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.

On Monday, my idea for Wanderwing earned me something big: I won the ATL Startup Village #103 - Pitch Off—and a yearlong membership.

On Friday, I got my first real payoff.

Every Friday from 10–12, ATV founders can grab short advisor sessions. I sat down with A.T. Gimbel, and in just a few minutes, he quietly blew up a belief I didn’t realize I was building my entire strategy on.

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.