Hello again from sometimes sunny again Southwestern Montana!
What's your week looking like?
This week is Spring Break for us and we're going on a trip.
Which, of course, means feelings.
1. Our youngest is in her second-to-last year of high school. Next year she's likely going to want to spend her Spring Break with her friends and not with her parents. (They likely will pitch some kind of road trip that involves a sketchy car and some barely-thawed-to-suddenly-blizzarding mountain passes.) So this may be our last chance for the classic American Spring Break as a family.
Feelings coming up around this: nostalgia, sadness, worry, grief
2. Our trip involves: a 6am flight, two planes, currency exchange, taxi rides, a water ferry, and a long walk carrying backpacks – up.
Feelings: uncertainty, anxiety, excitement, dread, caution
3. Before we're even on the plane there is a full work week and several, dangling, important projects to complete. A daily workout would also be nice, as well as sit down dinners and some chill time. But a Costco trip is essential. A meeting with our house sitter needs to be squeezed in, too. And there's also all the stuff I'm leaving out and forgetting right now...
Feelings: overwhelm, exasperation, agitation, dread, exhaustion
4. You should also know, dear reader, that our floor needs a sweep and a vacuum. Returning from vacation to a cluttered, and actually dirty house, is a real buzzkill. So that's a thing. Is there space and time for cleaning before we go? Doesn't seem like it.
Feelings: bleh, disappointment, stress, dislike
5. Flip flops. Or water shoes, or sandals. You know what's going to happen, right? We'll make a herculean effort to complete a superhuman list of tasks and then, with hours to go before departure, somebody is going to say they don't have the other flip flop, or _________ (insert inconvenient item here).
Feelings: irritation, stress, pre-anxiety
6. An email just came in from our host. We can expect fresh fruit, fresh ceviche, warm weather, a view of the ocean, aaannnd two bonus cats that come with the airbnb.
Feelings: pleasure, gratitude, excitement
7. Our friends got a neighboring airbnb. We've known them over 20 years...They're looking forward to making palm frond hats. We'll eat food and sit on the beach together.
Feelings: delight, affection, enthusiasm, wonder
8. We've never taken a vacation like this.
Feelings: Awe, gratitude, amazement
9. People don't have homes, others are being bombed... Some people have lost all their children. For many others the idea of a break, or a trip, or a chance to relax is not available to them.
Feelings: shame, guilt, distraction, self-consciousness
That's the thing about feelings. They are here. No matter what.
Isn't it astounding that such a wide range can simultaneously occur in any given moment??
What about you, friend?
What are the bullet points of your week? And what feelings do you notice?
(It's such a tender and potent service to ourselves to be still and present with what's true for us right now, and to make the opportunity to listen to our current narratives and name the emotions we feel coming up around them...)
Much love to you – as always,
Natalie and Nathan