That Didn't Go As Planned

Hi, Friend!

As it goes with me every year at this the weeks seem to go a little faster and, truth be told, I start getting a little itch for Fall to get here. Fall is my favorite season. I love the weather, I love jeans and sweatshirts, and I love the anticipation of the gatherings for the holiday seasons coming up. I have to say, I wouldn’t mind a repeat of last year’s Fall in MN. The temps stayed mild and I was riding my horse outside in November in a lightweight shirt. The major drawback was we didn’t have snow for Christmas though. Anyway, I hope your week was a good one!

I wrote to you last week about getting a little evening routine going. I am anxious to know how it went for you. Did you try anything new? Do you already have what’s working for you? For real… stop right here and jot me a couple lines (therese@reseandco.com) and tell me the scoop.

If you know me even a little bit I like to set a plan and think it’s going to work out like a fairytale complete with getting up in the morning, singing a tune, and a bird landing on my finger. I already have Prince Charming so why wouldn’t I think it would work like that, right? Well, in real life, the week had its highs and lows as most weeks do. I started out last week with not getting home one night until about 9:30 p.m. and the next night at 11:30 p.m. Hello! That is WAY after my bedtime! The next days improved a bit but I can’t say that it was quite the routine that I hoped for. The good news is I did very well with my “no screen time” after about 8:00 plan. I don’t know if that is what helped me fall asleep quickly a few nights or if it was that I was exhausted. Either way, I enjoyed the few nights of falling asleep faster than my husband.

I knew this week I would be home earlier so I expected this week to go well. Not exactly! I am cramming for tests in multiple courses so I’ve kept studying until right up until 9:00 pm. The great thing is that it is mostly in print so I wasn’t staring at a screen until that time. By the time I was done, I fell asleep immediately again. So, in a nutshell, that is the snapshot of my week. I did very little early planning for thing but everything I did helped. It wasn’t the dreamy “go to sleep and dream of sugarplums” kind of evenings, but that’s ok.

So what exactly were my takeaways? First, habits don’t change in a week! This will definitely be an ongoing process. Are you going to stick with it a bit longer too? Second, my plan is going to look a bit different than I thought because I’d rather not compromise the time I am enjoying in the evening. I would have had to miss some time with family and friends out at the horse barn and aren’t those times in life more important than a rigid evening schedule? Yep! Third, my schedule and routine will change with the seasons and I believe it will be more fruitful to adapt to the change rather than create a routine that is the same all year.

I didn’t plan to write to you just to camp on this topic for another week, but I really want to hear from you! Tell me what’s working for you. Share with me any ideas you have for me. Hopefully we are both always getting closer to living our signature version of our own “Hallmark life”. If you read my very first letter then you can see I am still striving to make sure that it’s a life well lived, on purpose, and has a meaning beyond just me and my own 4 walls.

So what’s next from here? I will keep working on seeing what prep I can do in the evening that will nurture some of my morning routine goals. One of the fun things I noticed this past week is I didn’t focus on what I want my morning routine to be like, but, wouldn’t you know it, my mornings have been much more enjoyable. I have had busy mornings. Most mornings I’m heading off to the studio, some mornings I’m starting with taking family to appointments, and some mornings I decide to start on the patio rather than racing off anywhere. The crazy thing is, without much effort my mornings have been a great pace. It seems that even though my effort in the evening hasn’t been on point, it has still made an impact on my mornings. Bonus! Did you notice anything different with your mornings? Did you feel any less rushed as you head out the door or start whatever your day had in store for you?

I found the simple steps of shutting off the “screen” (computer, phone, TV) earlier, looking at my calendar and giving enough of a cushion in the morning so I wasn’t really “rushing” anywhere, and then just going with the flow and enjoying my husband, family, friends and, of course, my horse was just how I want my evenings to go before our days get shorter in terms of daylight. As I’m writing this I guess it was more of a win than I thought!

Before I sign my letter for today, I’d really love to know what you’d like to talk about. What things do you think about when it comes to living your best life? What are your biggest struggles? What are the best life lessons you’ve learned? What advice would you give to your younger self… or to your kids? If you’re short on time just drop me a few bullet points! I really would love to hear from you and I want our letters to be a great conversation between us.

Have a beautiful day and until next week, my friend, live a week that you absolutely LOVE!

Sending you so much love,

Therese