Dear friend,
Last week my little family of four was in Palm Desert for Spring Break. We mostly spent time relaxing on the balcony or poolside, but we did venture out to Joshua Tree National Park for a nice hike as well as to Palm Springs one day for lunch and ice cream. It was the first time since June of 2019 that all four of us had the week off together and it was a real treat! We were able to fully relax and disconnect from the busyness of school and work, and I must admit getting back to ‘work’ this week has been tough. As I'm typing this (in my bed), I realize I've been avoiding my desk. I've taken all my calls from alternate locations. (Perhaps sitting at my desk is too much evidence that vacation is over and I'm not quite ready to face that reality?)
The cool thing about vacation, regardless of the location or duration, is that because it takes us out of our usual environment, it also takes us out of our usual patterns. We get to imagine life in a different way and expand our horizons. This perspective shift also makes it more clear what we can live without, what we can't, and what's been missing; we're able to hone in on what's important. In addition, taking the time to relax gives us the chance to recharge with the energy needed to come home and make those changes.
Spending time away from home meant that I didn't do any physical clutter clearing last week, but I haven't forgotten the lesson of the rat nor have I lost any desire to continue to clear my space of what no longer resonates.
The responses to the last email have been overwhelmingly positive in favor of harnessing community support to tackle little tasks and pockets of clutter for thirty days. My plan was to design it over spring break (thinking it would be fun and not count as work), but that's not what it felt like when I was there! So, that being said, I'll design it this week and we can kick it off next week with the 30 day clutter-clearing challenge running April 22nd- May 21st. (Grace, my oldest, turns 14 on May 22nd. It seems fitting that I'll be ‘nesting’ again for that last month two 7-year-cycles later.)
Wishing you all a delightful week full of insights and clarity.
xoxo,
April