My First Blog Post
I’m writing this on my notes app while simultaneously trying to put my son down for a nap. Maybe you too find creative inspiration at what seems to be the most inconvenient times? Before you read anything else, let me start off by saying I’m setting aside my fear of feeling cringe and am going to begin posting to this website.
Konza Prairie Nature Trail, Manhattan, KS
For the sake of transparency, I’d also like to give all of the reasons I’ve told myself I shouldn’t do something like this, in case you’ve ever used similar excuses to stop you from doing something you’ve always wanted to do.
This is embarrassing.
People are going to laugh at you.
OOHHH you think you’re like an expert on something?
Somebody else is doing this already. In fact many people are and they’re doing it better than you ever could.
You don’t have the time. The organization. The skills.
You are very out of practice in your writing. Everyone can tell by your small vocabulary, run on sentences and bad grammar.
No one cares.
This will go nowhere.
You will fail.
Thankfully, I no longer have any of these thoughts.
Just kidding…
I do.
The inhibitions are still here. They’ll be coming along with me each step of the way, until, I hope, they shrivel up and starve from no longer being fed.
But the call to do something like this has been growing louder for about 10 years with no let up. So I’m just going to start sharing. Sharing what, you ask? Good question.
Let’s start here:
I’m an adventurer at heart. I look for it anywhere whether it’s across the world or across the street. I’ve seen a lot of my home state of Kansas, but I’m seeking to get to know if it is better, along with the rest of the Midwest. Working in the tourism industry has been the serendipitous opportunity that led me to this.
Greetings from Springfield by Andrea Ehrhardt
I’ll be talking about my life in Kansas City and the Midwest, my travels and experiences, what I find, where I go, who I meet. My hope is something you read here might nudge you to go out and explore these places for yourself.
I had my son Ford in August of 2023. I’ve always had an affinity for lifting up local, but since then it’s something I’ve thought about more and more. I want to help our small corner of the world thrive and make it a better place for him. I want to make it a better place for us.
Expect to learn about some of my favorite products, foods, farms, restaurants, stores and makers around KC, the state of Kansas, and eventually all throughout the Midwest. I’m still familiarizing myself with different avenues to support local, so please share your favorites with me.
I’m a sentimentalist. I’m not certainly not a type-A. I’m an Enneagram 7. An ENFP. A Blue. A Scorpio. If there’s a quiz to tell me more about myself, I’ll take it.
I’m still adjusting to the mom thing. I can be hyper focused on the meaning behind anything and everything that happens in life. Perhaps I may talk about all of this here, and perhaps something may resonate with you, reminding you we are all just figuring it out as we go.
It sounds cheesy, but I’ve found a lot of magic in the small. The small moments, small towns, the small synchronicities that remind us of the grander picture.
Grinter Farms, Lawrence, KS // Photo by Margaret Norcross Photography
As I’m writing these words, I’m not sure where this step will take me (where it will take us?). But if you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading. And if you chose to, thank you for being here for whatever else I find in regards to the magic of the everyday, motherhood, the Midwest, and me. There’s lots more to discover here, I think.
