There’s a quote I love that says “Everything happens FOR me, not TO me”. 

If we use that lens to reflect back on the year, then there is certainly quite a bit that happened “for” me this year, and for all of us.

We all spoke so much about “silver linings” this year, the things that happened “for us”.  The biggest for me being CLARITY.  Clarity about what’s important.  Clarity about what I want.  Where my time is being spent, where my energy is going.

And unlike years past, this year didn’t just provide an opportunity for, but rather forced me, and many of us, to slow down and evaluate all of these.  To take stock of our priorities. 

With so much of my time and energy going into the kids, our home, JP, and even into just taking care of me – there wasn’t much left to go around.  In many ways, all of my resources felt limited this year.  There was only so much energy and time to go around.  And it became very clear, very quickly, what was important to me.  And even more importantly, what wasn’t.  If it wasn’t a “hell yes”, it became a “hell no”, very quickly.

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One of the best parts about our trip was finding places along the way that felt like home.

We used Airbnb to book all of our homes. It was our first time using Airbnb and we were really happy with all of our homes, especially given everything going on in the world. To be in homes that felt clean, safe and we could feel at “home” is the only thing that made this trip possible for our family.

I’ll share a post soon about our drive out west and our exact itinerary as I know many of you are considering doing something. As well as a post on Southern California, our favorite towns, beaches, hikes and places for great takeout. We found so many little gems I can’t wait to share with all of you.

But for the sake of this post, I’ll just focus on the actual homes we stayed in as that was the question I got most on this trip. Read More

On Monday, JP and I are packing up our car and taking our family on an eight-week road trip, heading west for the Pacific.  8 weeks.  Six people.  Over 6,000 miles. In one car. 

It’s either the best idea we’ve ever had or the worst.  But definitely, one of the two and I’m praying it’s the former.

When JP first brought this idea up to me a few months ago (yes, he gets all the credit for this crazy plan), I immediately loved it.  “Yes, let’s do it.  Let’s put the kids in the car, get out of here, and just go. Go explore.  And see where things take us.”

But within minutes, my mind was already racing with all the reasons it didn’t make sense (and in many ways, still doesn’t).

We have four young kids – three of whom are “supposed” to be in school Monday through Friday.

JP has to work, and this is his busiest time of the year.

We’re trying to save up for a million different home projects. 

How are we getting there? Who’s planning it?  How do we know where to go?  How will the kids do in a car for that long?  Read More

A few weeks ago, as we were approaching the start of e-learning, I found myself second-guessing my parenting.  Second-guessing our choice to keep our kiddos home, and had a swirl of anxiety around our decision.  

It was hard to pinpoint “why” at first because of a mix of emotions.  But I knew it had nothing It had nothing to do with their actual education.  That part I knew we could figure out. 

Instead, I found myself worrying about their social needs. Worrying about how they would do with friends. Not being on “teams” if we weren’t participating in sports.  Worrying if they’d be “left out”, or feel different.

I wasn’t worried about school….I was worried about them not having friends.

It felt as though all I had heard over and over the past few months was how our kids “need to socialize“. How they “need to be with their friends”.  That’s the message I heard over and over.   Read More