A Beautiful Pause

I am taking a pause from selling flowers for the fall of 2024.  I am not sick, we did not suffer any storm damage at our home, we are not in a season of crisis, and I am not using this as a secret way of closing my business.

This summer, I was the best version of myself while my husband and I were on a trip celebrating our ten-year anniversary.  I wasn’t overwhelmed and I wasn’t stressed.  I was getting plenty of sleep, eating delicious and healthy food, and taking life at a leisurely pace.  

Now, I know it’s not feasible to live continuously in vacation mode (at least not at our income level or life stage), but it did make me rethink my life at home.  What habits and practices could I continue in my daily life?  How could I reduce unnecessary stress?  How could I linger longer with the people I love, the foods I enjoy, and the places that bring me peace?

As I’ve been pondering these questions, I’ve been feeling the need for more space.  

Currently, my life feels like an over-crowded closet.  You know, the one that holds all the things you don’t know what to do with.  The one that has gradually accumulated items over time and becomes more and more full.  Then one day, you open it and finally see it clearly for what it is.  An overwhelming and disorganized mess.

That’s my life, and something must be done.  

I could continue to keep the door closed, but I would still feel the weight of the mess that is hiding inside and pressing against the door.

I could try to rearrange the junk while keeping it in the closet, but you and I both know that won’t actually solve the problem.

If I truly want order,

It. 

all. 

must. 

come. 

out.  

Each item must be sorted individually into categories like keep, toss, donate, and figure-it-out-later (or is that last one just me?!?).  Then, after an all-too-expensive trip for organization supplies, things can be put back into order.

And what a refreshing feeling to have things in order!

But it’s not just that it’s in order, it’s also that the excess has been removed.  The trash has been thrown away, the good things that don’t serve us any more have been given new homes, and the necessary items are now accessible when we need them.

The closet has some breathing room, and it feels as though we do too.

That’s where my life is right now.  

In need of some breathing room.

So, I’m taking a pause from everything that isn’t essential, in order to create a life I actually want to be living.  

I’ll be back again with a freshly organized closet, a renewed perspective, and a healthy motivation to share joy and beauty through flowers.