sunny days


Have you ever been to a funeral when it's sunny? Or sick in the summer? Everything about it feels wrong. Even wronger than those events feel in and of themselves. 

It was sunny at my grandma's funeral. And I once had the swine flu for an entire week during the summer. And, selfishly, I couldn't understand why the weather wasn't mourning my loss with rainy tears, or, at the very least, providing a little cloud coverage to shield me from the fact that the rest of the world was still running wild. 


Sometimes, I think I'm afflicted with the opposite of seasonal depression. Possibly, seasonal hyperness. The way the balmy spring and amazingly hot summer effects me feels extreme. I ache for those poor year-round school kids. How do they ever sit inside when the sprinklers are running and pools are overflowing? 

Last night I was talking with a good friend about a relationship that is ending for her. Spring is supposed to be for beginnings. Rebirth and flowers and new relationships and hand holding. How can hers be ending when everything else is blooming? It feels wrong in every way.

But then, after we hung up, she stumbled upon this quote as she was reading (the best book ever) The Great Gatsby:

And I realized that sometimes the stars align, and new relationships blossom right alongside the tulips in April. But other times, life is unexpected. We fall in love in the dead of winter, warming ourselves up to our frozen cores. And sometimes, life is in full swing in the summer - knee high by the Fourth of July, just like Indiana corn. But other times, our adventures are only just beginning in mid-May. Or possibly coming to an end. 

But, as we reminded each other last night, sometimes the only way to make room for something new in our lives is to let something else fade away. Lots of adventures are worth living, but the very best ones deserve all of our hearts, and we have to make space for them. As always, it comes down to math: a little more of this, a little less of that. We allow the right things to take up just enough space in our hearts and soon more and more days feel like sunny days. Even in the dead of winter. 


image, image, image

finally arrived!


After enough emails telling you to do something, it finally clicks: I ought to do this.
 
Alas, I joined Bloglovin!
 
I think I'm actually the last blogger out there to join it since Google Reader went down. But, better late than never, right!?
 
So yaay! All you Bloglovers and ex-Google readers and novices to both (ahem, me!), give me some of the love! :) Please, of course!

{sweet spot}

Yesterday, my friend Katherine told me that whenever she is deciding whether or not to commit to something, she asks herself this question: Is this something I want to do? Or something I feel like I should do?
 
This question aligns with so many of the things I'm trying to accomplish: to be less busy, to stop shoulding, to make time for the things that bring us joy. But there is also something bigger it taps in to. Lately I've been performing a bit of a self audit. I've been making a list of what I love, what makes me happy and what moves me in the direction I hope to go. And then I'm taking the list of everything I do and seeing how they fit together. Does this event move me torward this goal? Does this project, charity, committee, activity move me where I want to go?
 
This is on the heels of a recent formula I heard about finding how to live a fulfilling, happy life. The formula is: 
Doing what you love + what you think the world needs = happiness.
 
 
 
 My brother, Duke, is the perfect example. He loves healthy living and believes in the power our physical health has on our mental health. He also sees a void in the world: people are undereducated, undermotivated and overweight. He took his love, found the gap in the world, and merged them. This weekend he will finish his Masters, and this fall will start his PhD in Sports Psychology. Every day, he's meeting with clients to help them understand how they can live a healthier life. He's performing research and writing dissertations. He's working with entire families to break the cycle of obesity. And I've never seen him this happy. He's living in his sweet spot.
 
 
Everyone should get to live this way!
 
Everyone should be able to do what they love to help make the world a happier, more productive place. Maybe it's your job. Maybe it's your extracurriculars. Maybe you're lucky enough to have both of your happy worlds in one!
 
For me, the formula is helping me keep my activities in check. It's reminding me that just because I can do something, doesn't mean I should. Some things move us forward and others bog us down. And when we can figure out which are which, that's when we're really living in our sweet spots. That's when we're really flying.
 
 
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Chucktown Weekend

 
Our girl Katie is getting married next month, so last weekend we headed to Charleston for her bachelorette party. I'd never been before (love!) and was so happy to have a full weekend to celebrate her soon-to-expire-singleness.
 
Her sister did an amazing job planning a weekend full of activities, but my favorites had to be morning yoga outside, Saturday night out in Charleston, and of course, plenty of typical bachelorette games that need not be photographed.
 
 
 
Katie, thank you for letting us come together to celebrate you! We cannot wait to do it again at your wedding next month!
 
 
{our happy beach house!}