Listen, let's all be quitters. 👋🏻
Or, the benefits of breaks and letting things go
Hi, hello! 🙋🏻♀️ I’m back from my two-week hiatus.
Things that have happened since my last post:
My daughter had her first dentist appointment (no cavities!)
She started a PreK gymnastics class at the Y (chaos!)
I turned 36 🎉 (see below)
And celebrated my birthday with Crumbl cookies (Friday) and an afternoon at our favorite local winery (Saturday). Major wins.
I put up a few Halloween decorations — see the end of this post for a photo. 🦇
Not that anyone is directly asking me for advice, but if I could gently shove everyone into taking a break from whatever it is you need time away from, I’d do it. Seriously. If you also have too much on your plate (don’t we all), choose one thing to kindly push over the side of said plate for a bit. You can pick it back up when you’re ready.
As much as I love structure and routine, as much as I will power through a to-do list until I reach an acceptable stopping point—these things stifle creativity and joy. We need time for our minds to rest in order to access those things. At least I do. And honestly, whenever anyone writes advice on the internet, they write the advice they need to hear. Let’s all acknowledge that. 👀
Turning 36 and having time away from writing an essay per week gave me space to mull over the idea of letting go of things that I no longer have space for in my life. I’ve said that I consider my time to be my most precious commodity, and it seems straight up silly to spend any of it on things that don’t serve my values or priorities.
As a perfectionist, I’m always reaching for an ideal. I see what could be, and I want to make that possibility a reality. But I think peace and happiness come from balancing idealism with acceptance of what is. For me, this means acknowledging that, as I get older, some eras of my life are in the rearview mirror. And that’s okay! As the saying goes: the only thing constant in life is change. Or, as my girl Taylor said, “I will never change, but I will never stay the same, either.”
Shedding layers, habits, ideas, and patterns are all part of the journey, right? So in the spirit of ~honoring my journey~, here’s a non-exhaustive list of eras that are firmly in the past.
Eras That Have Come to a Close 🚪
Wanting my house to be perfect (literally, who has time for that)
Holding onto friendships out of habit or a feeling of obligation
Having more than 2 drinks — I just can’t hang anymore!
Caring too much about/spending too much time on social media
Having a lot of clothes vs. having high-quality staples that I can mix and match
Taking on an overly curt tone in email in the name of ~professionalism~ (we can be professional and friendly, okay?)
Trying to cook dinner most nights vs. aiming to cook 2-3 times a week and not feeling guilty about it!
An era that endures, though? Staying up too late. Try as I might, I cannot remedy this habit just yet. Maybe my 40s will be for sleeping. 🙂
⭐️ If you liked this post, you might also enjoy: In defense of the exclamation point!
⭐️ To support my creative pursuits, please consider sharing this with a friend or pledging a future paid subscription.
Happy Birthday, Beautiful Friend!! 🎉💖😘
Happy 36!!!