Six Months Later: Am I Actually Living More?

Back in February, I wrote a post called Letting Life Be More Than the Daily Grind. I had just returned from an incredible trip to Asia, and I was thinking a lot about how quickly life seems to be moving.

I wrote about wanting more connection, more travel, more adventures, and more actually living. I didn’t want another year to go by where I looked back and realized that most of my days had been spent working, sitting at my computer, and checking things off a list.

Well, here we are six months later, and I thought it might be time to check in with myself.

So, have I done it? Have I actually been living more?

I think I have.

In March, I turned 60 and took my first train trip to Reno. It was something I’d wanted to do, and instead of continuing to say “someday,” my boyfriend booked the tickets. We took the train, spent time in Reno, and had an absolutely wonderful time.

Then came one of the biggest moments of my year. My grandson was born in April, and I went to Oklahoma and stayed for more than three weeks. Three weeks is a long time to step away from home and my normal routine, but I wouldn’t trade that time for anything. I was there for his birth and those precious first weeks of his life. There are some things you just can’t put a price on, and that special time with my family is one of them.

I went back to Oklahoma again in July for a week, and tomorrow I’m heading to Las Vegas for a week. Some of that trip will involve work, because let’s be real, work is still a big part of my life. I’m not trying to get rid of the daily grind completely. I’m just trying to make sure it isn’t the only thing filling my days.

And I’m not done yet.

I’ll be heading to Palm Springs in November for a working retreat, and then I’ll be back in Las Vegas to ring in the New Year with family. I’m also in the very beginning stages of planning a little getaway with someone very special. I’m not sharing the details just yet, but I’m really looking forward to making it happen.

Looking forward, my cousins and I are already talking about 2027. We’re planning a trip to Europe where we’ll travel by rail through Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. My mom says it will be her last hoorah so we want to make it spectacular. It’s still a ways off and we’re only in the planning stages, but even that feels different for me. I’m not just thinking, Wouldn’t that be nice someday? We’re actually planning it. There’s something pretty wonderful about having adventures on the calendar and things to look forward to.

I’ve also been trying to be more intentional about the smaller things. I try to make time at least once a month to have brunch with someone who has been part of my life for a very long time. Sometimes more than a month slips by because, well, life. But I keep coming back to it because I’ve realized that “living more” doesn’t always require a plane ticket, a train ride, or a hotel reservation.

Sometimes it’s brunch, sitting across the table from someone you love and catching up on life. Or, getting on a plane to be there when your grandson enters the world and sometimes it’s simply saying yes when it would be easier to stay home.

I think when I wrote that post in February, part of me imagined “living more” as adding more adventures to my calendar. And yes, I’ve definitely done that. But six months later, I think I understand it a little differently.

It’s really about being intentional with my time.

Work still matters to me. I enjoy what I do, and I’m grateful that much of my work allows me the flexibility to take it with me. But I’m becoming more aware that there will always be another email to answer, another project to finish, another thing that needs to be done. If I wait until everything is finished before I make time for life, I’ll be waiting forever.

Maybe that’s part of why I haven’t written here in more than a month. When I realized how long it had been since my last blog post, my first thought was that I needed to write something. I should be more consistent. I should have something meaningful to say.

There’s that word again. Should.

But then I thought about the post I wrote back in February and everything that’s happened since. I’ve been living. Not perfectly. I’m still working too much sometimes. I still have days when I spend far too many hours sitting in front of this computer. And I’m sure I’ll continue to have to remind myself to close the laptop and go live my life.

But I’m doing it. I’m taking the trips. I’m making the plans. I’m spending time with the people I love. I’m saying yes to experiences. I’m trying to stop putting things off until “someday.”

Six months ago, I said I wanted life to be more than the daily grind.

Six months later, I think I’m getting there.

Journey on strong my friends!