As you may have guessed from my extended absence, I had my baby! He was born about a week before his due date, and we are both healthy. Giving birth was an amazing experience. It was not quite what I expected — my doctor was out of town, my labor was long and I ended up getting an epidural even though I’d hoped to avoid pain meds — but I had an incredible medical and support team, and watching a tiny human emerge from my body was one of the coolest things I have ever been a part of. Read more
Quote of the Week
“We can experience nothing but the present moment, live in no other second of time, and to understand this is as close as we can get to eternal life.”
—P. D. James, The Children of Men
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Baby Coming Soon! What’s Your Advice?
I wanted to post a quick update to say that my posts will likely become a little more erratic and less frequent for a while as I prepare for the arrival of my little one. I’m getting very close to my due date and doing my best to wrap up some loose ends at work and at home before he makes his appearance. I do plan to continue blogging, but the schedule will probably look a little different for a while. If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll subscribe so you can follow me on this journey!
In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to do an open thread of YOUR advice. Readers who have kids, what are your words of wisdom for brand new parents? Share them in the comments below!
Quote of the Week
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”
—Maya Angelou
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I Challenged Myself to the 30-Day Minimalism Game. Here’s How It Went.
Despite paring down my possessions once or twice a year for at least the past eight years, including through six moves, I still often look around my house and feel like it is just too cluttered. Too many knick-knacks means more to dust, too many surfaces to collect things means more time tidying when preparing for company, and all of this adds up to unnecessary stress. I sometimes look at the white, bright, semi-sparse home decor photos trending on Pinterest or in magazine articles and think about how relaxing it would be to live in a more simply furnished, emptier space.
I’ve written before about my struggles with decluttering and owning too much stuff, and guest poster Courtney has shared her journey toward living with less, along with some great tips and inspiration. The mood to declutter tends to strike me around January, both because of the symbolic fresh start of the new year and because I spend more time at home in the winter months. So when I was invited to join a decluttering Facebook group and shortly thereafter heard of a 30-day decluttering challenge originally proposed by the Minimalists, I was motivated to once again assess my belongings and get rid of what wasn’t serving me.