Renee
Of all the weekends for Eden's homecoming to fall on, it had to be this weekend, the same weekend as our MetaMind fall retreat.
Of course it did.
We had eighteen clients coming to Orlando for several days of connection, collaboration, and working on their businesses. We always spend months planning this event, and once everyone arrives, we're all in.
But Eden had been selected for her school's homecoming court, and there was absolutely no way we were missing that experience.
So we did what we do best. We figured out how to make it all work.
And that involved a lot of driving.
Thursday afternoon, before heading to the houses we'd rented for the retreat, Mark and I went to Eden's school to watch her in the homecoming parade. We stood with the other parents, cheering as she went by, and enjoyed every minute of it.
Then we headed home to say goodbye to Xen, loaded up the car, and drove over an hour to welcome our MetaMind members.
One moment we were proud parents at a school parade. A little while later, we were retreat hosts getting ready for several days with people we love working with.
And that was just Thursday.
Mark
One thing I've learned from building a business with Renee is that partnership doesn't always mean doing everything together.
Sometimes it means knowing when one of us needs to be somewhere else and trusting the other person to handle things.
Friday was a perfect example.
We had a full day planned for our MetaMind members, but Renee needed to leave early to help Eden get ready for the homecoming game.
So she went home, and I stayed with our clients to finish the day.
When we wrapped up, I left everyone together at the house and drove home to meet Renee at the football game.
Our clients knew exactly what was happening, and they were cheering us on.
That meant a lot to both of us.
We talk so often about building businesses that support the lives we want to live. It was wonderful to be surrounded by people who understood why this particular Friday night mattered so much to our family.
Renee
And then came halftime.
Mark and I walked onto the football field together to escort Eden as she was introduced as part of the homecoming court.
I don't think I could have been prouder.
There we were, standing beside our sixteen-year-old daughter, watching her enjoy a milestone that meant so much to her.
I was happy we'd made it work, because I wasn't willing to miss this.
And if you read my recent blog about celebrating ten years since my breast cancer diagnosis, you probably understand why moments like this carry a little extra meaning for me.
But I was also very aware that the retreat wasn't over!
Saturday morning, we were right back with our MetaMind members.
After wrapping up our sessions that afternoon, I headed home again to help Eden get ready for the homecoming dance and take pictures.
Then I drove back to Orlando to join Mark and our clients at a recording studio for an evening of fun and collaborative content creation.
If you're keeping track, yes, I have spent quite a bit of time in the car this weekend.
And yes, I am tired.
But I wouldn't have changed it.
Mark
For years, I've talked about the difference between work-life balance and work-life harmony.
Balance can make it feel as though work and family are competing, and giving more attention to one automatically means taking something away from the other.
I've never loved that idea.
I prefer to think about harmony. Not because everything is always equal or perfectly coordinated, but because the different parts of our lives can work together.
This weekend was a pretty good example.
Renee didn't have to miss helping Eden get ready because we were hosting a retreat. I didn't have to leave our clients without a facilitator because Renee needed to be home.
We adjusted our responsibilities, communicated, and made sure both our family and our clients were taken care of.
Was it the simplest weekend we've ever had? Definitely not.
But it worked because we were willing to be flexible and because neither of us expected the other to be everywhere at once.
That's something we've learned through years of working together.
Partnership isn't about splitting every responsibility down the middle. It's about knowing what needs to happen and figuring out how to support each other in making it happen.
Renee
I agree with Mark about harmony, although I might use a slightly different word for this particular weekend.
Logistics. Lots and lots of logistics.
There were schedules to coordinate, people to communicate with, clothes and supplies to remember, and a teenager who needed her mom at very specific times.
And there was still a retreat to run!
But here's what I appreciated most.
When I needed to leave, Mark had things covered. I didn't have to worry about whether our clients were being taken care of or whether the schedule was falling apart.
And when it was time for us to be together on the football field, we were both there.
It wasn't about giving everything equal amounts of time. That would have been impossible.
It was about figuring out what each situation needed from us and making adjustments along the way.
I think that's one advantage of building a business together, even though it certainly comes with its own challenges.
We understand each other's responsibilities. We know what has to happen behind the scenes. And when life throws a few competing priorities at us, we can usually find a way to make things work.
Not always perfectly, and not without a little stress, but together.
Mark & Renee
Looking back, we're grateful for both parts of the weekend.
We have had a wonderful time with our MetaMind members, sharing ideas, strengthening relationships, and creating experiences together. We still have today to go!
And we got to stand beside Eden on the football field, cheer her on, and be part of a milestone we'll always remember.
Neither experience took away from the other.
It took planning, flexibility, trust, and a willingness to adjust along the way. But that's what partnership looks like sometimes, whether you're building a business together, raising a family, or both.
We don't always get to choose when important things happen. Sometimes the calendar puts everything in the same weekend and leaves us to figure it out.
And sometimes, with a little teamwork and a whole lot of driving, we manage to make it all happen.