Crafty Gemini

Y’all, the weather has been GORGEOUS! We haven’t had to turn on the AC in four days! These breezy, dry and cool days are just amazing. I’ve been playing pickleball every day this week and working on a Halloween quilt that I have LESS THAN 10 DAYS to finish. Have I made all the blocks yet? Nope. Am I starting to question my timeline? A little. 😂 But do I still think I can pull it off?

It’s finally starting to feel a little cooler in the mornings around here, and I LOVE it! I feel alive with the Florida heat but some breezy cool Fall temps are amazing too! Been keeping busy with a little bit of everything lately. I’m back to quilting, squeezing in a few days of pickleball each week, lots of cooking and cleaning and watching my Netflix novelas while I work.

You already know that I’ve been making more time for fun stuff. That also includes hanging out with my friends! When the kids were little, so much of my time and energy revolved around them and their homeschool lessons and play dates. And now, little by little, they don’t need me quite as much. The house is quieter. Everyone has their own schedules, their own activities, their own lives happening. And I’m realizing that this leaves a little more room for my people, too.

I feel like I’m getting better at figuring out what I actually want more of in my life… and what I could stand to live without. I’m slowly letting go of some of the things that feel heavy and forced and adding more of the things that make me happy. Sometimes it’s something big. And sometimes it’s as simple as cleaning the house with the music BLASTING when nobody else is home. 😂 That’s what I did today.

I’ve been working on getting a better schedule in place, y’all. I need a new one that makes room for all the things I have to do, and things I want to do. And let me tell you… it’s tricky. 😂 Ten years ago, I would’ve just crammed it all in. Work super late, get up early, keep going, and not think twice about it. These days, I just can’t. And to be honest, I don’t want to work like that anymore. The tricky part is figuring out how to fit everything in without burning myself out trying to do it all.

One thing I’ve been thinking about lately is how important it is to try new things. I’ll be honest I have never really had a problem in that department. lol. I’ve always been down for trying something new. But I’ve noticed that raising teenagers requires me to push a little more on this idea than I used to when they were younger. Pre-puberty they were ready to try anything! Now, not so much.

Last week, my husband and the kids went to New Orleans to attend his grandmother’s funeral, and it’s one of those things that makes you stop and think about just how short this life really is. We’re all here for a little while and none of us get to know exactly how long that “little while” will be. We might as well make the most of it. The good days. The hard days. The ordinary Tuesday afternoons.

Yup. I know. I missed last week’s newsletter. It was bound to happen. My husband left town for 5 days, life got a little extra busy around here, and by the time I came up for air, the week was over. Sigh. I could’ve spent a bunch of time feeling guilty about it, but instead I decided to just pick up where I left off… and feel just a little bit guilty about it. 🫤 We do this to ourselves way too often.

My son turns 17 tomorrow. SEVENTEEN, y’all. I remember when I was 17 like it was a few years ago. HA! But now I feel like I blinked and somehow the little guy who used to show up in my videos is now almost 6’3″ tall. ūüėā And I think that’s mostly what I’ve been thinking about this week: how quickly things change while we’re busy living.

This week, my 16-year-old son drove himself and his younger sister to high school. Alone. It’s his senior year and I can hardly believe it. But the even bigger shock is that the “baby” of the house is in high school now, too. I was not ready for this. There’s something strange about watching your kids grow up because you can feel two things at once. I’m excited to see who they’re becoming. But there’s also a part of me that’s grieving.