Jamie L. Hayden, LCSW

05/07/2026

Let it not define who we are but simply something we experience from time to time 💫

05/07/2026

Warning: Press mute if swears offend you. 🤭

Had I not been paying attention, I would have missed this new growth. Photos taken a tad less than 1 month a part. 🥰

05/03/2026

Lessons in Sanding and Finishing a Wooden Tabletop

At the start, you think sanding for perfection is the goal. Get out all the gouges and stains to make it look perfect. Then the monkey brain thoughts get going, naturally. When they are met with curiosity and deeper introspection, not shame, this is where the lessons live:

- Is this part simply the natural look of the wood or a blemish?
- What if I can’t get it perfect?
- What if I left this part the way it is, will anyone notice this spot isn’t perfect?
- Will I be able to live with it like this or will my eyes scan for the blemishes each time I look at it, reminding me how I didn’t get it right?
- Am I being lazy or realistic for not wanting to sand for more hours, especially if there’s a possibility the outcome won’t change?
- Why do I feel the need to have perfection be the goal?
- Does improving the surface of something actually make things better or will life go on the same but different?
- Perhaps tabletops are supposed to tell the stories of the people who lived with them and what are the lessons from these stories
- We can’t get rid of every blemish/mistake/part we don’t like… we wouldn’t have any wood left… Imperfections are proof of life and they make things unique.
- Refinishing the surface and starting anew doesn’t take away the history but it reminds us that there is still a full and beautiful life ahead while our imperfect and complex histories are closely connected as they were used as stepping stones to get us to this next level.

💫

04/09/2026

03/07/2026

02/23/2026

02/19/2026