Like all journeys, the road here was some days long, some how quick, inevitable in hind sight, vastly emotional, truthfully unexpected, wildly beautiful, and perfectly & imperfectly planned.
Although RemeTea is in it's infancy, it has an old soul. You see, I always dreamed of being self employed and effecting the lives of other's in a positive way and working with God's Divine Design. I had big dreams and visions of how colorful life would be. But in spring of 2014, 5 days before my college graduation, thoughts of endless opportunity and a bright beaming future were turned upside down as we received the earth shattering news that the baby of the family, my favorite person in the world, 19 year old Jonny Reed, was tragically killed in a car accident. The world sudden lost color, meaning, hope, inspiration and joy. And after graduation, I followed the predictable, "safe" path into corporate.. I no longer had the heart for the risk, unpredictablility, sometimes scary, exhilerating, open, endless possibly path of my dreams. For me, safe and security translated to predictable, dependable, well paid job as a well known company with some room to grow into management one day. I wanted to work, own a nice house, not worry about how to pay bills or food. I wanted comfort..in my numbness.. as the song goes..
I excelled in my job although it didn't bring me much fullfillment and didn't interest or challenge me. It did pay well. From the outside in, all looked good. I was comfortable. And that comfort even brought some luxuries that did make me happy in the moment. But in 2020, a month before the world wild COVID pandemic, our world changed when my husband & high school sweetheart, Phil, welcomed into the world our first and beautiful baby son Calvin James Cave. Calvin turned the lights on in my soul. Just looking at him would bring me so much joy. Every fiber of my being loved being his mom. I couldn't believe his perfection, and that I birth him! I would stare at his face for hours while he slept and would brim with pride, joy and excitement with every first, every new sound or movement and every single thing that had to do with him. When he was about 7 months old, we made the difficult decision to enroll him into a daycare that my sister in law worked at. It was more dependable that having family watch him while we were at work and my work was becoming more demanding as I was considered an "essential employee" during the pandemic. But to be honest, each day dropping him off, was torture. We both cried too many times to count. I dreamed of way to escape my soul sucking job and to be able to spend my days with my son before time went by too quickly. After Jonny passed, I was so so aware that time does indeed go by too fast.. and if you don't pay attention... well you know how the saying goes.
I didn't want to miss any precious time with my son. I didn't want to miss his milestones or not know how his day went.. my calculating mind would mercilessly remind me the amount of hours his teachers had with him verse me.. I would be so angry that I was sold a lie and disgusted in a society that separated mothers from their babies so brutally when they both needed eachother the most.
You see, I was adopted when I was 8 & put in foster care when I was 5. Along with my 3 brothers. I was very keenly aware just how impactful and potentially detrimental a mother's choices could be on a child. It was a reality and truth I could not escape. And each moment I handed off my son and chose a company to which I was only a number... a piece of me would crumble. After seeing the light for the first time after Jonny passed, I couldn't let it go.. I knew this really was a matter of life or death, for my spirit.
So I thought long and hard. What would I want for my son if he was in my position? When I dug deep, I knew the answer: I would want him to live a life where he joyfully used his gifts to impact the lives of others for the better and for him be as self sufficient and free as possible. And this brought another hard truth.. I could only hold him to this standard if I did it for myself and lead my example.
So began my inquiries into entrepreneurship and down a multi year healing journey. Truth be told, I was terrified at the thought of losing my big secure paycheck and status. So many deep rooted fears came up for me during that time that I was literally driven to a mental breakdown - or break through. So many skeletons mercilessly emerged from my closest and my destiny required me to look each of them in the face. It was excruciating but freeing with every brick I broke down in the wall on my security in the hopes for a chance at a full filling and beautiful new life because I was so deeply committed to getting to a place where I was my best, healthiest self for my babies & husband that have shown me a light & love I never knew was possible for
me. This journey has led me to places I never imagined.
