I am officially on Maternity Leave starting Monday, April 27th.
However, today - Saturday April 25th - I have officially hit the mark of being too pregnant to work, which shouldn’t surprise me as I’m past 39 weeks, but it’s such a hard decision for me to make! To be abundantly clear - I am now a waddling, giant planet shaped person so ORDERS RECEIVED AFTER APRIL 25th at 9pm WILL BE DELAYED. I feel like there’s so much more still to do and wish I could help everyone that wants Bourbon BBQ Sauce or is dreaming of Peanut Saté Sauce for their grilling adventures. The emails from our fans this week have been off the charts amazing and they have been the icing on the cake I needed to feel confident in my choices of when to start my leave, how much to take on during the COVID 19 Pandemic and such. Today my Maternity Leave away email is set-up. The last few orders are ready to ship. There’s 5,000 other things I had planned to do before baby but... it’s almost go time and there will always be more laundry to do, right?
Looking forward, I am unsure of the future of our business as we rely so heavily on Farmers’ Markets and our special events - essentially I’m compartmentalizing all my worries about the business for after baby. If you would like to support It’s Arthur’s Fault! during this tumultuous time - please purchase a gift card here. They can be purchased in any amount from $10-$100 and can be used at our web store as soon as I’m back from Maternity Leave. I am so thankful to Squarespace (our e-commerce host) for recognizing the seriousness of the COVID 19 Pandemic to small businesses and waiving the fees on gift cards through September.
I will still be checking email during my 8-12 week recovery. If you need immediate assistance - please call the number below and leave a message. I will still be sending shipments from our website but only after I have permission from my doctors to lift more than the weight of the baby... or go up and down a flight of stairs more than once a day... Darn those heavy jars!!! I will be in touch within a few days with anyone placing an order to let them know my guesstimate for shipping.
Thank you so much for your understanding during these crazy times. As if having a child during a pandemic wasn't crazy enough - throwing in our daycare being closed AND being a Solopreneur certainly has made for an interesting experience. Look for my book about balancing it all in a few years! (Once the kids start sleeping through the night.)
Sincerely,
Marikje Shelmandine
Lady Boss Sauce, LLC
Proud Owner of It's Arthur's Fault!™
(802) 922-8028
PS - This entire experience has made me so thankful for my husband, our amazing daughter Katherine and the huge support system we are blessed with from my Mom, Laurel, to friends and family near and wide. It’s been easy to stay calm during such a stressful time with all their help! I’m looking forward to the future and can’t wait to see the wonderful ways our community turns this ridiculous virus on it’s head with outreach programs, volunteerism and love. One guiding light - and humorous side to this - has been to constantly ask myself, “What would Arthur Do?” Imagining Dad whipping up giant batches of Peanut Noodles for our healthcare heroes or getting hard-to-find ingredients for at home chefs and bakers is a nice reminder of the ways anyone can help their community. Missing Dad goes with the territory when it comes to babies - he just adored his first Granddaughter to pieces - but I know this second baby will be just as loved by so many amazing people. Special thanks to April Barton of the Burlington Free Press for giving me an outlet to talk about the scary aspects of having to give birth during a pandemic. To read the article: Pregnant During a Pandemic Article Here