Dear Whitney,
The last time I wrote to you I didn’t even know you were you! Well, I knew you were Baby Wabi, but I didn’t know you were a girl, named Whitney, and I didn’t know what you would be like. Your birth was exciting, kind of scary for me because there were many unknowns, and it was like nothing I had ever experienced before, so of course I wrote all about it in my birth story blog.
I have always liked writing, you see. In high school, English was my favorite class and in college my professor would read my stories in front of the other scholars as examples of excellent writing! One of my stories she shared with the class took place in Florida when I was a young girl. I shared how your great Grandma Valerie would give a bag of Pepperidge Farm bread crusts to me and Aunt Kimmy and tell us to go out to the beach and feed the birds.
It was fun to be outside by the Gulf of Mexico in the sunshine and on the beach (we will take you there someday!) but Whitney I must tell you it was TERRIFYING to feed the seagulls. They make loud squawking noises and come VERY close to your face, body, and hands (because they want the bread scraps, those hungry fowls.) Anyway I found the trick was to just dump the baggie of breadcrumbs onto the beach and RUN away in the opposite direction as fast as I could. The name of that beach is Whitney Beach, by the way. Aside from feeding the birds, I loved visiting there, and it was part of the inspiration for your name.
Your Aunt Leah has a bird (not a seagull, thank goodness) and one time the bird was “hanging out” on her arm or her head (good grief) outside of it’s cage and FLEW right towards my face. It was alarming and startled me so I screamed and spilled my wine. Everyone laughed so I was happy to provide some entertainment, despite feeling frightened. Anyway, storytelling is something I have always enjoyed; birds are something I do not.
When I lived in Chicago, I started blogging for a website aimed to help ambitious young professional women find passion in their professions, or create a profession from their passions. Eventually, a couple of months before your were born, I started my OWN blog. I share stories to give people tips on branding, lifestyle improvements, and an entertaining collection of musings and reflections (like this one!) In addition to my blog, and taking care of you, I also decided to create an online course to help people create and implement a marketing plan.
Looking back on this now, I can see how this was a ridiculous idea. For one, I was (still am) a brand new mom. Nevertheless, I spent many mornings while you were still sleeping (you’re a great sleeper!) creating my modules, lessons and downloadable templates for my future Members. I even had a photo shoot to get professional images for my website and course marketing materials. On the day of the photo shoot you looked at me funny when I was feeding you at 7am because I had A LOT of makeup on! I looked like I was ready to put on a party dress and go out dancing at nighttime! But the images turned out great, Whitney; I will show them to you sometime.
I also went to your Grandparents’ house to make some direct-to-camera video recordings in their recording studio. They have special lighting and backdrops that look professional! It was kind of silly at first recording myself with no one there! But I got the hang of it, and as you know from when I kiss your tummy or dance around singing or blow on your footsies, I DO quite enjoy being silly sometimes. After everything was ready for my five-step program, I was kind of scared (like you were the first time you heard the blender, so noisy!) that it would not be a success but I cried and talked with your Dad about overcoming my fear and then I felt better.
So when the course was completed and ready and I offered a master class to share marketing tips and tell attendees about it, several Members enrolled! I’m excited about this because the Members already said they are finding it helpful and it has resulted in some great material for their branding.
Sometimes we just need a structure to organize our thoughts and messages so we can clearly communicate the value we have.
It’s almost time for you to wake up and have breakfast so I’m going to go for now, but I promise to write to you again soon! You are doing so well, sweet Whitney. You are getting your first teeth, which does NOT feel good so we are soothing your little gums as much as we can. You LOVE baths, are a great eater and enjoying experiencing new big girl foods now, have a beautiful curiosity, and are scooting around on the floor! We are all so proud of you and love you very much.
Love,
Mommy