We Missed Our Flight. This Happened.

The detour that helped us close our NYC chapter.

Author

Maggie Love
December 17, 2025

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Most people hate the airport. The waiting, the stress, the security lines.

I love it. The airport is a liminal space—you're not quite in any geography. Time stands still… even though it doesn't really. Jon and I learned that the hard way last week when we missed our flight to a friend's wedding, the weekend before we moved to our new home.

We'd stretched ourselves too thin. No margin for error, and we had errors: I was behind on packing, Jon entered the wrong terminal, we left too late. One thing after another until we found ourselves at the customer service counter, too burnt out to argue our case with the usual pep of two entrepreneurs who know a “no” is just a “no” for now. But we didn't have it in us. Not today.

The thought of shuffling back to the car, another 45 minutes singing Raffi to keep Summer from crying, returning to our packed-up ghost of an apartment felt so defeating.

We stood on the platform waiting for the Air Train. The mood between us was tense.

"I have a crazy idea," Jon offered. "What if we stay at the TWA?"

The corners of my mouth lifted.

The TWA Hotel is a beautiful old hotel right next to the airport. It was bulit in the 1960s and has been frozen in time. The lobby is all curves and vintage optimism, the kind of space designed to say “welcome to the future”.

Pop art red upholstery, geometric patterns, a sleek minimalism that is elegant and playful. We let Summer toddle around while we sat in molded plastic chairs that belonged in a museum. Time really did feel suspended there. We weren’t rushing ahead or pulled backwards.

Just paused.

The hotel has a whole wing built to house propeller planes. Ironically, the wing opened the same day the jet plane was released to the world, rendering it—and the propeller planes it was designed for—completely obsolete.

Funny how you can spend all your time striving toward a goal only to find out that time was laughing at you all along. Some ideas are too late. Some too early. And once in a while, there are those magnificent moments when an idea arrives right on time.

As entrepreneurs, we want to bend time to our will. We hustle, we optimize, we refuse to accept no. But the universe can't be tamed. Sometimes it forces you to stop and if you fight it, you miss the gift.

Once we turned missing our flight into an adventure, everything shifted. We let the pause become what it needed to be: we explored the hotel, we lay in bed and played with Summer, and we reflected on what our upcoming move meant for us. We honored the closing of one chapter and the beginning of another.

One of the things I've always loved about traveling is the forced rest.

Everyone around you is in transition: seizing a new opportunity, following love, escaping heartbreak, chasing adventure. But at the airport, while you’re waiting for whatever it is you’re waiting for to begin, there's nowhere to go, nothing to do. Forced rest provides a reset. A time to reflect on what you're leaving behind and to dream about where you're headed.

This holiday season, I'm looking forward to having more time to rest. I hope you'll take some too. There will be no newsletter next week while we'll be celebrating Christmas with my family. It will be Summer's first Christmas!

Take time to rest, to savor, to enjoy. And see any mishaps along the way as an opportunity for unexpected adventure.

Happy Holidays!

✨💫✨

Decentraland Graduation and End of Year Party 💃

We’re coming together to celebrate SheFi as a whole: our community, our collective wins, and the future we’re building together in 2026. 💫

We’ll be gathering inside Decentraland for a shared, global celebration, featuring a special message from Maggie Love, performances, and the collective energy that makes SheFi what it is.

New to Decentraland or want a quick walkthrough? Join Jo, SheFi Ambassador and Africa & Decentraland Community Lead, for a 30-minute onboarding session on December 17, 2:00 PM ET.

✨💫✨

SheFi’s 12 Days of Crypto 🎁

Our end of year holiday challenge featuring 12 quick, beginner-friendly onchain quests to help you build real crypto confidence before 2026 and get rewarded.

Complete the quests by December 25 and each one counts as one entry into our raffle (finish all 12 for 12 entries).

One winner will receive a hand-picked mystery $300 gift box!

✨💫✨

This Week in Crypto — SheFi Edition 🏇

This Week in Crypto: SheFi Edition 🪩

  • Stablecoins keep winning.
    Visa expanded USDC settlement for U.S. banks, using Solana for the settlement rail. This is what adoption actually looks like: payments infrastructure quietly going onchain.

  • Gen Z is driving adoption.
    Coinbase data shows Gen Z and Millennials are about twice as likely to hold crypto as older generations. The next wave of adoption is demographic, not ideological.

  • Caroline Ellison was moved into community confinement after about 11 months in prison. Her projected release is now February 20, 2026.

  • Spot XRP inflows hit a milestone.
    U.S. spot XRP ETFs passed $1B in assets, with steady inflows since mid-November. Even in a shaky market, institutions are choosing specific lanes.

  • Aave DAO governance crisis.
    Aave DAO is in open conflict over a proposal to redirect protocol revenue and consolidate control under a new entity. Tokenholders are pushing back, arguing it weakens decentralization and shifts power away from the DAO. The vote has exposed real tension around who controls DeFi protocols when billions are at stake.

  • Where the market action is.
    It was a leverage flush: forced liquidations hit about $592M as BTC and ETH sold off. At the same time, BNB stood out, pushing above $870 while much of the market looked heavy.

✨ SheFi Takeaway: The tape is risk-off, but the signal is still strong: stablecoins are becoming default rails, ETFs are channeling institutional demand, and DeFi is maturing through real governance fights. Watch the infrastructure and the power shifts, not just the candles.

✨💫✨

SheFi Quests 📜

Completing quests is one of the best ways to make the most of your SheFi journey! You’ll receive a confirmation email once your quest is successfully submitted.

SheFi & Crypto Events 🌎

Going to ETHCC, Token2049 or Devcon? Join our Global Events Telegram Chat: https://t.me/shefisummit

SheFi Events:

Community Events:

  • 12/17 Berlin: Christmas Party by Solana: RSVP here

  • 12/18 Munchen: SheFi x TUM Blockchain Club – Christmas Party 🎄: RSVP here

  • 12/18 Honolulu: EOY Party - Tropical Consensus: Closing the Epoch: RSVP here

  • 12/18 New York: The Degen Xmas Party: RSVP here

  • 12/18 Paris: Networking Lunch in Paris for Tech & Creative Minds: RSVP here

  • 12/19 Istanbul: ISTBCW ile 2025'i Uğurluyoruz!: RSVP here

  • 12/19 New York: Skyline Coworking: RSVP here

  • 12/19 London: Coffee Morning with Canary x Shefi London x SuperteamUK: RSVP here

  • 12/20 Santa Catarina: FounderShip: Desbravando a Próxima Onda do Web3: RSVP here

  • 12/21 Virtual: 4th Annual Black Women in Film Showcase: RSVP here

👉️ Share your wins so we can celebrate them 👈️

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