Finding My Purpose

Turning 40 hit me like a ton of bricks. I didn’t see the tidal wave of emotions coming my way until it was upon me. Suddenly, here I was sitting in a puddle of tears with a yearning in my soul for something more. I had the day off from work and decided to go to the local botanical gardens to see if I could find a sense of calm and solace in the plants. I always head to my garden when I need a sense of calm so I figured I would seek out the largest garden I could think of. Sitting on a bench in garden with tears running down my face, I started to write. I wrote what I wanted out of my next decade of life and at the top of the list was joy and purpose. Fast forward a few weeks and I found Growing Floret and The Lost Kitchen on the Magnolia Network. Two Erins quite literally changed my vision of what I wanted out of my next 10 years and beyond. I watched two women on my TV screen who leaned into their passions and strengths and pushed forward to create lives they truly feel fulfilled in. I wanted that! My partner walked down the stairs and saw me on the couch with a look on my face as I watched an episode of The Lost Kitchen with tears in my eyes and stopped dead in his tracks and said, “Whatever you are watching, you need to do that.” He could see the joy and excitement radiating out of me and that was just the validation I needed to take the first steps toward creating Petaling Dreams Flower Company.

I immediately jumped into learning all I could about what it would take to start a flower farm. Knowing that we live in a suburban neighborhood with limited growing space I wasn’t sure where to get started but I knew I didn’t want to wait for more space. I wanted to start with what I have right now, no more losing time waiting for the right space, or right time. The right time was now. My soul was screaming for it. I went to work planning out how I could get more growing space out of my small backyard.

In the fall of 2021, I decided to take a chance and invest in my dream by signing up for the Floret Online Workshop and am proud to say I am a Floret Workshop 2022 alumni. Based on what I learned in the course I developed a plan for the flowers I wanted to grow that summer and in May of 2022 Petaling Dreams Flower Company was officially established. I began selling flowers in my neighborhood out of a self-serve pop-up style stand and I haven’t looked back.

I know this is my purpose and I couldn’t be happier to have found it. I still have a 9-5 Corporate America job but am working toward my dream of moving to a new place with more space and someday, I don’t know when, but someday, I will be able to say I am a full time flower farmer and potter.