There are seasons of life when you are absolutely convinced you are about to conquer the world.
You have plans.
Then, you have lists.
You have ideas.
Then you have approximately 47 tabs open in your brain and somehow believe you’re going to accomplish all of them before lunch.
And then there are other seasons.
The seasons when you look at your to-do list and think, “You know what? Let’s just not get carried away.”
That has been my current vibe.
Not every season is for expansion.
Sometimes a season is for maintenance. Or sometimes it is for getting your footing back underneath you.
Sometimes it is for cleaning up the mess in front of you and refusing to worry about the mess three rooms over.
And sometimes, apparently, it is for pulling weeds while having a minor existential crisis about mulch.
Welcome to my life. 😂
🌿 Not Every Season Is for Expansion
I was out in the front yard recently doing some very glamorous homemaking.
Grass clippings.
Weeds.
Trash.
Mulch.
Nothing about this screamed “lifestyle influencer.”
There were no champagne flutes. No perfectly styled basket of gardening tools.
No linen dress blowing dramatically in the breeze while I thoughtfully contemplated the meaning of life.
There was me, dirt, weeds, sweat and probably several mosquitoes filing formal complaints about my continued existence.
But as I worked, I started thinking about how much pressure we put on ourselves to constantly be expanding.
We should be growing the business.
Starting the project.
Writing the book.
Cleaning the house.
Redecorating the room.
Getting healthier.
Learning something new.
Making more money.
Being more productive.
Organizing the pantry, because apparently the pantry has become a personal referendum on whether you have your life together.
Sometimes I think we’ve collectively decided that if we’re not moving forward at full speed, we’re somehow falling behind.
But what if that’s not true?
What if sometimes you aren’t supposed to be expanding?
What if you’re supposed to be maintaining?
That isn’t failure.
That’s a season.
And frankly, some seasons are better spent making sure the wheels don’t come off than trying to bolt a rocket engine onto the car.
just like the cute new wheels on my little wagon i finally slurged on haha shop here: https://amzn.to/4wUiwMJ
🧹 The Weirdly Satisfying Thing About Pulling Weeds
There is something very satisfying about yard work because weeds are refreshingly uncomplicated.
You see a weed.
You pull the weed.
The weed is gone.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every problem in life worked that way?
Unfortunately, human beings are not weeds.
I have learned this the hard way.
There are situations where you can see the solution very clearly. You can see the next step. Maybe you can explain it. You can encourage somebody. Or you can offer help. You can practically put a neon sign over the correct direction.
And then the other person looks at the neon sign and says, “Nah.”
Well.
Okay then.
😂
That is one of the hardest things about caring about people.
You can love somebody and still not be able to make their decisions for them.
We can show someone the door without being able to make them walk through it.
You can offer a hand without being required to carry the entire person.
And that distinction has been on my mind quite a bit lately.
💛 Knowing What Is Yours to Carry
I think one of the sneakiest forms of exhaustion is carrying things that were never actually yours.
Sometimes, its other people’s choices.
Other people’s expectations.
Or other people’s reactions.
Or even people’s problems.
Possibly even other people’s timelines.
And sometimes… you don’t even realize you’re doing it until you’re completely exhausted and wondering why.
There is a difference between supporting someone and carrying them.
Support says, “I’m here.”
Carrying says, “I’ll take responsibility for getting you where you need to go.”
Those are very different jobs.
And I am increasingly interested in retiring from jobs I never applied for.
😂
That doesn’t mean becoming cold or uncaring.
Quite the opposite.
Sometimes boundaries are what allow you to care without destroying yourself in the process.
You can love someone.
We can hope they make better choices.
You can wish things were different.
We can pray, encourage, listen, offer resources and be supportive.
But eventually, their life belongs to them. If they are going down a destructive path, you don’t have to follow.
Because your life belongs to you.
That realization can be uncomfortable.
It can also be incredibly freeing.
🌱 A Tough Season of Life Doesn’t Have to Become Your Whole Personality
I don’t generally enjoy making videos where I sit down and tell everyone about every difficult thing happening in my life.
It’s just not how I want to live.
Not because difficult things don’t matter.
They do.
But I don’t want the hardest thing happening around me to become the most interesting thing about me.
There is a difference.
I still want to laugh.
You still want to dream.
We still want to build things.
I still want to make my house pretty.
You still want to work.
We still want to create.
And yes, I still want to decorate for autumn approximately six months before the calendar has given me permission.
🍂😂
That is one of the things I have noticed about myself.
When I’m going through a tough season of life, I don’t necessarily need to sit in the middle of it all day analyzing every microscopic detail.
Sometimes I need to go outside.
Or I need to clean something.
Sometimes I need to put on music.
Or I need to make something.
Sometimes I need to laugh at myself.
Or… I need to go look at fall decorations online when it is approximately 900 degrees outside.
These are coping mechanisms.
I’m not saying they’re all clinically recommended.
But, I’m saying they work for me.
😂🎃
🎶 Sometimes You Just Need to Put Your Records On
One of my favorite ways to shift my mood is music.
There is something about putting on a song that changes the atmosphere of a room almost instantly.
