The dynamic balance

ROSANN WINN is a small business owner. And a performer. And a teacher. And a mother and wife.

It’s hard to know which of those to put first.

I’ve known Rosann for a number of years – we first connected when she sang for our yearly church picnic.  I was impressed not only with her artistic ability, but also her generous nature and gracious support.

But that’s a tiny part of the picture.

Rosann grew up as a farm girl in Minnesota, part of a large and musical family.  When she wanted to spread her wings, she spent some time in California pursuing acting. Eventually she moved back to Minnesota to work in piano sales, then hotel sales, and then got a job with a convention bureau here in Colorado.

So when she and her husband started their family, she decided to start a home-based business.  She leveraged her sales background by taking on the local franchise for THE Original Basket Boutique.  They’re an international company which provides custom gift baskets for all kinds of personal and business occasions.

Through this she gets to exercise both her business savvy and artistic sense.

But her deep artistry is in music, so she’s a singer and songwriter with styles ranging from swing to folk to rock to jazz to spiritual.  I learned that this draws from her father’s love of 40’s big band music, her mother’s talent on the piano and accordion, her parochial school and high school background which included abundant music instruction, and professional private guitar instruction from an early age. She also majored in music at the undergraduate level.

Rosann wants to bring this music to the next generation and she makes some income as a voice, guitar, and piano teacher. So she has about a dozen private students.

That’s a pretty full plate.  But her first priority is her family.  Greg and Rosann have created a loving home for two daughters, and are looking forward to their wonderful futures.  Whatever that might be.

This whole picture is a powerful example of what I’ve called the dynamic balancing act.  Every week, every day is a new and ever-changing experience for her.  Her struggle, and her joy, is to keep her priorities straight, her focus true, then to be in the flow of what life brings to her.

She taps her faith in God as a foundation of her life.  While bringing her musical talents to support church services, it’s more about aligning the family around shared beliefs and listening to God in their life decisions.  It gives them hope, clarity, and joy in their constantly changing world.

And that really describes the future she’s focused on.  It’ll all be about this joyful dance of raising two wonderful girls, bringing her deep musical talents out in a wide variety of ways, continuing to build the THE Original Basket Boutique business, and being open to whatever directions and opportunities God puts in her path.

From the outside it may seem chaotic to others – but if anything, to Rosann it’s a beautiful chaos. It’s really about being open, staying true, and dancing in the ever-changing world.