Eyes on you

“I’m a big believer in winging it. I’m a big believer that you’re never going to find perfect city travel experience or the perfect meal without a constant willingness to experience a bad one.”
― Anthony Bourdain

These days I can’t stop thinking about summer, and how September is all of the sudden here on our doorstep. The walnut tree in my backyard has started to casually drop its leaves, and while it hasn’t issued any press releases about when all of them will fall off at once, it’s getting hard to ignore that the big, beautiful late summer days are starting to be numbered.

I didn’t intend to “wing it” this summer, but I have, and even though the results have been unexpected they’ve been pretty great. That being said, it’s still really difficult to equally welcome the good in with the bad. It’s like inviting guests to a dinner party without knowing if they’ll show up drunk with friends, or a half day early and with a caterer. My comfort zone is definitely where I can guess at my odds, or try to tip the scales in my favour- whose isn’t?

Since I haven’t blogged much this summer, I want to ease back in by sharing some of what’s been going on behind the scenes in my world. And while I’m at it, how I’ve tried to stay true to my theme for 2013 (ease!) by responding to the good & the bad with whatever grace I have to offer in the moment. Admittedly, that isn’t much sometimes! But I’ve done my best to roll with the punches along with the highlights.

The good & the bad of the summer has doled out:

  • I honoured my design work by prioritizing my clients above everything else, including blogging, and created work I truly love from the tips of my toes to the top of my head.
  • After not wanting to “jinx” it for a long time, I celebrated that our new house has no foundation issues and the basement doesn’t leak when it rains! This was a fear drilled into me by our last house, but this summer I fell back in love with thunderstorms.
  • I worked really hard on taking care of myself, and on not to panicking, when a staffer for our design company walked off the job. This ended up being a huge blessing, and made room for a new woman in our business who is a perfect values match for us.
  • I had big honest conversations with my husband that felt scary for me (because I over think things and build them up in my mind!) that have really deepened our communication and connection, and made us more playful and present with each other. I’m proud of us, and it’s really fun!
  • I explored Washington DC and New York, and had an incredible time in both. I fell in love with travel again.
  • I cancelled a trip to Toronto 48 hours before my plane left, because it was the right thing for me to do, even if it was disappointing.
  • I accepted that I didn’t have the energy to blog without a sustained plan for what my blog will look like in the next few years, and after lots of work I celebrated fine tuning my vision for it into something I can’t stop thinking about! Regular posting and re-design to follow this fall :)
  • I was proud of pitches that I made to clients, even when some of them decided not to move forward.
  • I made lots of small efforts to make more friends in my city, and feel incredibly grateful to have new friends I can’t get enough of to show for it.
  • I spent time with my family & practiced gratitude that at this moment, we’re all healthy, happy and able to spend time together.

Being open to the good and the bad isn’t easy stuff, but it’s less difficult when we remember that the people around us are just as swept up in the good and the bad as we are every day. And I think that Anthony Bourdain has it right, without a little chaos you can’t hit the sweet spot of unexpected wonder that we always hope for.

How did you welcome the good with the bad in August? Did you find any moments of unexpected perfection?