SUNDAY SELFIE SERIES #77

Jessica Haedge

SUNDAY SELFIE SERIES #77: The beautiful Jessica Haedge. Jess has a tremendous impact on our family – she has known and worked with JH since he was two. She’s been a partner for me at times when I had no other, and her intuition & compassion helped set a course for us for which I’ll forever be grateful. Plus, she’s one of my favorite spirits. I simply love her.

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1. What has humbled you more than anything else?

Being given a role as a leader in my company has been extremely humbling. I can't hide my daily mistakes and shortcomings; I have to own up to them and use them as learning opportunities for myself, and as teaching opportunities for those under my leadership. Being a leader doesn't come naturally to me, and I've stumbled my way through it. Every trip and tumble has helped to bring my ego down to a more appropriate level.

2. Do you feel like you've gotten a good education?

I didn't take my education seriously. High school and college were both means to an end for me. My formal education wasn't anything other than average, but I did have a few above average educators who taught me extraordinary lessons. I stand by the idea that my best education was in the kitchen at my summer camp as a child and teen, under the mentorship of strong, hard-working Northern Minnesotan women. 

3. Do you believe that forgiveness benefits the forgiver or the transgressor?

I suppose it benefits whoever is carrying the weight of the circumstance. It could be one or the other, or both. Either way, I believe forgiveness is a vital practice.

4. What is your proudest accomplishment?

Being okay as a nearly 40-year-old woman who is single and has never had a significant long term relationship is a pretty big accomplishment for me. I never wanted to be single this long. I think life would be easier with someone by my side. I've made the best of it, though, and managed to create a life that is good. I go to bed every night knowing that I have strength that I built on my own.

5. How would you like to live out your golden years?

Despite the answer to #4, I hope to spend my golden years in companionship: front porch sitting, slow days in the yard and garden, hanging out with the chickens and the dogs.