Perhaps you noticed the decrease in posts after I returned to work? If you’re following my journey you know this portion of Hiking Thru Life started shortly after Rory was born. The posts came out like crazy during maternity leave. I had so much time. Writing gave me a mission each day. I still am passionate about it but the time and priorities have shifted. Maternity leave was a season to spend countless hours writing while breastfeeding and feeling like those days were never going to end. They were filled with joy, bliss, so much identity shift. I know I’ve written about this previously but it’s important to revisit and reflect. Much like the seasons outside, the “seasons” change with life. Our priorities and time change. The way we live can change. It is currently the end of April and it is flurrying/sleeting outside. While that’s normal for this time of year in April, we know it’s not going to last. I also know that this quiet peaceful time I have to myself right now is not going to last.
Right now as I write this blog Rory is with my parents for the whole weekend. Being first-time grandparents they are just in love with any moment they have with him. The same goes for my mother-in-law who simply adores any moment she has with Rory. We are so thankful to be nearby loving supportive and healthy parents who want to spend time with him. In addition to our son benefitting from grandparent time, we get time to reconnect as a couple as be reminded what life was like before becoming parents. We love our baby but time for yourself and as a couple is valuable too. It’s healthy for our mental well-being. It’s refreshing to sit here sipping my coffee writing away without any interruptions.
I am taking a walk down memory lane in my mind to last year at this time when Andy and I spent our days in quarantine doing all sorts of things around the house. We enjoyed quarantine to its full capacity. We cooked, we did projects, wrote, made videos, and just spent time together. This weekend feels a bit like those days. A look back at last year at this time. Andy doing some landscaping project after spending about a month waiting for free rock on Facebook Marketplace, and me doing some quarantine pre-k teaching with enthusiasm and props. Those days feel so far away yet so close, don’t they?
In other news, we have a big life update. We are in the process of selling the home we bought in 2017. We bought a van, and we are going to live in the van for the summer and find something smaller to live in when we are done with summer travels. This is no doubt something that has been brewing up over a period of time. With the travel lifestyle we have, it seems to just make sense for now. Will we miss being homeowners? Without a doubt, we will miss things about it. But the thing is, all things in life can be replaced. This is what feels right for us right now. I don’t really know how to type out all of the thoughts, the process, and the things we’ve done over the past couple of months. It’s been consuming us and it’s been a whirlwind. The decision was made in February one night and we haven’t looked back since. It’s a bit ironic how the timeline worked out for the decision. The decision was made the same day we spent cleaning out my grandparent’s house after my grandpa passed away at the beginning of this year. They lived a very fulfilling life and taught our family many values. The values and time spent with my grandparents are something I will always cherish. The stuff they had? No. Maybe to others, it held value but for the most part, it was all just stuff. The stuff sat in the background of all the cherished family memories for years and years mostly because my grandpa didn’t want to see the stuff go. Years of items piled up and not even remembering what was there. For the final clean-up day of my grandparent’s house, we did the classic clean-up act. We got a giant dumpster and put all the stuff in one giant dumpster. In a perfect way, this was a valuable lesson to us. Things only have value if we use them. Over 4 years in our own home, we have been slowly hoarding items just in case, and years from now it could have turned much more. Between my grandparent’s house and our house, we have had our fair share of spring cleaning this year. I do love that we were able to help clean out my grandparent’s house, walk down memory lane, and even have Rory sit in the rocking chair my mother sat in as a baby. Life has a funny way of teaching us lessons and bringing value to us when we need it most. I’ll leave my thoughts there but take a listen to my conversation with Andy to hear more about our life update.
What are you doing today to be fulfilled for a better tomorrow? The photo to the left is from Rory’s 6-month celebration I love everything about this photo. It captures the moments of painting, packing, cleaning, the nursery wall we painted together, and celebrating the little things in life in between all of the chaos of our ever-evolving journey.