Not Just This...So Much More

Rebrand or Reframe?

I just had a really beautiful conversation with a friend. We were talking about my desire to rebrand myself.

When I started Momtemplative in 2020, it was during a very dark time in my life and in many of our lives. We were all forced into our homes, forced to sit with ourselves. And when I look back on that time, even though it felt unbearably heavy and hopeless, I now see it as a necessary season, one that pushed me inward.

That period forced me to confront emotional traumas and unspoken things I had buried for so long. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. No distractions. I had to either finally face these feelings I had long avoided or slowly fall apart.

And in doing so, I unearthed a voice I didn’t even know I had—one that had been silenced for years by deep fear, anger, disappointment, and the echoes of a painful childhood.

I won’t go into all that here, because that’s not the point of this piece. I want to say that when I created Momtemplative, it felt like the right thing for where I was at that time. It became a place to get out of my head and onto paper. I started writing more, and I thought, if I’m feeling this way or thinking these thoughts, there have to be other women out there feeling the same, but without a safe place to say it.

So I created Momtemplative for women to feel safe. Seen. Heard. Unjudged.

It started with just one person—I invited some friends, and they graciously joined. From there, it grew into a small community of nearly 900 women.

While talking with my friend, I told her that Momtemplative was born out of a heavy place—a season of melancholy and emotional excavation. But I’ve shifted, grown, and am no longer in that same place. Now, I want to write more about joy—about tapping into it and holding space for it, even when life feels complex or tender or uncertain.

And my friend said something that struck me deeply. She said, “You don’t have to be just this.”

That really landed.

Because isn’t that the truth of being a woman? After two decades of raising kids, I’ve entered a new season—an empty nest. Before that, I worked in the corporate world. I was a New York Fashion Photographers Agent. I’ve been many things. But I’m not just any one of them. I’m not just this or just that. I’m so much more.

And I realized—I don’t need to change Momtemplative. I just need to shift the energy around it. When I created it, it came from a deeply introspective place, and that was okay. But now, I want to infuse it with new energy—an energy of curiosity, wonder, and joy.

So I have been asking myself can we hold joy and sorrow in the same hand? Can we find meaning even in the heavy moments? Can we stay curious about what joy might look like now?

Yes, I think we can.

And I want to explore that.

I want to write more about it. I want to share that with you.

So yes, Momtemplative will remain. Alongside it, I’ll continue to explore other parts of who I am through my podcast, The Hundred Acre Pen, where I interview writers and uncover the stories behind their stories. It brings me so much joy to connect with people.

Eventually, I hope to host more writing circles for women. There’s just so much more I want to tap into—so much duality I’m discovering. And that excites me.

I’m sharing all this to say…

Don’t limit yourself to just one thing.

There’s so much more to you.

You don’t have to be just this.

We are so much more.

With warmth and wonder,

Sherry🦋