One Year Later...

Happy One Year Anniversary (!) to this little blogging venture. Wow, do things look A LOT different today than they did last year. So many hopes and dreams and big plans of travel around the world. I even went back and read my New Year’s post on reflections and looking towards 2020… feels like a lifetime ago.

I say all this, not to shit on 2020 (although it would be well deserved and worth a thousand more words), but to put some gratitude out into the universe today for a year of growth and adaptability that I never saw coming. When I wanted to carve out a little corner of the internet for "this”, I was all aglow with new places and adventure and looking for the next escape. What we got was a lock down in our homes (that I am following because public health is my passhunnnn!) and nothing but our minds and pets to keep us entertained.

Now if you know me, my mind is rarely at rest. It THRIVES on planning and thinking and ruminating and problem solving. Sitting? Noticing? Just being? HA. Actions I never actually practiced or even gave a whiff of attention to. This blog was a direct result of that! I was looking for the next thing to keep my mind at work, and it did its job. I got excited about writing and sharing and creating. I even took up embroidery and wrote a how-to guide to keep my brain working in quarantine. It was an excellent distraction from being present and being still. Values I wrote about in January and truly didn’t know a thing about.

But people change. And not by accident, but with a lot of work and mental tugs and pulls. And not in leaps or bounds, but tablespoon by tablespoon. It is liberating actually to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. Here is what sticks for me (for now, because change, duh): cooking still brings me joy and a sense of calm but sharing a meal and being present is where the real magic happens, taking walks alone gives me space to practice *noticing*, and curiosity is more than a desire to see new places, but also a means to center my mind on values and sort through emotions. Sounds simple, right? Back to the basics, one might argue? Check in again in 2021…

Either way, I am going to keep this corner of the internet alive. Expressing these thoughts and ruminations is good for my soul and only my mom and like five other people read this (hi friends!) so what is there to lose? And one day we will travel again and sure, that will make its way here too. Til then, here are photos of meals that I’ve eaten because a girl can still keep some distractions like taking photos of food, right? Happy Anniversary!