Matt and I are dubbing this Summer, “The Summer of Bringing It In.” While life has been good and flowing along, there are areas that we don’t feel we have been operating in total alignment. There were gaps in our days where are desire to be intentional with our time was going out the window. We all do it and when we begin to create more space and time for ourselves, its very easy to fill it up with more stuff that doesn’t fill us up. So therefor the “Summer of Bringing It In” begins.
We’ve sat down and really looked at what our priorities are, what our desires are. Not someone else’s desire’s, but ours and only ours. That is another thing we do as humans; when we aren’t being intentional, we accidentally/unintentionally begin or continue to live out other people’s dreams. When this happens you wake up one day and realize you’ve been living a life carefully curated for someone else. We’ve all done this in one way or another.
So what does the “Summer of Bringing It in” look like for our little family. Well we’ve come up with some morning and night routines that flow and feel good. Routines that feel like we are really getting time together and that the kids are getting parents who are present and available. Putting the phones away during these precious times. We have decided to not plan a bunch of trips to other places, but to take this Summer to really explore our own city. We’ve lived here for two years and because of the chaos of a new place, new baby, new home; we havne’t really taken advantage of our new life the way we have wanted to. More trips to the river, walks in nature and canoeing on the James. More Evening playdate’s with the neighbors and BBQ’s with friends and family. More quiet moments of stillness; sitting on the front porch enjoying a good book and a cup of tea.
We have made our finances more of a priority, because in order to truly have financial freedom, we really need to understand the reality of what our financial situation is. While I consider us very blessed and Matt’s business has developed into something we are very proud of; no matter how much “more” money you have flowing in, if you aren’t conscious of it and aren’t curating and cultivating an honest and open relationship with money, it goes just as fast as it comes. And while money does not create happiness, when you are financially stable and able to meet all of your needs and desires, life feels ALOT better. It’s interesting how getting honest with your financial situation can actually feel super liberating and more freedom is created from that.
So the “Summer of Bringing It In” begins. We are on week two of a more structured routine and from that structure we are all feeling more at ease. There have been more moments of complete alignment, where we are all happily doing what we want; sometimes together and sometimes not. The chaos and confusion has died down significantly and life feels more graceful than it has in a long time. While I was initially disappointed to not travel much this Summer, because I LOVE TO TRAVEL, I also see how bringing it in this Summer is going to help create such a strong foundation for more adventure in the future. So until then I will enjoy our adventures here in Richmond and I won’t take for granted the simple and beautiful moments that happen within our home and only steps from it..
Once again I have my beautiful genius to thank for this, she helped me to get quiet and that helped my family to get quiet and here we are; being super intentional and creating a life that speaks to us and no one else.
