Let me tell you about the greatest weekend in my professional life. Let's start from the beginning. In 2022 I decided to step out of my comfort zone and join a Mastermind by Elena S Blair. During this 5 months I grew in ways I never thought possible! I reached and achieved goals I had only dreamt of. At the end of this mastermind was a weekend long retreat in Palm Springs CA.
Of course, being a Mama, I wasn't really sure I even WANTED to go. I had a 15mo babe at home and I'd never been gone from him for more than a couple hours before. But, my wonderful hubby told me "go, I've got this." And so I booked my plane ticket.
Now, I'm not a risk taker, or an adventure haver, so going all the way to CA from MO by myself was a HUGE endeavor for me. I HATE flying, as someone who is short I like to tell people "I'm short, I like being close to the ground!" But I did it anyway. And boy am I glad I did!
Fast forward to January 2023, I hopped on that flight and faced my fears of being alone for the first time since I was 18. I had a layover in AZ. By the time I landed in Palm Springs my mind was buzzing with all that awaited me at the retreat. Me and my housemate for the weekend, Kristen, adventures around Palm Springs for the afternoon and later met up with the rest of our cohort at Joshua tree.
As we FINALLY got to meet each other face to face for the first time none of us could stop SMILING! It was as if we had known each other forever. We spent that evening taking photos of the beautiful scenery and one another.
Day 1 of the retreat. The next morning we excited hopped into the car and drove down into the desert. When we finally arrived at Elena's Airbnb we were greatest by everyone that was there. The day was nothing short of AMAZING!
We had an entire afternoon of taking headshots and letting our creative juices flow. We got to meet and hear from Brooke Shultz, talk about learning from a master! We also go to witness her process first hand as she did a shoot with a gorgeous family and an equally gorgeous sunset! That's evening was spent chatting and getting to know each other. There was so much joy that you could feel it in the air!
Day 2 of the retreat. After spending the entire previous 2 days with everyone, we were chatting like old friends. We spent the day hearing from our Canon reps, who by the way we didn't even know were reps till their presentation, and got to continue to explore the gear they had provided for us. As well as a presentation from Bridget Wood, who joined us all the way from Australia! She, like Brooke, walked us through a shoot with another beautiful family.
As the night went on and dinner had been eaten, we found ourselves having deep talks with those around us. From motherhood to the bond we'd found in Photography, we chatted for HOURS. The night grew late, and the air grew cold as we said our farewells. There were few dry eyes that evening, but we knew that it wasn't "goodbye" just "see you later."
As I woke up the next morning and boarded my flight, I reminisced about the weekend we had had. Coming back to reality after such a weekend is incredibly difficult! But I know that though we may be miles apart, I have a group of absolutely ASTOUNDING women cheering me on!
