A year ago this month, my phone rang while I was standing in a U-pick field of dahlias on a weekday afternoon, gathering flowers for an arrangement (you can see it above). It was Earth Harbor, the company that bought Erin's Faces, saying, "I think the transfer went through, can you check?" I checked. The deposit had come through. It was official.

I had made the decision to close Erin's Faces in late January of last year. I had been praying about it for a while, but everything had still felt unclear and murky. I'm a churchy person, and so I opened my Bible and got what was, to me, a very clear message: move forward, and leave the old things for new. I took that decision really seriously, because I had clients and staff that I cared about very much. But because of the clarity I had in that moment, I haven't doubted that decision since that day. I announced it to the public in April, we closed at the end of May, and the sale of the company, which had been a total surprise as I had just been planning on closing, became official last October.

Because I had that availability, I was able to be a caregiver to my husband for the first half of 2026 and focus on him (I wrote about that in I'll See You Tomorrow). I honestly don't know how I would have done that while running Erin's Faces. My team was amazing, and they would have kept the engine running excellently, but emails would not have gone out, social media may or may not have happened, and the company's revenue probably would have shrunk, which would have been one more stressor in the middle of everything. For me, being available for such a need was divine timing.

And here's what that season taught me. We need people. I'm very uncomfortable needing anything from anyone. And while it has made me extremely resilient and independent, I could not function this past year without support. And I am so grateful that I had it.

Sometimes it was someone literally getting on a plane and coming to see me and help because I was overwhelmed. Other times it was texts or calls from friends just checking in. And it was the person who would sit at lunch with me and listen, giving guidance when I was feeling lost.

While my husband was in the hospital, I came home to two quarts of homemade soup on my doorstep from my friend Sherri, with a note. It meant I didn't need to cook, and I was going to eat that night. That's the truth about needing people. It can be as simple as soup on your doorstep.

When I think about it, you were teaching me this all along. I love our Erin's Faces products. But what makes my heart the happiest are the relationships I got to build with you. I've been inside so many of your homes, whether it was my products living on your shelves or my walking onto your front doorstep for a Green Beauty Workshop, sometimes never having met you before. You welcomed me every time with open arms. Many of you became great friends. I got to work next to some of you in my office. And some of you I've never met, but I know your name.

I tried to show up for you the best way I could. To be worthy of your trust was my number one goal. You came with me from the beginning, when everything had P-touch label maker tape on it, and then later, when we had fancier labels and beautiful glass packaging.

Maybe you're like me, and needing people doesn't come easily. If someone is checking in on you, I hope you let them. And if someone you love is in the middle of something hard, a text, a call or a lunch might mean more than you know.

And those dahlias? Last October, I just knew that flowers made me really happy. They felt like peace and joy and comfort. I never would have guessed that something I love so much could become a business for me within the year. Now, through Gathered from the Garden, I get to help bring flowers into people's homes, and it's turning into a thing, while I still get to do small business consulting at Erin Williams Creative.

But I couldn't do any of it without people helping me along the way. And if you're reading this, you're one of those people. So thank you for coming with me, then and now. 💛