A Little Saucy, A Lot of Sisu

Posted on June 19, 2026

The attitude keeps me laughing. The Finnish grit keeps me going.

I keep coming back to the word Sisu.

Not because it sounds cute next to Saucy, although let’s be honest, it does.

But because it fits.

Sisu is one of those words that feels small until you need it. It’s grit. It’s stubborn strength. It’s the part of you that keeps going when you’re tired, annoyed, disappointed, overwhelmed, or standing in the middle of a situation thinking, “Well, this is not ideal.”

I know that feeling.

I know what it feels like to keep moving even when you don’t feel particularly inspiring. I know what it feels like to figure things out while you’re already in the middle of them. I know what it feels like to be the person everyone assumes will handle it, because most of the time, you do.

That doesn’t mean you always handle it gracefully.

Sometimes Sisu looks like confidence.

Sometimes it looks like crying in the bathroom and then going back out because the animals still need fed, the kids still need things, the work still exists, and nobody has magically arrived to take over your life.

Sometimes it looks like building something new even though you’re not sure anyone will care.

Sometimes it looks like posting the art.

Sometimes it looks like starting the website.

Sometimes it looks like admitting you want more for yourself than just surviving the day and calling that enough.

That is where the saucy part comes in.

Saucy is the attitude. The humor. The side-eye. The “I may be tired but I’m still funny.” The part of me that can look at the mess and still make a joke, because if I don’t laugh, I may start throwing things.

Sisu keeps me standing.

Saucy keeps me from becoming boring about it.

I think both matter.

I don’t want to be one of those people who pretends strength always looks calm and peaceful. Sometimes strength is messy. Sometimes strength is loud. Sometimes strength is saying the thing everyone else is avoiding. Sometimes strength is learning as you go and refusing to be embarrassed about the fact that you didn’t already know.

That’s where I am.

Learning. Building. Painting. Questioning. Growing.

Some days I feel powerful. Some days I feel like a raccoon in eyeliner trying to manage a calendar, a farm, a family, and my own thoughts.

Both are me.

And honestly, I’m starting to like her.

A little saucy.

A lot of Sisu.