💜 The House on the Hill

REFLECTIONS by Chris & Gina 💜🧬👩🏻‍🔬🐈‍⬛

A dream I've carried since childhood...

When I was little, I used to tell my mom the same thing over and over again.

"One day I want to live on top of a hill... in the woods... surrounded by animals."

She probably smiled and thought it was just another childhood dream.

Looking back now...

I don't think it was.

There were things happening in my childhood that no child should ever have to carry.

For a long time, I lived with fear.

Not the kind you could see.

The kind you quietly carry.

I wasn't dreaming about adventure.

I wasn't dreaming about success.

I wasn't dreaming about money.

I was dreaming about somewhere no one could reach me.

Somewhere quiet.

Somewhere hidden.

Somewhere safe.

For years, I thought I was dreaming about a house.

I wasn't.

I was dreaming about shelter.

Looking back, I also understand why I always felt so responsible.

I wasn't just hoping to find shelter for myself.

I wanted the people I loved to be safe too.

My mom.

My little sister.

I don't remember making that decision.

I think it simply became part of who I was.

That dream never left me.

No matter where I lived...

No matter what I was building...

Somewhere in the back of my mind, there was always a little house sitting on top of a hill.

It became a promise.

A quiet reminder that life didn't have to stay the way it was.

That someday...

I could build something different.

Years later, Chris and I built a life that, in many ways, looks exactly like the one that little girl imagined.

A home surrounded by nature.

Bulldogges everywhere.

Kids laughing.

Cats wandering through the yard.

Wildlife outside the windows.

A family.

A purpose.

Work that genuinely excites us.

Sometimes I have to stop and remind myself...

This is the dream.

Chris has told me for years...

"We're here."

But I don't think I could really hear him.

My mind was always on the next breeding.

The next website.

The next project.

The next goal.

Always building tomorrow...

Sometimes forgetting to appreciate today.

Life still isn't perfect.

Businesses are stressful.

Puppies get sick.

Plans change.

People disappoint you.

Dreams evolve.

That's life.

But perfection was never what that little girl was searching for.

She was searching for shelter.

And somewhere along the way...

Shelter became home.

Lately we've even talked about moving someday.

Years ago, that thought would've broken my heart.

Not because of the memories...

But because I believed this house was the dream.

Then something beautiful happened.

I realized...

This house is perfect.

And if we build another one someday...

It'll be perfect too.

Because the dream was never really about this hill.

It was about the life we built upon it.

Home isn't just where you live.

Home is waking up beside someone who knows every version of you.

Home is children who feel safe.

Home is Bulldogges sleeping at your feet.

Home is meaningful work.

Home is laughing after hard days.

Home is healing.

Home is purpose.

Home is building something extraordinary with the people you love.

Home is finally feeling safe enough to simply be yourself.

Maybe that's why these Reflections have become so important to me.

Every time I write one, I understand myself a little better.

They've given me permission to slow down long enough to realize something I spent my whole life chasing.

The little girl who dreamed about a house on the hill...

She wasn't asking for a bigger house.

Or more land.

Or a prettier view.

She was asking for shelter.

A place where she no longer had to be afraid.

A place where she could finally exhale.

A place where she could love completely...

build freely...

and become exactly who she was always meant to be.

I think she'd be proud.

Not because we built the perfect house...

But because we built the life she was dreaming about all along.

And wherever life takes us next...

We'll build another beautiful chapter together.

Love,

Chris & Gina 💜