EP31: We Made It To Florida! (A Quick Life Update)
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[00:00:00] You're like the stars in outer space. Something about you radiates. And it feels so nice, and it feels so nice, yeah
Hello, hello, and welcome back to another episode of the Starlit Success podcast. I am your host, as always, Jessica Gaines. And if you're watching today, it looks a little different because we finally made it to Florida. Yay. So you see
we have a slightly different background with the pool back there, and of course lots of clutter and mess because we just got here a few days ago, believe it or not. But I'm so thankful that we finally made it
We have been going nonstop since we got here. I mean, with all of the unpacking and getting things set up, and also trying to make time to actually have some fun in between, it's been a little hectic. as you can see, I have no makeup on, my hair is not done, my face is super shiny, as it normally is without [00:01:00] makeup.
So this is probably gonna be one of the shortest episodes I've ever recorded, and probably the most messy, because I am literally doing this the day before. So if you're listening to this Wednesday, it is Tuesday, so I'm doing this the night before, because I started feeling really guilty about not having anything for you guys, and I mentioned not having an episode ready for the Wednesday date, and my mom and Eddie were kind of disappointed, and I felt really bad.
So then I was like, "Well, maybe other people will be disappointed too." So I felt like I at least had to pop on here and just give you a quick update, and record a really short episode just to kinda let you know where things are
I just completely underestimated the amount of time that I would have between leaving Wisconsin and arriving in Florida
Between all of the mental and physical labor of all of the planning and the packing
And just everything that goes along with relocating your family from one state to another, especially when you have kids
In my head, I was thinking, [00:02:00] "Oh, I've got a 20-plus hour drive over the course of three days. I can spend a ton of that time planning and editing and all of that stuff." Well, I also underestimated the amount of crap we would have to shove in the back of the truck. So I thought Jazzy was gonna sit nicely in the backseat with her little doggy car seat that I ordered off Amazon.
That didn't happen. She ended up on my lap the entire time, so I couldn't have my laptop there to do all of my stuff So here we are in my tank top, in my clutter, with no makeup on, recording
Because I just felt like I owed it to you all to let you know where things are and let you know that we are just completely loving it in Florida right now. Even Jazzy is adjusting really well. I was kinda nervous about her. Wasn't sure how she was gonna adapt to the new environment and the weather and all that, but she's having no problems
I just feel really grateful to have this opportunity and have such a strong support system. You know, my mom and dad were here first. They cleaned the whole house. [00:03:00] They've been cooking us every meal. My mom's been cleaning up after us. They've been helping us with everything. I just feel so lucky to have them, and I know that we could have done it on our own, but they've just made the process so much more comfortable and frankly, a lot easier than it probably would have been
So the main points I wanted to get across in this episode, even though it's gonna be really, really short, I still wanted to provide you with some kind of takeaway.
I just wanna remind you that you can do hard shit, and you can follow your dreams
Even when they both scare the living shit out of you. And honestly, I think it's even better when they do
You know, this moving to Florida was just a piece of my dream life, and it's happened. It has taken a lot of hard work. It's taken a long time. There've been a lot of steps. Honestly, I feel like it's been, like, 8,000 steps, but we did it
And I'm not even done yet. I still have a ton more stuff to do, but we're here. [00:04:00] Like, I can take that deep sigh of relief. it happened. this was just a vision in my mind at one point. This was just kind of an idea in my head. And that's where things start. They start as just an idea. They just start as a picture in your mind.
And if you can picture it in your mind, you can make it happen in real life. So let this just be a testament to that. And the other thing I wanted to add is
Give yourself some fucking credit
I was scolding myself for not having planned better to have an episode ready for this week. But then I thought to myself, like, "Are you serious? Like, you have showed up consistently every week for the last six months during one of the biggest transitions of your life, and you're gonna get down on yourself for not having one week ready?"
And honestly, that reminds me. you know, I'm living out of boxes right now.
I actually did have an episode planned, or I do have an episode planned, and I could have recorded it, but it would have just taken me a lot longer to record and to edit and to publish and all that. [00:05:00] That's a much more planned out episode than this one is.
And then I'm like, "No, you did. You were prepared. You just are prioritizing your family right now," which that's what's most important at the moment
So with all that said, I just wanted to pop on here really quick. I didn't wanna leave you all hanging and wonder, "Where the hell is Jessie this week? It's Wednesday and there's no episode." I just wanted to, to get on here and give you a few minutes, give you a quick update, let you know we made it, let you know that we're loving it, let you know that things are going well.
And to me right now, I just really need to give my kids all of my attention. while I say this is a big transition for us, I personally think this is a bigger transition for them. , Because I've got Javen who's going off to college, which is very intimidating, and then I've got Xanden who's gonna be the new kid in middle school in a completely different state, they don't know what to expect.
They don't know anyone. It's not like they went to school with any of these kids. . They don't even know where their classes are gonna be. It's that, that [00:06:00] uncertainty, that feeling of unknown , that we all, love so much.
I'm joking
I'm sure you can imagine how intimidating that must be for them, and I as their mom want to make sure that they feel comfortable and prepared, and honestly, I want them to be excited. I want this to be a really good experience for them.
You know, as much as I talk about making time for what matters and as much as this podcast matters to me, I feel like only one thing can matter the most at one time, and for me, that's my kids right now.
So I will be taking the next few weeks to focus on them,
And of course I have a ton of shit to do. I've still got tons of boxes, tons of stuff to hang on the walls. Like, our house is in disarray right now
And believe it or not, a 20 to 30-minute episode takes me hours to plan, record, edit, publish. So I'm trying to make this as short as possible so I can hurry up and edit and publish it and get it out in front of you guys so you know what the hell is going on with me
And honestly, could I show up every week right now? I probably could. I probably could push it, but I also talk about how a [00:07:00] mother's happiness is felt throughout the whole home, right? And while I could do that, that'd probably be adding some unnecessary stress that I don't really need right now and my family doesn't really need right now.
So I want this to be a great, enjoyable experience for us all, so I don't really wanna put any unnecessary pressure on anyone if I don't have to
I'm a big advocate for mental health. Mental health is so important, and I'm not willing to compromise that, and I don't think you should either. I don't think anyone should
So I just wanna thank you all for your understanding and your patience as we get settled in our new home in Florida and our new life here,
And I will be back with you in the next few weeks. See you then.
So bright
