What kind of Fall do I want to have?
Our mornings are starting to feel cooler. Austin is definitely no Madison or Ann Arbor, but I can tell that Fall is in the air. It feels like a natural time to step back and reflect on what kind of year I’m having. And to ask myself: What kind of Fall do I want to have?
The biggest shift I wanted to experience in 2021 was to get “unstuck.” Last year felt like so much was out of my control. When setting my new year intentions, I said, “I am going to stop my 2020-tendency of focusing on what I can’t do because of COVID. Instead, I want to focus on all the things I still can do, despite the situation.”
So far, so good. Matt and I decided to do a cash-out refinance so we could get a vacation house in rural Texas. Although we are still in debt because the appraisal came in lower than we hoped, we have been able to rent out the house when we aren’t using it and cover all of our costs every month. So we are on track to get out of debt within a year.
And when we use it ourselves, it’s gloriously relaxing and joyful!
We also took our first-ever trip to Hawaii this year, which was incredible. I can’t believe I haven’t written a post about it yet 🙁
And parenting coaching, reiki, therapy, and leadership coaching have helped our family dynamic immensely.
So—given how 2/3rds of the year has gone already—what kind of Fall do I want to have?
The top things that come to mind are:
Put a solid exercise routine into place
I’ve been out of the habit of exercising for more than 1.5 years. So getting a solid routine in place (and maintaining it!) will be an important priority for me this Fall.
What else?
Maintain our traditions
The holidays come pretty fast and furious in the Fall. I want to be able to enjoy them stress-free with my family. Here’s what we have on the horizon:
- Halloween Party: We used to do a super low-key party but decided to upgrade last year because of COVID. I think we will do the upgraded version again this year.
- Holiday Books: This year might honestly be the last year our children will find our Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Winter holiday books enjoyable. We will give it a go without any expectations.
- Christmas Countdown Calendar
Requests from My Children
I’m trying not to let my envisioning and planning processes take over our entire family! So I made sure to check in with the boys about what kinds of things they are hoping to make true this Fall. Here are some of their ideas:
- Pumpkin carving
- Planting pumpkin seeds
- Baking an apple crisp
- A Thanksgiving party (on Monday before our friends head out of town)
- Our Annual Fondue Party
Other Thoughts
As I think about what kind of Fall I want to have, I realize that I want to have 1-2 events a month that I’m looking forward to. So September was Labor Day in Bastrop and camping with friends (next weekend). October is Fall Break in Bastrop and our Halloween party. November is my 5-Minute Meal Planning System Retreat and Thanksgiving at Bastrop. December is a week in Florida with my family and a week in California with Matt’s family.
If I wake up with anxiety in the middle of the night, it helps a ton to have something to think about that I’m looking forward to.
Final Thoughts
I also want to go back to our Family Goals for the year and see what we still haven’t accomplished. I’m going to go ahead and schedule these things on my calendar:
- Volunteer to help others at least 3 more times
- Host three more backyard movie nights
- Attend two performances
- Go camping
- Plant 20 trees
In order to fit in these experiences that bring novelty and excitement into my life, I’m going to need to plan ahead and stay organized. Or else it will just feel stressful!