And sometimes I don’t need a deep conversation with myself.
I need Corinne Bailey Rae telling me to put my records on.
Girl.
Message received.
Records: going on.
😂🎶
There’s a reason music is such a huge part of my life.
It changes the energy around me.
It can turn cleaning into a dance party, make a boring task feel nostalgic, or completely change the emotional temperature of a room.
And I think that matters during difficult seasons.
You don’t have to deny that something is hard.
You can simply refuse to let it have every minute of your attention.
That’s a very different thing.
☀️ Choosing Peace Is an Active Decision
I used to think peace was something you found when everything around you finally settled down.
I’m not sure I believe that anymore.
Because if you wait for everything outside of you to become peaceful before you allow yourself to feel peaceful, you may be waiting a very long time.
Sometimes choosing peace means deciding what you are not going to engage with.
Not every argument needs a response.
Surely, not every opinion needs correcting.
Not every problem needs solving today.
And not every situation deserves an entire afternoon of mental real estate.
And not every bad day needs to become a bad week.
That last one is important.
I can have a terrible Tuesday without deciding Wednesday needs to join the party.
😂
And besides, the phrase “Not my circus, Not my monkeys” has proved to serve quite well! lol
🏡 Sometimes Taking Care of Your Space Helps You Take Care of Yourself
This is probably one of the reasons I gravitate toward homemaking when life feels chaotic.
There is something grounding about taking care of your environment.
You can’t always control what happens around you.
But you can clean the kitchen.
You can change the sheets.
Pull the weeds.
You can put the mulch down.
Organize a drawer.
You can light a candle.
Make your home feel like somewhere you actually want to be.
Or even dance it out on Thursdays!
And none of those things solve every problem.
But they can give you a little island of control.
Sometimes that’s enough to get you through the day.
🍂 There Is Nothing Wrong With a Maintenance Season
I think we need to stop treating maintenance seasons like they’re somehow inferior.
If you’re rebuilding, you’re not behind.
If you’re resting, you’re not lazy.
Sometimes, it’s simplifying, not failing.
If you’re taking care of the basics, you’re still moving forward.
And if you’re currently in a tough season of life, maybe your job isn’t to figure out the next ten years.
Maybe your job is to figure out today.
What needs your attention?
Or what can wait?
What belongs to you?
Or doesn’t?
What gives you energy?
Or drains it?
What makes you laugh?
Or what makes you feel like yourself again?
Those questions can be surprisingly useful.
🧺 The Decluttering Lesson I Keep Learning
This applies to physical clutter too.
I’ve been decluttering a lot lately, and I keep discovering how much easier it becomes when I stop asking, “Could I possibly use this someday?”
Because technically?
Yes.
I could possibly use almost anything someday.
Like… I could possibly need six old watches.
Orrr, I could possibly need that random pillow.
And its. highly likely that I could possibly need the mystery cord in the drawer that appears to connect to a device that hasn’t existed since 2009.
Could I use it?
Maybe.
Am I using it?
No.
😂
That distinction has been incredibly helpful.
Sometimes the question isn’t whether something could be useful.
It’s whether it is useful enough to deserve the space it’s taking.
And I think we can ask ourselves the same question about the things we carry emotionally…
Is this actually mine?
Is this helping me?
Or is there something I can release?
Because sometimes getting rid of one thing creates room for something better.
Figuratively. Literally.
And emotionally.
🌿 So What Season Are You In?
Maybe you’re in a growth season.
You’re building something exciting.
Maybe you’re cleaning up a mess.
Or you’re starting over.
Maybe you’re maintaining.
Maybe you’re resting.
Or maybe you’re doing a little of all of it because apparently life did not read the memo about keeping things organized into neat categories.
The messy disguised in that tough season of life.
I’m somewhere in that last category myself.
😂
And I’m okay with that.
I don’t need every season to be spectacular.
I don’t need every week to produce a major transformation.
Sometimes I just need to take care of what is directly in front of me, make my little corner of the world a little prettier, put on some music and keep going.
That’s enough.
💬 Your Turn
What season are you in right now?
🍂 Pruning: I’m letting go of things that don’t belong anymore.
🌱 Growing: I’m building something new.
🏡 Maintaining: I’m keeping the basics moving.
🧘 Resting: I’m giving myself permission to slow down.
😂 What season? I have absolutely no idea. I’m just trying to remember why I walked into this room.
And honestly, that last one counts.
If you’re going through a tough season of life, you don’t have to turn it into your entire identity.
You can acknowledge that it’s hard and still look forward.
We can protect your peace and still care.
You can let go of what isn’t yours without becoming heartless.
We can laugh.
You can make things pretty.
We can put your records on.
You can pull some weeds.
You can dream about autumn while standing outside in weather that feels personally offensive.
And you can keep going.
You do NOT need permission.
Maybe don’t sprint.
Or maybe dont expand.
Maybe just maintain.
But you’re still here.
And sometimes, that’s where the next chapter starts.
Visit my Poshmark Closet
Join me over on LIVE Amazon Storefront
Read the latest book release: Harbor Excursions 2: The Offshore Account
