https://www.flourishspeechsolutions.com/blog daily 0.75 2026-11-08 https://www.flourishspeechsolutions.com/blog/how-a-rescue-bird-inspired-my-brand-228sf monthly 0.5 2026-11-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6abd48b7ab4fd510cc74ebb9/9f9943d0-81f2-4c1c-841b-780e990dc87b/Me%26Pawsi.jpg Blog - A Grandfather’s Legacy It’s amazing how pivotal people in our lives can shape our view of the world, have the power to influence us greatly–good or bad, and give us inspiration and drive. Both of my grandfathers have left a lasting impression on me. My paternal grandfather passed away a little over a year ago. He would have been 91 this year. He started a flooring business in 1963 and I saw how well it served his family and children. I noticed the hard work and grit my grandfather and Dad both had and I also noticed the flexibility that self-employment provides. My Dad worked a lot from home for the business my grandfather founded and the freedom that this provided him I valued and perceived as a positive. I did not want to be one to “punch a time clock” or go to work and get my time in. I don’t do well with rigid schedules or rules that don’t align with my values. There must have been something in our blood that drew us to entrepreneurship. For one thing, the unknown is exciting albeit scary. There is something beautiful and deeply motivating about building something from the ground up. Maybe that’s why I find our flourishing mealworm farm so satisfying! Seeing if a new beetle emerged, searching for little wiggly baby worms slightly moving in their bedding, and looking earnestly for new pupas to separate. The art of growing something with our own hands has been somewhat lost in our modern age. But plenty of people, especially young people I find, are going back to homesteading tasks like my sisters. They are making their own bread and growing their own spices and vegetables. Sometimes less is more. This is something my maternal grandfather taught me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6abd48b7ab4fd510cc74ebb9/bbb1f01b-39c1-4e9b-b5d7-7515038f79f5/Me+%26+Papa-use+this+one.jpg Blog - A Grandfather’s Legacy I made a connection with the speech-pathologist at the nursing home that is helping him. I’m so thankful that she is so kind, considerate, and genuinely cares about her patients. She asked me today if he was always this stoic and mellow and I told her yes pretty much. I think he made quite a few students fall asleep in class with his drawl and monotone voice! He used to joke too, but now I think he’s just too tired. His heart is only working at 15-20% efficiency. My children are about the only things that perk him up and sometimes that’s not even enough. I’ve been so blessed to have had this gentle giant in my life. Flourish Speech Solutions is the integration of my paternal grandfather’s entrepreneurial drive and my maternal grandfather’s passion for children and education. Life moves on, the wind gently blows, the birds chirp so pleasantly outside, and I have a vision of my Papa driving his tractor at the country house. That was one of his happy places that we still cherish today as a family. My Papa also had a knack for writing, in particular poetry. I have saved the first poem he ever wrote for me about me “Driving in June” when I was learning to drive and he let me drive Ole Nelly and the last poem he ever wrote to me when my daughter was 2 years old. I hope to continue his love and legacy of writing and continuing to learn no matter how old you are. Just because he was an old man did not mean he didn’t try to learn new tricks like learning how to use a computer or smartphone. https://www.flourishspeechsolutions.com/blog/how-a-rescue-bird-inspired-my-brand monthly 0.5 2026-10-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6abd48b7ab4fd510cc74ebb9/c30461b1-ef42-4c57-8f51-105c01459b3b/IMG_9979.jpg Blog - How a Rescue Bird Inspired My Brand When I decided to make the big leap into private practice, I was already set on my business’s name; however, my logo left something to be desired. It felt basic and lacked something that was deeply personal to me. This past summer, on one random Wednesday morning, my husband and I were startled awake by a bird. This bird sounded like it was outside of our window. I remember even putting in earplugs to drown out the noise, but nothing was drowning out the baby bird’s cry for help! Finally, after hours of trying to figure out where this bird was, my husband found her in the attic of all places. We were all scrambling to get into the attic and figure out what to catch her with. There was no nest, mama bird, or other baby birds in sight. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6abd48b7ab4fd510cc74ebb9/da1dc6a6-693e-4873-9745-2ee9d7968893/IMG_9854.jpg Blog - How a Rescue Bird Inspired My Brand Just two days into us taking care of her, my daughter held her with some tissue paper. The sheer joy on her face was priceless. This little baby bird was already starting to grow some feathers and pulling on our heartstrings. It was amazing to see her grow and flourish under the right conditions with the right care. Soon enough, we named her Maribel, and that was that. We were not giving her up at this point. Maribel was the perfect summer project, and it was healing for me. I have this strong desire to birth, nurture, and grow something, even if it is just a little baby sparrow. Initially, we were feeding her every 30 minutes to 1 hour. Suffice to say, I felt like we had a newborn in the house! Fortunately, birds do not eat overnight, so I could get my much-needed beauty rest. We joined sparrow rescue groups and connected with a rehabber in our local area. My daughter talked about getting a cat for years, but now we are bird people. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6abd48b7ab4fd510cc74ebb9/be9d7a95-130a-418b-a410-2a609e382321/IMG_0083.jpg Blog - How a Rescue Bird Inspired My Brand Indigo was the owner’s little girl at the bed and breakfast that we went to on our honeymoon. We were smitten by this sweet little 3-year-old girl. Jasper was one of our favorite restaurants when we traveled to San Francisco well over a decade ago by now. It turns out Indigo is a boy, so he’s affectionately called Indy, and Jasper is a girl, so we call her Jas. Not long after this, I knew I needed to really start working towards moving the needle on my business, and I was not set on my previous logo. I remember sitting down one Friday afternoon, working in Canva, and it dawned on me that a bird would be the perfect logo for my company. So there you have it: our summer of birds inspired a new, fresh logo that truly captures the meaning and essence of what I hope Flourish Speech Solutions will be. I want it to be a place where children and parents feel heard, supported, and are able to flourish in whatever that looks like for each family. https://www.flourishspeechsolutions.com/home daily 1.0 2026-10-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1618511387030-5LI1E5QMVTQ2RY9S00A4/20140228_Trade+151_0046+1.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6abd48b7ab4fd510cc74ebb9/6506050e-630f-4a5d-bed1-e04fac969335/Ashley+-+Flourish+Speech+-+Website+Designs+%282%29.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6abd48b7ab4fd510cc74ebb9/b555a1d7-c460-4129-87d3-ebcc7e11ffe6/Untitled+design+%2825%29.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6abd48b7ab4fd510cc74ebb9/4093dd2d-50f4-43e8-855f-2499693267b6/Untitled+design+%2826%29.png https://www.flourishspeechsolutions.com/helpful-information daily 0.75 2026-10-13 https://www.flourishspeechsolutions.com/contact daily 0.75 2026-10-13