In July, I had the opportunity to attend the Virgin Galactic #unity22 space launch with Sir Richard Branson as one of the astronauts. Throughout the event, they shared how traveling to space was a lifelong dream of Branson’s. Years ago, New Mexico dreamed big with Virgin Galactic and built Spaceport America. People doubted. People complained. It seemed impossible and time kept ticking away. But it happened.
The excitement of launch day was overwhelming. As I looked up to the sky and saw the jet burners flare and the space rocket soar into space, I was distracted by a group of children next to me, a classroom of kids who squealed with joy and wonder as the spaceship blasted off. Once the spaceship entered space, the live broadcast camera pointed toward Branson, and he described his raw emotions as he realized his childhood dream. He made it a point to speak directly to the children, encouraging them to dream big.
The children stopped cheering. Their eyes widened as they realized Sir Richard Branson was talking to them. As I observed these kids who were now deep in thought, I wondered what dreams they would relentlessly chase. Would they give up? I suddenly thought of some of my dreams and the struggles to achieve them.
For almost a decade, Justin and I dreamed about owning a business together. We would watch Shark Tank together, convinced that we should be there telling Mr. Wonderful about our exciting new product. We came up with one idea after another, but nothing felt right, until …
I was flipping through the Fall 2019 Tumbleweeds issue while our son, Ryker, played with his Legos and Justin cooked dinner. I was pregnant with Aviva and new-ish to Santa Fe. Tumbleweeds had quickly become my go-to for all things parenting. Convinced that this pregnancy would not slow down this working mom, I was delighted to see the publication was for sale and immediately yelled over the kitchen commotion from the couch telling Justin we should buy it. He affectionately chuckled as he reminded me that now wasn’t exactly a good time; I was “cooking a baby.”
Fortunately, I came across Tumbleweeds again in the summer of 2020, but this time online. We were all struggling with what to do with our kiddos during the pandemic. Tumbleweeds came through by continuing to serve families and the community. The best part (in my opinion) was that it was still for sale, and I was no longer pregnant! As they say, the rest is history.
Dreams come in all sizes. The struggle, the timing and the journey will look different for everyone. But believing you and the dream are worth it is the first step, and the second, and the third.
As we get back into the swing of things like school, work, sports and activities, we may wonder what the future holds. The pandemic was so unexpected and so difficult to endure. But we did. We will heal and transition back to our new normal, which includes living with this virus. We will continue to be resilient when variants pop up. But as we move forward, we, too, must start to dream again and dream big for our children, our family and our community because dreams do come true.
Justin and I are so excited to be Tumbleweeds’ new owners, and to launch our dream with many of the former “Team Tumbleweeds” members on our crew. We have some exciting changes in the works, and plan to continue offering the features that have helped our family and yours. Please be a part of the journey with us. Follow us on social media, or email us with your ideas. We’d love to hear from you!
