Elements Cottages: Where I Found My Fire and Unstuck

Here’s the thing about deadlines: they don’t care. They don’t care that you’re tired, that the kids are feral, or that your brain is basically held together with coffee and wishful thinking. Deadlines are like toddlers, they want what they want, and they want it now.So when I met Kelly, the owner of Elements Cottages, in a hot yoga class (because apparently nearly cooking yourself alive counts as self-care), she takes one look at me, mid-downward-dog, clearly stressed out of my mind, and just goes: “Girl, you need to go up north.”And listen, Kelly isn’t just the owner. She’s the spirit of the place. Woman-owned, woman-led, and built out of her vision to give people, especially those who might never think Muskoka was for them, a chance to disconnect from the noise and reconnect with themselves through nature. She’s a doll, the kind of woman you meet once and instantly want in your circle.So I went. And here’s what happened.By day, I did the thing. Laptop out, papers everywhere, tapping away at the big dining table with the forest literally wrapping around me through floor-to-ceiling windows. I hit my deadline, and for the first time in forever, I didn’t feel...