This is the first post I’ve written since closing down our first location almost 2 years ago. What prompted this random blog entry? It started with updating this website for the first time in over a year earlier this week. I logged in to run a few updates which, given the amount of time that has passed since the last update, resulted in all the heading fonts being changed to a bulky font that I did not like because the original heading font I chose was discontinued – oh joy. This required going back through every single page of the website and updating the new bulky headlines back to a more streamlined font.
All this to say, reviewing all the website pages reminded me of creating the website, element by element, word by word, all in an effort to capture the vision in my heart to serve moms and their kids. As I clicked through the pages I worked through tediously years ago knowing I am this sites most frequent visitor, I contemplated unpublishing the site all-together. Why fix the font for a website very few – other than spammers – visit. Seriously, every notification I receive about the website says it either needs an update or reminds me I have new comments from you guessed it…spammers. Anyway, I digress.
So why write a blog now? Why not unpublish creativehabitat.org?
There is only one reason I can come up with. I still believe in the mission. While Creative Habitat has been on hiatus operationally, it has not been on hiatus in my mind. Quite the contrary. I, like many small business/nonprofit founders have been trying to figure out how to relaunch after the devastating impact of the pandemic. Coworking and childcare are two industries that are designed to be face-to-face and thus, two industries that present great challenges in a new world focused on social distancing. While many other coworking spaces and childcare spaces have re-opened their doors, I am still feeling unsure.
I know there is more of a need than ever for our services, and yet I also know how much effort was put into the first phase of development and how many struggles we faced before the pandemic. Starting a new childcare model, as I quickly learned, requires tremendous community support and trust to really take off. I feel proud of the early adopters and small community of support we began to build and for the families who entrusted us with their precious kids before we shut our doors. While Creative Habitat did not grow as quickly as I thought it would before shuttering, it certainly provided what I would consider a strong case for support for co-op childcare. I witnessed my vision come to fruition and I continue to be blessed by the relationships formed along the way.
I personally got to experience what I hope every mom will experience in the coming years…a hands-on village of support in childcare and business development. I will always cherish the lessons learned and challenges faced in Creative Habitat’s first chapter because it helped to shape me as a mom and a small business owner. Now, as I contemplate whether or not to relaunch and the timing, I continue to wait on ultimate visionary of Creative Habitat. God alone knows what is in store, and while I don’t know what the future holds, I do know who holds the future and I rest in that.
In the meantime, I will keep this vision alive in the simplest way I know how…through writing. Creative Habitat started as blog for a tired mom to find a creative outlet and now I return to my roots as an inspired mom who knows she has experienced a childcare model that supports her family and other families – a mom who knows the challenges ahead are worth the effort to bring this vision to more families no matter how long it takes. Stay tuned, as Creative Habitat’s next chapter unfolds.