Hey, you! So nice of you to click to learn more about me, Kristina Henson.
I live in Upstate New York with my daughter, a Golden Retriever, and two cats. Before writing and illustrating my two books, One Hundred Birds Telling One Hundred Little Stories and Letters to Lily, I maintained a blog and regularly published personal essays while working in the graphic design industry by day and devoting the majority of the rest of my time doing what I love the most — writing and creating books. I love everything about books. With all that’s inside of them—the things I can learn, the places I can travel to, the characters I can fall in love with—what isn’t there to love?
I can define myself by being so many things: a mother, a daughter, a sister, an artist, an author, a designer. But most importantly—and what I remind myself of often—is that I am a woman who needs to create. 
I hope you enjoy a peek into my studio and life. 
Kristina 

My Political Hangover

My Political Hangover

kristina henson

Like many of us, I woke up on the morning of November 6th with a political hangover. It felt almost as crappy as a tequila hangover from my 20s. As usual, I was up early before sunrise and was in awe of the thousands of stars and sliver of a waxing moon hanging onto the early morning sky. I got my coffee, blanket, and notebook and poured my heart onto the pages. Everything felt extra quiet and still, and as the sky started to brighten, guess what I heard?

A bird.

I smiled and knew then that in the days ahead, I would quietly sort out the steps to move forward after the news that Donald Trump would be the President again. My first instinct was to retreat and go off the grid for the next 4 years, but that won't solve anything. I haven't figured it out yet, but I need to find the balance between not allowing the constant chaos and drama surrounding that man into my home and staying informed enough to support each other when things get nutty. While there is no way to predict the future, I'm preparing for lots of nutty after our last experience with him and his current stated agenda.

I don't write much about politics, as I prefer to connect with you through nature, art, and the silly antics of our backyard birds, but this feels too big not to mention, so I'm going to post this unapologetically and won't be offended if decide to skip over this newsletter or unfollow me.

For real, it's okay.

This week's better news was that my daughter Lily's 24th birthday was a few days ago. On my morning walk through the park with Jazzy, I remembered all the details of the day she was born. I remember being excited to hold her and see her face in person. I remember being scared, too.
Scared of the dogs hurting her.
Scared of the world hurting her.
Scared of me hurting her.

And look? After all that worrying, everything turned out okay. It's even better than okay. That Lily girl is my greatest joy, my most considerable pain in the ass, and the dogs never harmed a hair on her head.
She is a decent, intelligent, beautiful young woman.
She gives me hope for our future.
I hope the weeks and months ahead are peaceful for all of us.
I hope the first thing you hear tomorrow morning is a bird singing.

Be well.
With love,
Kristina

*For the record, after all these years, I still can't stand the smell of tequila.

If the Walls Could Talk

If the Walls Could Talk
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