It's time to appreciate the fireflies!

BZZZIEIEIIUUUBBBZZZ. No, that’s not my keyboard malfunctioning.

That is the best way I can represent how my nervous system was feeling the other day after scanning the headlines and also thinking through some personal woes.

If there was a radar to interpret soul sounds, that would have been my frequency.

As my mind hopped around from one anxiety to the next, a light also popped into my brain: my friend and fellow artist, Amanda Evanston.

Lucky for me, she crosses my mind nearly daily since we have one of her giant and glorious paintings as the star of our dining room. 

*Picture from the red letter day back in 2018 when she drove to deliver the painting to us. It has been raising the vibe for us in every Milwaukee home we’ve lived in!

Aside: Bobby surprised me with a trip to Amanda’s studio for our wedding anniversary one year. I was giddy to finally meet Amanda in person and absolutely GUSHED over getting to see this peony painting that I had initially spied in her Instagram Stories.

Peonies were *supposed* to be our wedding flower, and my Dad had planted a LOT of them in preparation. But the timing was off that year, they bloomed far too early, and we ended up making a last-minute dash to Safeway for wedding bouquet flowers. 🤪

Bobby wanted to finally get me my wedding peonies, albeit years later.

As I gazed at Amanda’s amazing painting, he stood behind me in the gallery, gave me a hug, and whispered in my ear, “that’s your painting.” Unbeknownst to me, he had purchased it from Amanda, then arranged this field trip to see it in person.

Gasp. It was like a scene in a movie and yes, it was every bit as romantic and thoughtful as it sounds. 🥹

It was Amanda’s birthday this past weekend. As my anxious mind struggled for a place to settle, it found a little rest as I thought of her presence in the world and all the light she brings. 

And it is SO MUCH LIGHT. She honestly rarely takes a break from shining.

You might already follow her on Instagram or receive her quirky, funny, uplifting emails. (And if not, I highly recommend tuning in! Here's the hub for all her info.) 

If you’re lucky, you have her art hanging on your wall and/or you’ve taken one of her online painting or collage classes or are part of her membership, The Insider’s Studio (kind of like Netflix, but for painting classes). 

She has no idea I’m writing this. I just firmly believe that good people deserve the spotlight!

Amanda has a breadth of interesting life experiences and is a single mom raising 3 daughters to be creative, kind, and 100% themselves.

She is:

• positive and has a generous laugh,
• honest without being abrasive,
• endlessly encouraging,
• an astoundingly good teacher,
• the complete opposite of a pretentious artist,
• and quite possibly THE best cheerleader I’ve ever encountered.

There is absolutely more beauty and creativity in the world because of her. There is more hope. 

It served me well to spend some time remembering that she’s in the world, sharing her particular brand of magic. 

How lucky I am to live in a world with Amanda in it.

Also lucky for me, I have the perfect card from the My Firefly Kit to send her a (belated) birthday wish.

Please enjoy this screenshot from an Instagram Story from way back when. Thus the reason this card appears backwards. 😆 We also have delightful vinyl firefly stickers that you can pop inside your card! (Look closely in this photo and you'll spot Amanda's painting in the background. 😍)

I penned some birthday wishes and also printed out this email for her and slipped it inside. Nothing feels quite so good as knowing someone was talking positively about you behind your back. 🥰

So here’s my question for you: when your body and brain are on high alert and sounding like ZZBBEIAIEIIEEOFEEEEEEK…who can you focus your attention on that will help you settle?

Who reminds you that there is goodness in the world? Who is out there, spreading their firefly light and making it a bit easier to breathe? 

I beg you, LET THEM KNOW.

Often thank you notes are written when someone does something for you, but we designed this card to thank someone for who they are. 

So grab your Firefly Light card if you happen to have it in your stash, or any other card that feels fitting.

Let’s go light up some mailboxes.

(And please light up the comments, too! Time to share about your own “Amandas.” We would LOVE to hear about them!)

xo,

Snail a.k.a. Grace (and Tiny, too)

PS. We have this Firefly Light card available as a single card, and it’s also part of the My Firefly Gratitude and Connection Kit. If you’re looking for other great cards to say, “Hi! You’re wonderful!” you can’t beat our Everyday Card Pack of 8.