Moving to the Flathead Valley was a fresh start and escape from the Bitterroots. She and her husband headed north to the valley with their three kids after receiving a job opportunity in Somers. For Evans, it’s a place of peace and healing, of beauty and tenderness. Whitefish, though, was the beacon— that was the magnetic place. Evans now resides outside of town, in between the Kootenai and Flathead National Forests. She has two birdhouses for nesting swallows in the yard. A small prism dances in a window projects bits of rainbows in the entryway. The bathroom door sometimes slides open on its own— it’s a perfect spot. “Since I’m finally in Whitefish— which I was [always] drawn to— [I’ve realized] that it was part of the bigger picture. I just didn’t have all of the details yet.” Evans is still just as imaginative as she was as a child, but now she doesn’t feel so alone. “It’s like a second childhood right now. A not so scary one.” She recalls her own four children, and that each birth was a reminder that she needed to be alive. “Growing up, I was suicidal… I’m surprised I’m alive.” Each child brought a new perspective and a gentle reminder that she was needed. Starting her job at The Shops at Station 8 while being a mom was a reminder to put herself out into the world. Each new job, each step, each leap was a reminder to stretch out and find her true self. Living on her own, leaving a job, and starting a new business, Evans is embarking into new territory. But while the world whirrs around, Evans is seemingly calm in knowing. “If you’re going to jump, just jump… the time is now.” That’s the thing with coming into your own— there is no time better than now. When you have the chance to discover a piece of what you’re meant to do, you have to run with it and find the rest of the puzzle. “If you don’t do it, you’ll wonder. There’s no time for dreaming… the time is now.”
Mental health is a journey that affects 1 in 4 Americans (NAMI). You are not alone. You are heard, you are loved, and you are so wildly important.
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