First, I got some coaching, read books, listened to podcasts, attended seminars & faced uncomfortable truths about myself and my perceptions..I even spent a year and a half developing a thorough business plan focused on products that helped women heal physically after child birth (another story for another day). I did inner child work, I
learned about building safety in my body and embracing my feminine energy vs operating in my masculine, and I was slowly changing the landscape of my internal & external world.. And I prayed a lot.. Like all day long. And to be honest, it wasn’t easy.. Some of it was HARD. At times it was so emotionally and physically uncomfortable, it felt unbearable.. Rewiring my brain, body & nervous system one moment at a time… it was scary at times and heavy but I pushed on and stayed close to my faith because I could tell it all started to work.. Day by day, I could see the light..I started to feel a little more empowered, sure of myself, capable, trusting of my instincts, grateful, and at peace. And that progress was intoxicating.. It led me to everything I desperately needed. Knowing growth was possible and I wasn’t alone with facing discomfort, was my light at the end of the tunnel.
In my quest to learn how to trust myself and better enjoy my life and motherhood, I was intrigued by the sentiment “I followed my gut”. How did people make choices without knowing every possible angle or worse - when the outcome was out of their control?! (my type A girls will get it.. ).. So I researched the gut.. I learned about the microbiome and how it is an internal ecosystem of bacteria and microorganisms, passed down genetically or ingested through food or the environment.. I learned that there has to be harmony & balance in your gut in order for your emotions to be properly regulated. The gut sends information to the brain about what it sees happening on a micro level and vice versa. Like boots on the ground & eyes in the sky, they are in constant communication, checking in & this is where emotions are made. My mind was blown. I questioned - if I could heal my gut, give my body the proper nutrients and minerals.. Could I get to a point where the chemicals in my brain were firing properly? Where the messages being sent back and forth were accurate and not faulty? Could I get my nervous system regulated at optimum? Could I finally trust my thoughts & instincts knowing they were coming from a clear healthy space? Could I finally stop feeling defective or broken? And That’s how the next step in this journey began..
So again, in short, since then, I have done personalized gut tests, taken custom pro & prebiotics, taken gene deficiency tests, and taken multiple supplements to help give my body and brain the missing nutrients it needs to function properly, or at least, at my version of optimum.. I wanted this so badly so I could feel like I could mother my
children from a pure place - not from my pasta traumas, fears, dreams, or faulty perception. But from a disciplined, clear, properly functioning mind, relatively strong & healthy body, and a peaceful, faith filled, empowered spirit. And this journey has turned out to be a beautiful adventure & so worth every single tear, fall, fear, discomfort and every painful thing that comes with transforming, metamorphosis, evolving for the better and just plain growing up.
So how does this all relate to teas?
Well.. I took my many helpful supplements daily and thought all was good but then slowly, my body started rejecting it.. Turns out taking too many minerals can actually be bad for you..but how would we know without proper education but..from where? From Who? Where would I get personalized preventative treatment? My PCP who was backed up for 9 months and couldn’t get me in or unwilling to do thorough personalized testing? I wanted to give my body what it needed but didn’t know I could be doing harm in the process. Thankfully, my body started warning me by gagging
trying to take my daily large pills and getting nauseous.. I started really disliking the routine and would skip it but I could feel the difference in my body without the essential vitamins and minerals. I would be tired, anxious, lazy, my cycles changed.. I would make poor decisions eating unhealthy foods more often and was easily irritated by my life’s stressors or children.. I got back to the place I worked so hard to escape.
Then I began my herbalism class. I started learning about and reading about plant medicine that was God given and everyone could have access to. I was floored & couldn’t get enough. It was all I thought about all day & even in bed. I wondered why more people did not utilize these herbs but realized it was a lack of education and exposure. Whether intentionally by a corrupt system or not.
So here I am.. Thinking the information is too good not to share and knowing deeply in my heart that many women and families would thrive, if more people knew about the healing, preventative, medicinal properties of divinely gifted herbs. I want to help share education and empower others to take their own healing and health, and that of our
families, into their own hands so we all can thrive instead of just surviving, in our existence. Plus it’s fun to experiment with what feels good for your body :)
So I started making blends with HER RemeTea, as a woman's well being tea, blended to provide nourishment, nervous system support and to help the female reproductive system. I sent it to all the women in my circle and received raving reviews about it's helping menstral cycles, improving sleep, managing stress, delicious taste and so much more.. Within a month I came up with 3 other blends and start doing vendor shows around Tennessee while shipping ordered all over the country. I am learning so much about business, about myself, about God's gifts and love and how to be a better servant and steward. It's a beautiful ride and I am so grateful to be called to this work to help others find the healing that I did. All glory be to God and I'm excited to see where He takes this next!
And that's the Tea!
