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| Photo by Trent Erwin on Unsplash |
During the last few months of 2024 and almost the whole of
2025, I spent all my time randomly ping ponging around, putting out metaphorical
fire after fire. These included dealing with the aftermath of a major hurricane,
moving, maintaining and selling our family home while not living in it, unpacking,
renovations, and the death of my horse. I set no goals (is “surviving” a goal?)
and made no real plans for myself, other than trying to get fully unpacked and
settled in to our new and smaller home. The entire year of 2025 is basically a
blur.
And while 2026 is shaping up to be a much calmer year
overall (fingers crossed), I didn’t start it by setting a bunch of big goals
for myself. I did fill out a “26 in 26” list, and set a word for the year, a
phrase, actually, “mend and tend,” and that has been my focus during the first
three months of 2026.
It feels good to have the breathing room to putter around
fixing and cleaning and rearranging. When I got tired, I retreated to the couch.
And though we’re only into the second quarter of the year, I’m
thinking about finishing. Finishing the renovations (kitchen and second
bathroom are up next and they’re the last ones), finishing several courses I’ve
signed up for but haven’t had the time or mental bandwidth to complete,
finishing the unpacking (I only have a box or two left). Even finishing the
sketchbook I took to France in 2018!
It feels like closing tabs in my brain, and that feels good.
You are enough
I still feel the
urge to Make Big Plans, but I know they have to be the right ones, ones that
come from my heart. I read
something in a newsletter from Jenna Kutcher last week that resonated with me:
“What if we just stopped? Like what if the most radical
thing we did heading into Q2 wasn’t a new strategy or a rebrand or another
launch plan, but a single, quiet decision to stop shrinking, to stop performing
wellness and actually live it, to stop building something that looks right and
start building something that feels true.
“You don't need a birthday or a milestone or a sign from the
universe to give yourself permission to recalibrate. The end of a quarter is
enough. This moment is enough. You are enough.”
What has the first quarter of 2026 been like for you?
