Rebuilding in the Quiet: Giving Ourselves Permission to Rest (and Log Off)

It’s been a while since I’ve written here — and to be honest, that silence has been more than just a pause. It’s been a kind of rebuilding.

I used to think that every gap in content meant I was falling behind. That if I wasn’t showing up on social media, I wasn’t showing up at all.  In these past few months, I’ve realized something deeper: sometimes the most important work we do is off the timeline, in the quiet, behind the scenes.

We live in a world that constantly pushes us to be visible, productive, and available. But as mothers, creatives, entrepreneurs — as whole human beings — we weren’t designed to live in a constant state of output. We need seasons of rest just as much as we need seasons of bloom.

Lately, I’ve been in a season of rest and reflection. It hasn’t always been easy. Rest often brings up guilt. Slowing down can feel like failure when we’ve been taught that momentum equals worth. But here’s what I’ve learned: Rest is resistance. Rest is sacred. Rest is where the real rebuilding begins.

If you’re in a moment where everything feels like too much — the noise, the comparison, the endless scroll — it’s okay to step back. It’s okay to not post. It’s okay to let yourself fall apart a little, if that’s what’s needed to come back stronger and more aligned.

Bountiful Mamas has always been about more than just showing up online. It’s about real life. Real connection. Real nourishment — of the body, the spirit, and the self. And I want to keep honoring that.

If you’re with me in this quiet season, I see you. You’re not behind. You’re not broken. You’re rebuilding, too.

Take your time.

Unplug when you need to.

And remember: You are still growing, even in the stillness.

With love and deep breaths,
Paige Frye
Bountiful Mamas 🌿

Another trip around the sun!

Thank you everyone for the birthday thoughts and wishes. I woke up yesterday morning to birds chirping in the twilight. The stillness represents the safety and bliss my home continues to bring to me, as tiny and humble as it may be. I had the bathroom mirror to myself for once.  A thought passed through my mind- “I would share this mirror a million more times with my girls if I could.” On my way to work I lamented at the fact that my commute couldn’t get any easier unless my job was across the street.  I paced myself through the workday knowing how blessed I am to be in that sweet spot, not too much work, but still challenged. My youngest daughter texts me, “Be home at 12 for lunch.” As I approach the door it opens to signify, we are waiting for you! It is funny how the smallest things can make me feel so special. Inside I find a delicious turkey sandwich and a homemade cake with chocolate frosting, my favorite. How could I raise such thoughtful humans? As I ate my deliciously prepared lunch with dessert, I was presented with a basket full of my favorite lotion, coffee mug, and snacks. It truly is something to be seen by the ones you love. After work, I had a moment to read all the lovely messages from friends and family. Many whom I haven’t been able to visit enough, yet still so thoughtful to me. We had BBQ, shout out to Famous Dave’s and their delicious bread pudding. How honestly blessed do you have to be to get two desserts on your birthday? We ended the night playing Fortnight and watching a movie. You know my family must love me if they let me pick from my favorite genre-Zombies! Dawn of the Dead did not disappoint. Who knew Phil Dunphy could be such a butt head? All these moments have me feeling like the most blessed girl in the world. Over the past year I have been kind of down in the dumps, thinking of all the things I haven’t accomplished yet. Like buying a bigger house or traveling the world, in actuality my life is full of blessings and achievements. This year I need to stop with the haves and the have nots. Instead, I will not only sweat the small stuff, I will revel in it!

It takes a lot to stay here

It takes a lot to stay here, in a place of peace and faithfulness. You see my spirit-joyful and free. A kind of wild you have never seen. You might be misguided to believe that life must have been a little bit easier for me. However, I have been both the victim and the perpetrator. I have seen the depths at which our souls can get buried from the light.

It would be easy to wake up each day callous, formed by all the sorrow and disappointment. I could look at the hopefulness in my daughter’s eye and think- “Honey, you have no idea all the shit you’re gonna get in this world.” It was habitual to keep ripping those wounds open. To wake up each day and only focus on all of the ways I have hurt myself and the world around me.

Waking up, getting moving with hope for a better day is a challenge. Wearing joy as my armor sometimes feels like a grueling work out in the pouring rain. I have been in a place of anger at those who are smiling and dreaming. A place where hope does not reside; woken up each day only to see the terribleness of the world. Understanding the deep clutching pain of time passing; being out of control.

I make this testament with hope that I can remain here with you at a place of peace, joy, gratitude and hope for the future. It is from our weakest moments we form the strength to forgive and accept. To find the joy in each day; a dog’s tail wagging, a child’s laugh, the birds singing and the warm sun shining.

These are only the beginning of possibilities. You can see so much more beauty with a twinkle in your eye. It is time to say goodbye to all the heartbreaks. We are survivors. On a journey to thrive, living in the moment.

Allow me to re-introduce myself

Do you know that feeling when something happens and in the middle of your response, you pause and in your head think- “who have I become?” That very thought, “this isn’t me,” is what has led me here. I started having that thought way too often. My thoughts even became more hostile to myself in the moment, when I was to afraid to allow myself to shine, my thoughts would scream at me, “SAY SOMETHING!"

I had been working the corporate job for 10 years, I mastered it. I rose through the ranks and became a leader. I really was the boss lady and single mother you see in the movies. I was able to support my children on my own, with no help and we had all we needed, at least all that money could buy. I had a lot of responsibility inside and outside of work, but as a mother I felt like I was failing the most. Working long hours and dealing with stressful situations day in and day out turned me into a shell of myself. I was on edge, I was not emotionally available to my two pre-teen daughters, who needed me to be there for them.

When I was a new mother, I had all these hopes and dreams of the type of mother I would be. We would eat fresh food, play fun games and make art. All of those things are not easy to do when you are consumed by work and survival and that is essentially how I got lost.

This story however, is about finding myself again. My creativity presents differently than most of the people I look up to. I forgot that I was creative, that I had an art of my own to give to the world. It started slowly, I found a journal, a very basic journal with a ton a of blank space. I decided to start writing again. Each day I would force myself to write. Some days I felt creative and the words and pictures flowed easily. Other days, not so much, but I was committed.

I would share a picture or a poem on Snapchat and realized that people connected to the words I put down. Not everyone, and that is okay, but my type of people responded. That was all I needed. Yes, my creations are for me, but they help me connect with others too. That is why I created Bountiful Mamas. I realized that no one is going to make the space for me, I have to put myself out there. I want there to be a space for everyone to share their creativity and fellowship with like minded mothers and daughters everywhere.

I am so glad you are here!