Things That Are Saving My Life Right Now - Fall 2025

***For a recap of where the idea of these posts originated 

you can click HERE to get caught up*** 

1 - The Gift of Noticing - Instead of crafting a list of New Year's resolutions like I used to, or even coming up with a word for the year, over time I have begun having a word that is specifically for a season. I naturally think of life in seasons anyway, so having a word that grounds me in whatever season I am in has been so helpful. My word for the past few months has been, "notice". With my kids growing older and bigger and even sending one far away, I don't want to miss those little things. But in order not to miss them I first have to notice them! So I think this is where my current word originated. But it isn't just with my kids. I want to be present enough to notice the sunlight flickering in the dancing brown pine needles right before they are dry enough to fall off the tree. I want to notice a sound and stop long enough to at least ponder what is making it. To crunch the loudest leaves on the trail or stop to look at the massive bug on the sidewalk. I want to move slowly and deliberately to take in as much as I possibly can. This practice of noticing has a natural way of slowing me down. We live in such a beautiful world. There is no need to rush through it.

2 - Garmin Watch - A few months ago Josh snagged an amazing deal and gifted me a Garmin Watch so we could train together for a race we are doing in November. I had no idea how much of a game changer it would be. I have been able to train with my heart rate in mind and see certain patterns in things that drain me in my day-to-day that have helped make sense of some health issues. It's been fun to track the progress and learn the runner's math that goes along with different training methods.

3 - Magnesium - One of the HUGE things I noticed with my watch is that it was showing me how poorly I was sleeping. My body was not relaxing enough or releasing the stresses of the day (or years!) long enough for me to recharge for the next day. I was just getting more and more depleted. When I was sick a few years ago one of the things I took was Magnesium. I already put magnesium cream on the bottoms of my feet and on my spine to help with the restless legs and body, but felt like maybe a better, internal dose would help my body relax enough to get the deep sleep my body needed. Ya'll, it has been a night and day difference! I am sleeping all night. I am getting through all my sleep cycles. My body isn't nearly as tense. And I am finally giving my body what it needs to recharge for another day. I am SO stoked that it is working!

4 - Friend Time - Before Rainy moved out we would have "friend time". She'd come in late from work, start her bedtime routine, plop on our bed and say "Hey friends". Sometimes she would just be super chatty and silly. Other times she would need some direct questions to get her talking about something that was on her mind. Sometimes she would just lay there until she absolutely HAD to get up and go to bed as Josh and I drifted off to sleep ourselves. But then she moved...*sigh*. Friend time looks different now, but thanks to FaceTime we still get to have it. Those precious calls from Rain have been just what we need as we continue the daily release of our firstborn into the world. 

5 - A Training Plan - Ya'll, I've been working out the same way for YEARS. But then Josh signed me up for this Spartan Beast and emailed me a 12 week plan and it has been so fun to do something different. I haven't felt this good and this motivated in a while and to train with my best friend is my absolute favorite!

6 - Yellow Blanket - I have this autumn-yellow knitted blanket that I bought last year (or maybe two years ago?) at TJMaxx. There is something about how it feels to the touch. And I know this list is heavy on activity/workout information, but after so much jumping and running my bare feet love being wrapped up in this soft blanket. Sometimes I can't wait to get home, get all cleaned up, and wiggle my toes around in the soft yarn. I guess this sixth thing could actually go under my "notice" category.

7 - The "We Do Not Care" Movement - I actually don't follow people I don't really know or have a direct connection with on Instagram. Ok, after looking back through who I follow there are about five. But I could not help myself with this one lady who began the "We Do Not Care" movement. It is HILARIOUS! I introduced Josh to it last night because one came up in my feed and even he thought it was funny (probably because I fit the category that the posts are aimed at and HE has seen this shift first-hand in me, lol). The older I get the less I care about the micro-management of most everything in life and this follow gives me a good laugh.

8 - Open Intersection - Last June, as in the June of 2024, the intersection up the road closed down. It was supposed to be a "quick" 6-8 week closure to get the work done that they needed to. Now, this is the road that makes heading to pretty much EVERYWHERE for us easier. The kid's school is straight up ahead, the grocery store is just around the corner, and the road leading to most of our lives is so much quicker when we can take a right out of our driveway instead of the left, which leads to 25 mph roads for eternity and zig-zagging through tiny neighborhoods, getting blocked in even MORE traffic from MORE construction in every direction we go. Well, two weeks ago, (1 year and 4 months after closing...but who's counting) it FINALLY reopened! And just like that my life just went from a 10 to a 12 overnight!

9- Reading - At the beginning of this summer I gave my girls the task of finding my summer reading. I was all out of my Christmas List books and was in a bit of a reading slump so I wanted something fun and different. Their first pick was Percy Jackson, obviously. And I tried. I really did. I read the first book but I'm just gonna be honest, I just couldn't get into it. So I asked to try something else. They gave me Six of Crows and I'm loving it. Now, I admit to carrying it around ALL SUMMER LONG in hopes of staring it but it wasn't until just a few weeks ago that I cracked it open and started slowly finding the cracks in my day to fill it with the book. It is nice to be reading again. Something light and interesting but not soul-deep which is what I typically go for. It's nice to be reading again.

10 -  Sunsets - This also might fall into the "notice" category. The day after Josh and I got back from our yearly vacation with his family at the lake we were asking ourselves how we can bottle up that energy and bring it back home. How can we still live in the moment while still living our very full lives? So we asked ourselves what that would look like for us. We realized that sunsets are so beautiful on vacation at the lake that most every night we stop what we are doing and go bask in the brilliant colors and peaceful setting.  But those same sunsets are here in Rolesville! I mean, we've got dozens of pictures over our 16 years in this home to prove it! But why don't we bask in it here like we do at the lake? At that moment we decided that we are going to stop whatever we are doing, whenever it is at all possible, head outside, and just take a few minutes to watch the sunset. It doesn't always happen, but I think it is one of my favorite new practices.