Amber—i truly love love love to read your words. So well written and oh so relatable. You take me back to a place with this. I have never said this to anyone before and it came to my mind when I read the part where you said I want to have strong female friendships. So here is what I have never felt before in reading your substack: You seem like a long lost friend I have wondered about all these years. Like we met camping or something and when our families had to check out or go home we hugged and said goodbye, we probably cried maybe both of us kept notes and stuff or have pics to remember. And when parting ways actually wished the best for each other. But so young that we didn’t connect for the future and it’s now a memory. Like we wonder gosh what was her last name did I even ask?! Were we too busy become friends and making bracelets and writing notes or taking pics on a cheapy digital we got for xmas.

I immediately thought of my childhood when reading through this. I don’t know how many trips I took with my family where I would make friends and then say our goodbyes never to meet again. At a time and age where you meet a girl and the two of you or group of you all click and become soul besties. I see my kids make friends like this now and again like when we fo camping. It always makes me wonder how my childhood besties are doing. They are distant memories but so important to the woman I became. A rant but I feel like you can absolutely relate.

I was born in 92. I feel like when I read your words or see your pastime letters + the fonts ✨🥰It’s like looking at my own time capsule.

I want this nostalgia for my kids. It’s beautiful to see them doing these kinds of things even in our world (scarey country) today which is just so different than our childhood.

I have taken such a deep dive into my son’s mental health after he started public school. We started homeschooling him in first grade because he just was NOT getting the support he needed. Socially and academically and in his own confidence. It’s been so hard but he is thriving now. When we learned he has adhd and started to discover way more than I was led to believe about the spectrum. I was like, oh wait thats me. I am neurodivergent. Ok. Just been raw dogging life and trying to fit in and not embrace myself. I started to really study his brain and my own it was such an eyeopening thing. Or is currently. Our family of four is like woah we all are these cool quirky brains.

I see so many neurospicy dopamine hits in your post. I paused and opened your spotify playlist before 2. And am currently on the reading flow one song is By the seaside by Austin Farwell. My own auadhd ass brain actually flowed through reading your entire post when this playlist started up. Which makes me really happy because I struggle so much with distractions and stuff so reading and not thought hopping is so hard for me. Then que this playlist you made. I will be re subscribing to spotify for dj amby.

Anywho, all this to say—

Thank you so much for sharing. It really helped more than my day. Its imprinted in me brain. I screenshot the tips for tapping because i really have been wanting to do this properly for my own anxiety. We moved from flag to phx and my goodness what a backwards thing to do. Whatever it’ll workout and I am beginning to miss the heat right now so thats going to help me and my anxiety this summer! Plus we will all be escaping up there soon perks of homeschool life. I need nature to thrive.

I need nostalgic poetry and playlists and strong female friends even in substack buddies. I have been letting fear of failure get to me lately. I am going to try some manifesting methods and see what witchcraft i can work up to get me back onto my entrepreneurial creative self. This age is tough but so good and so much growth if you grab it.

Please keep writing and evoking this emotion in pics and reads. World needs more gals like ya.

🫶