My husband, Sam, is a writer. He creates amazing stories and characters, and he truly just loves to write for the sake of writing. Over the years, he’s come to me with the most despondent face saying “I have to kill one of my darlings.”

While I love my husband and will always feel sad when he’s sad, I never really understood the torment. It’s not a real killing. It’s just an edit.

Smash cut to Emily now, building Wanderwing, heartbroken over letting go of a Boring Beetle.

Wanderwing started with a snail. My 10 year old daughter, found a snail in our front yard. She was obsessed with this snail for 2 solid weeks. She desperately needed to add this snail to our already long list of family pets which include a Boxer-Labrador mix, Hound mix, and 2 Albino Leopard Geckos. She searched up ‘how to care for snails.’ She created a slide deck on why she needed this snail as a pet. Just about every family conversation revolved around this snail.

As a mom of 2 girls, I’ve watched my daughters and their friends grow up on screens. I’ve watched some kids have tantrums when they have to put down a screen and others simply put it down and walk away. I’ve watched my daughters use screens as a tool to learn about their world, and I’ve watched them bed rot on a Saturday scrolling for longer than I would like.

Both of my daughters are Generation Alpha. I’m not a researcher or educator. I’m a mom who’s watching my girls navigate technology while still fiercely protecting their childhood.

Wanderwing was created for families who want their kids to grow up curious, confident, and comfortable in their own minds—without screens running the show.

My 13-year-old daughter is amazing. And she’s also 13. Which means the bouncy silly girl with unbridled joy of a golden Labrador has been replaced with a cat. If our questions aren’t interesting enough, she gives us a shrug and a ‘hmm.’ When we try to keep up with the latest ‘tea’ at school, more often than not, we get a ‘I don’t know.’

I have a very vivid memory. Tell me if you have something similar. Cause I’ve got an idea.

I’m in the front row of a movie theater with my twin boy cousins. The red upholstery on the seats is scratchy, so we’re all sitting on the edge. We have candy hidden in our raincoats, and we can’t eat it until the lights turn off.

We just have to get through this week, and then next week, it will slow down. This is the lie busy parents tell themselves every week.

I’ve always been a little bit obsessed with flamingos. But after learning about Frankie, the flamingo who flew 200 miles with clipped wings, I am completely obsessed with this one flamingo. Frankie got me thinking about my life and I hope Frankie will inspire you to think about yours.

I did a brave thing! I announced myself as a woman in tech, as a female founder, as an entrepreneur at the 101st pitch hosted by the Atlanta Tech Village. With Joe Berklund, Partner at Gunderson Dettmer, Emerging Company, Venture Capital, Growth Equity & M&A Lawyer, and Brice Nguoghia, Partner Engineer at Google | Google Startup & Venture Capital Engagement Manager, Cloud Advisor, Entrepreneur as my judges and James Summer, Managing Director at EY and Goodwill of North Georgia board member in the audience - saying I was terrified was an understatement.