Finding My Rhythm After a Summer on the Go

I knew this summer was different before I ever looked at my calendar & realized how much I’ve actually been on the go.

The funny thing is, I haven’t gotten tired of it.

I’ve loved coming home for my little pit stops, checking on my house & sleeping in my own bed for a few nights. But honestly, it doesn’t take long before I catch myself thinking, Okay, where are we going next?

Being gone so much definitely changed the flow of my days, though. My routines depended on where I was & what I was doing, so coming home again has meant settling back into things I know well while also realizing I don’t necessarily want everything to look exactly the way it did before.

A Life I Never Imagined I’d Be Living

There’s a reason being on the go means so much to me.

I grew up pretty sheltered, & the unknown wasn’t usually presented as something exciting. For a long time, staying close to home & sticking with what I knew felt normal.

Then I got grown & basically said, forget that.

I wanted to go places I had never seen before & experience more of the world for myself. Every once in a while now, I’ll look around wherever I am & think, Wait. This is actually my life. Little me would have never imagined it.

I think that’s part of why I enjoy being somewhere unfamiliar so much now. I can’t always do things exactly the way I would at home, so I have to adjust. Sometimes I end up loving the difference, & sometimes I’m very ready for my own bed by the end of it. Both can be true.

Routine & Rhythm Aren’t the Same Thing

This summer made me realize that my routine & my rhythm aren’t actually the same thing.

My routines are pretty literal. I use reminders, keep up with my calendar & have certain things I usually do in the morning or before bed. When I’m home, there’s a familiar structure to my days.

My rhythm is more about how I move through those things.

When I’m away, I might still read, except now it happens on a plane or curled up in a hotel bed at the end of the day. My mornings change depending on what we’re doing, too. The things that matter to me are still there, they just fit into the day differently.

I’ve realized I don’t need everything to happen the same way for it to still feel like me. Apparently I can survive without recreating my home routine in every hotel room I enter. Growth.

I’m Always Bringing Something Home

I don’t mean souvenirs, although those usually manage to find their way into the suitcase too.

I’m talking about the little things I notice while I’m gone. Travel has shown me how often I do something a certain way simply because that’s how I’ve always done it.

Even food gets me sometimes, which is saying a lot because I know what I like. I’ll try something new & occasionally discover that I love it. Other times I would like my regular order returned to me immediately, thank you very much.

That happens outside of food too. Every now & then, I come across a different way of doing something that actually works better for me. If it still makes sense once I’m home, I keep it.

I like the idea that going somewhere new can actually change something small about the way I live once I’m back. Otherwise I’m basically collecting passport stamps with nothing more to show for it.

& No, It Wasn’t All Sunshine & Rainbows

I loved this summer, but parts of it were genuinely difficult to navigate.

A couple of work-related stretches were much more emotionally demanding than I expected, & some days took a lot out of me. Let’s just say I did not handle every moment with the serenity of a woman floating peacefully through a lavender field.

Some things were HARD.

I don’t want to look back & make an entire season prettier than it actually was simply because I loved it overall. Those moments were part of it, & there are still things from them that I’m figuring out.

Would I have preferred for some of those realizations to arrive under slightly calmer circumstances? Absolutely. But you know how life goes sometimes.

I’m Not Doing a Giant Reset

I know the post-travel reset videos are satisfying, but that’s never really how I come home. I’d rather give myself a few days to settle in & let things fall back into place naturally than turn my return into some full-scale life relaunch.

Finding My Rhythm Again

That’s pretty much where I am right now.

I’m home again, & my days are starting to look familiar. I’ve been enjoying my mornings here & naturally falling back into some of the things I missed while I was away.

& before anyone interprets this as my official retirement from being on the go, please know that I am already ready to leave again.

I love coming home. I also love knowing another trip is eventually coming (which, a huge one is on the horizon).

I’m Just Really Grateful

I’m Just Really Grateful

More than anything, I am so grateful for this summer.

Even with the difficult parts, I still look back at everything I got to experience & think, Geez. I got to live that.

It’s still so wild to me.

So no, I’m not sad that summer is ending soon. If you know me, then you know it isn’t even my favorite season anyway.

I’m very happy to be home right now, & I’m ridiculously excited about what’s coming next.

Stay tuned. You’re not gonna want to miss it!

– L

xx