’t just what I do, it’s who I am.
The Messy Middle Is Where You Find Yourself
When I source for my shop, I don’t use spreadsheets or strategies. I use instinct.
If it doesn’t make me laugh, if it doesn’t feel like something I’d want to live with, it doesn’t come home.
That’s my entire business model, emotion and intuition.
My plants remind me to stay grounded, to slow down, to stop rushing my own growth.
My teas remind me that rest is not laziness, it’s refueling.
My vintage pieces remind me that worn doesn’t mean worthless; sometimes the most beautiful things are the ones that have already survived something.
And my funny little impulse pieces, the weird mugs, the things that make people snort-laugh at checkout, they remind me that joy matters too.
That mix is what makes my world feel like home.
It’s not perfect. It’s alive.
And that’s the difference.
We live in a world obsessed with the ending, the six-figure story, the clean conclusion. But most of us, we’re still in the process.
We’re in the middle.
The middle is where you fail and learn and adjust.
It’s where you cry in your car and then go back inside because customers are waiting.
It’s where you think, “Maybe I’m not cut out for this,” and then you remember you’ve already made it through worse.
The middle is where you start realizing that you’re not just building a business, you’re building yourself.
Every Season Has Its Own Truth
I’ve lived through so many versions of myself already.
The one who just wanted to survive.
The one who wanted to prove something.
The one who thought she needed permission to take up space.
And now, the one who just wants peace, purpose, and presence.
Life moves in seasons.
There’s a season for planting, a season for pruning, a season for blooming, and a season for resting.
Right now, I’m in my middle season.
The becoming season.
The part where the roots are growing deeper, even when it doesn’t look like much is happening on the surface.
And maybe you’re in that season too. The one where you’re scared to start or scared to change or scared to fail.
But let me tell you something, this part is the most sacred part of all.
The messy middle is where your edges soften and your spirit expands.
It’s where you realize that even though you don’t have it all figured out, you’re not lost, you’re just growing.
Freedom Is Non-Negotiable
I’ve learned that if I ever lose my creative freedom, I lose my reason for doing any of this.
Because creativity without freedom is just performance.
And performance burns you out.
Freedom is what gives creativity its heartbeat.
Freedom is what lets you wake up one morning and say, “You know what, I’m going to do this differently.”
That’s how every breakthrough starts, with curiosity, not certainty.
When people try to control creativity, they think they’re protecting quality.
But what they’re really doing is building a box that nobody can breathe in.
And the world doesn’t need more boxes, it needs more life.
How boring would life be if everything stayed the same?
If everyone made the same products, the same art, the same choices?
That sameness might look safe, but it’s sterile.
Nothing grows there.
So if you’re building something right now, whether it’s a business, a home, a dream, don’t let anyone convince you that your way is wrong just because it’s different.
Different is where the magic hides.
The Process Is the Point
I used to think the goal was to arrive.
To finally hit that number, that level, that recognition that meant I’d made it.
But every time I reached one of those markers, I realized it didn’t feel like I thought it would.
Because the process, the messy, awkward, sometimes painful process, is where the real transformation happens.
The process is where you learn to keep going.
The process is where your creativity matures, your resilience thickens, and your voice finds its shape.
You can’t skip the process.
Even when it’s hard.
Especially when it’s hard.
Because every detour, every delay, every disappointment, it’s all working on you.
It’s building your strength, your empathy, your vision.
The process doesn’t just build your business, it builds you.
You Don’t Need the Ending to Be Worth Following
I can’t tell you the six-figure success story. Not yet.
I don’t have a “how I made it” blog post waiting in drafts.
But what I do have is honesty.
And maybe that’s what people need more than another success story.
Maybe what people need is to see someone who’s still in the middle, still figuring it out, but choosing to keep creating anyway.
Because when you show up as you are, when you stop pretending, when you create from the real stuff inside you, that’s what connects.
That’s what makes someone else breathe a little easier and think, “If she can keep going, maybe I can too.”
So maybe I can’t give you advice from the top of the mountain.
But I can offer you a seat right here beside me, in the middle.
And we can figure it out together.
We can learn.
We can grow.
We can fail, pivot, laugh, cry, and still trust the process.
Because this, right here, right now, is the real story.
The part nobody wants to talk about because it’s messy and human and full of doubt.
But it’s also the part where the real magic happens.
The messy middle isn’t a waiting room for success.
It is success.
Because it means you’re still in it, you’re still trying, still dreaming, still alive.
And that, to me, is everything.
If You’re in the Middle Too
If you’re sitting in your own version of the middle right now, wondering if it’s worth it, if you’re doing it right, if you’ll ever “get there,” please hear me.
You will.
Maybe not in the way you imagined, and maybe not on the timeline you wanted, but you will.
Because the middle doesn’t last forever, it evolves.
And when you finally look back, you’ll see that this was the season that changed you.
So trust the process.
Protect your creativity like it’s your breath.
Give yourself permission to grow, to change, to laugh through it all.
Because life isn’t supposed to be perfect, it’s supposed to be lived.
And when you live it fully, when you create freely, when you let yourself be exactly who you are in this moment, you’re already becoming everything you’re meant to be.
That’s the truth.
That’s the magic ✨
P.S. If you love being part of the messy middle too, you can follow along with my day-to-day life, plants, tea, and chaos over on Instagram and Facebook. You can also visit my shop at VintageTreasures1955.com — it’s where all my favorite little pieces of this story live.
Subscribe below if you’re walking through your own messy middle too.
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