My next great adventure - farewell from Jess

Dear Travelhers,

Jess here. Sorry I haven’t written in awhile. I’ve been busy “creating” my next adventure – a precious baby. Yes, I’m going to be a mama!!

I’m 26 weeks pregnant with my first child, a daughter. As you can imagine, I feel ALL THE FEELS. The past six months have been a rollercoaster of emotions as I prepare for what feels like ‘the next season of my life’. 

Ever since I saw that positive sign on the pregnancy test, I have been in a state of deep reflection. My partner and I have spent a lot of time thinking about the life we’d like to create with our little one. What will our family of three look like? And how will it differ from now? How will we cope financially? What changes might we need to make to our current lifestyle? 

We were incredibly fortunate to conceive after just four months of trying. We both thought the process could take years, as I have an autoimmune condition and Tom’s family has a history of infertility. We were overjoyed to conceive so soon, but the timing wasn’t perfect across all areas of our life. Having a baby is one of those things that’s so hard to plan! 

As such, there are some things that I have decided to let go of to create space for the new being in my life. I’m sorry to share that Travelher is one of those things. I have made the tough decision to leave this incredible passion project, as I feel like I am no longer in the right headspace to give it the time and energy it deserves. 

Travel is one of my great loves, but I think it will take a backseat over the coming years. I wish I could say that I’m going to be one of those intrepid mums, travelling the world with my kids in tow, but the truth is – I don’t know if this is the path for me. And I want the freedom to figure that out privately, to hang up my ‘Travelher wings’ while I explore the way forward. It quite simply doesn’t feel right to run a travel blog/business while I’m in this state of flux and uncertainty. 

What  does   feel right is to step away and cheer Travelher on from the sidelines. To watch Meg and Nat build it into the business we always knew it could be. I’m not in the right headspace to take Travelher to the next level – but Meg and Nat are, and I can’t wait to see what they create next. 

I feel so honoured to have been a part of this project up until this point. I love every story we’ve published on the site and I look forward to reading and sharing many more. Thank you for coming on several journeys with me over this past year. It’s been incredible. 

Jess x

Author - Jess O'Connor

Jess is preparing for her next adventure - motherhood! While she won't be writing for Travelher anymore, you can get in touch with her via her business website,  Made of Words.