Our Journey

When Lauren and I began the rebuilding of The Sister Project we knew one thing for sure and that was that we were going to include our journey and our mom’s journey with FTD in its own space. What we learned from sharing our journey on the blog was that we were not alone. We were often contacted over the last few years for advice or some direction on how to handle a situation with an ailing parent and then, of course, we were there to listen. People found hope in our story as we told it with raw honesty and dignity. We shall continue to do so. This disease is something many people try not to talk about or are embarrassed and we are not. We are proud to be a voice for something that needs to be discussed so awareness can be spread. We shall continue to give this lonely disease a voice as it is a dark path and no one should go at it alone. But, we also realized something much greater.

Everyone that reads The Sister Project that doesn’t know our mom personally, only knows that she has dementia. No one actually knows the fiercely talented, hilarious, cozy obsessed woman she was before this disease took hold of her brain. No one knows that she was wildly creative. No one knows she was a brilliantly talented florist and could set a tablescape that would make Martha Stewart cry. No one knows that she had an open door policy and if you were hungry upon your arrival, you would be fed because there was always something on the stove. If you have only read this blog then you don’t know that our mom lived for autumn and rainy days on the porch. Our mom was all about making memories and she never failed when it came to keeping the tradition alive. She excelled when it came to making a house a home and everyone that walked through her door felt welcome.  As the days got shorter, her candles burned longer. Lamps were her primary light source as overhead lighting didn’t set the right mood. And when I say mood, I mean cozy. But then this is where this revelation turned into our greatest full circle moment to date.

Our mom is why we are the way we are. Everything we embody as human beings are because of her. It isn’t by accident that I am obsessed with feeding the masses and sharing whatever dish I have created with the lucky soul that happens to walk through my door. It isn’t by accident that Lauren shits rainbows every time fall comes around and the leaves crinkle under her feet. It isn’t by accident that coffee to us is less about the taste and more about the moment and the person we are sharing it with. That is who our mom is and will always be to us. She was our greatest teacher and although she didn’t know it, she was a master at living the hygge lifestyle. So there you go. This may be our journey but she is the story. She is why we are dedicated to sharing the hygge lifestyle with you.