Some Quarantine Birthday Thoughts.

I turned 28 on Tuesday, and what a weird time to be starting a new year of life.

I had the best day. I stayed in my pajamas all day, read books, drank coffee, and online shopped. Had we not been trapped in the house for four weeks, it’s probably what my little introverted heart would have chosen to do anyway.

I think the best part of this time for me is that it’s truly stripping away the things that don’t matter. Traditionally, I use the time around my birthday to set long and lofty goals for the year ahead. It’s something that has served me in the past, but this year, I just didn’t. One, because life is WEIRD right now and I have no idea how to even begin planning for the coming year, and two, this feels like a year of honing in on what’s important, not a year of adding a bunch of stuff.

I’ve seen the quote floating around that says something along the lines of, “When things return to normal, take time to consider which parts of normal are worth returning to” and I LOVE that. I may not know what the coming year looks like, but I know this:

There are things I do not want to return to.

Caring about the opinions of others more than I care about what I want. I’m really hoping 28 is the year I get better at this. My therapist is working with me on undoing years of making decisions based on fear, pleasing others, and other stupid reasons. The mantra she gave me is: I make decisions based on what I want. Seems so simple, right?

Putting pressure on myself for the sake of pressure. I’m a huge fan of personal development. I love growth. But this season has shown me that sometimes I confuse long lists and pushing myself in every single area with growth. I don’t want to do that anymore.

There are things I cannot wait to return to:

Vacations and weekends. The beach. The pool.

Real life dates with friends. Having friends in my house, sitting on my couch, drinking coffee face to face.

Road trips. To literally anywhere.

Browsing! TJ Maxx/Marshal’s/ Target. Smelling all the candles. Touching all the throw pillows.

RESTAURANTS. 

And there are things I want to make sure I bring back to normality with me when I go:

Slowness. The slowness has been uncomfortable for me, but refreshing. I need to carry that over with me back to normal life.

Doing things just because they make me happy. Painting my nails. Reading books. Watching the sunset with a cup of tea. When there’s not an abundance of time, I still need to do these things, because happiness is important.

Checking in with my people more regularly. It’s. So. Easy.

Joy in being comfortable. Guess who’s wearing pajamas every chance she gets? Me.

The knowledge that time not spent accomplishing something is not wasted time. Just because I didn’t mark something off my list doesn’t mean I wasted time.

Is there anything you want to be sure to leave behind or take with you when things go back to normal(ish)??