I’m back & I’m so excited I could burst!

Hi All,

I can’t believe it is already almost the end of 2022. How does time keep flying by like this?! 

Since I last wrote a lot has happened and I’m really excited to share with you all. I have two lovely little children - Ozzy & Vidalia - my family and I moved to New Orleans, and I am slowly learning how to be a human as a mom in this new, bonkers world. I’m not sure how to identify what in my life has changed because I’ve had two kids and what in my life has changed because the world has changed, but either way the last few years have felt monumental and I am only just now really beginning to understand myself in this new space.

One of the many things that has changed for me is the lack of control I have over my schedule. I used to live by my calendar and, for the most part, I was really good at that. However, when things went awry it would completely throw me off - I would have a hard time emotionally recalibrating and often got really frustrated, angry, and sad. I hated having to reschedule things and would often feel like the day “was a wash” when I had to change course.

Now things go awry all the time (who knew that when you add two more humans into the mix things get unpredictable?!) and I’ve had to create systems to deal with that. It means I have a lot more flex time in my schedule and when something is especially time sensitive I even schedule it into my calendar twice in case the first time doesn’t work out. This means that when something comes up last minute my calendar can usually handle a little disruption, which is good. I’ve also, simply put, had to become less rigid. I love when my days go as planned, but I no longer expect that. I pick 1-2 things per day that absolutely have to happen and as long as those things get done I feel like a superstar. When they don’t get done I feel frustrated, but I remind myself over and over and over again that this is just how life works and tomorrow I get to try again. Some days I do a better job of rolling with the punches than on other days and I try to be nice to myself about that too. I’m not perfect and that’s okay. 

I’ve had to adapt more of a “roll with the punches” attitude with my personal finances too. I’m still mindful about what I spend and am very aware of what is happening in my accounts, but I rely on my systems more than on the active management approach that I preferred pre-2020. Moving to this mostly “set it and forget it” approach has taken time and energy, but now that I’m here I spend less time and headspace on my finances and that feels great! 

I’m curious if others have had similar experiences over the past few years. Do you feel like you’re re-learning who you are? Are you realizing that you need updated systems? Or, are you having the opposite experience? 

XOXO