Living a Simpler Life

The purpose of this blog is to share my family’s journey to live a Simpler Life and provide what I hope will be useful and fun content and resources to help you navigate your everyday busy life. As a busy working mom whose mode of operation most of my life has been to keep running like my hair is on fire, I know very well how easy it is to get lost in the hectic pace of life and not truly live the life you deserve. My wish is that we all can slow down a little to find joy in every day.

Breaking Away from the Hustle Mindset

I have always been a type-A, non-stop kind of gal who always thought I was happiest when I was juggling multiple projects to occupy my time and mind. In this crazy, fast-paced world, it is so easy to get caught up in this hustle mindset and never slow down to realize what truly is important to you in life and enjoy each day - which truly is a gift. Keeping busy and “the wheels on the bus,” as I have blindly said way too often, is sometimes easier than assessing what really matters most to you and your family. 

I often feel as if I am afraid to slow down. Before quarantine, every morning I jumped on the never-ending treadmill, telling my son to hurry up and eat breakfast, brush his teeth, and put his shoes on, so we can rush out the door and jump into traffic to get to school and work on time if we were lucky. In the evening, quickly throwing in another load of laundry, making sure homework is done and hurrying to make dinner, sometimes even eating in front of the TV or other screens instead of making time to truly connect as a family seemed to be the norm. It seems like so many of us can relate to this harried way of life. 

Recovering from Loss

I’m also for the most part a pretty upbeat, glass-half-full kind of person, but 2019 definitely was the most difficult, heart wrenching year for me and my family for many reasons. By far the hardest thing we experienced was losing my beautiful mother, followed by our sweet family dog a month later. For many months, I walked around in a fog, experiencing a wide range of emotions, including deep waves of sadness that hit me at the most unexpected times. 

The littlest things still remind me of my mother’s laugh and never-ending cheerleader-like encouragement. My siblings and I still have many moments where we think, ‘I have to call mom’ to share something special about one of her grandchildren that she adored. As time has passed, the many moments of disbelief and deep grief have slowly faded away to sweet memories of a particular conversation I had with her that makes me smile. I still feel her presence and I know this ache in my heart will most likely never go away but knowing how deeply she loved her family helps me to realize that I need to carry on her legacy and love my family and friends as fiercely as she did and find as many ways as I can to help others find joy in life.

Living a Simpler Life

Now more than ever during these uncertain, stressful times, I have found comfort in hunkering down at home with my family and stepping back to a slower pace. After 2019 proved to be the most challenging year of my life, I vowed that 2020 was going to be a much brighter time–a year to reevaluate our fast-paced, non-stop life that was rushing by and do something about it. I had even written a few posts about living a simple life–perhaps as a way to try to drag myself down a healthier path. Then 2020 briefly began with great promise, only to take a drastic turn for all of us.

Losing my mother and then watching the extreme loss during the pandemic has made me deeply realize more than ever how very precious each day on this planet is and that I need to consciously make an effort to slow down. We all seem to want the same things-health, happiness, a supportive community that loves and appreciates us, financial security, and time to do the things we love with those we love.

It is surreal to think that this mandatory quarantine has made so many of us step back to the basics. My husband Floyd and I have leaned into the many skills we obtained while serving as Peace Corps volunteers over 20 years ago. It is amazing how creative we can become when we are forced to. Who would have thought we would all be back to baking homemade bread? 

As I go on this conscious journey to live a simpler life to try to take better care of myself, my sweet family and friends and the planet we live on, I thought I would share helpful tips we have discovered along the way and hope you will share yours too. I’m a big believer in not reinventing the wheel if someone else has already gone down that long, hard path and figured it out. I guess I feel like if I can share even one quick tip, delicious recipe, or healthy habit, that may help ease or brighten someone’s day, then it is worth the effort and I’ll be happy. 

Why a Blog?

This blog will be our way to share insights and resources to hopefully inspire others to live a simpler life as well. Once a week, we will share a blog post on one of the topics below. 

· Quick tips for you and your home to help simplify your life

· Nutritious and delicious recipes 

· Design ideas for creating a welcoming and warm home

· Gardening tips 

· Tips for creating a natural home

· Fun ways to gather those you love

· Ideas for creating healthy habits

· Nature inspirations