The Art of Slowing Down When Life Is Full

My life is full. (In a great way!) Three kids, work, sports practices, piano lessons, school schedules, travel, a home to take care of and a calendar that can start to feel like it belongs to five different people. I guess, technically, it does. Motherhood.

For a long time, I think I pictured “slowing down” as doing less. Fewer plans. Moving to the country. A quiter calendar. Slow morning where you have nowhere to be. That does sound lovely, but isn’t necessarily the choice I wanted for this season of my life.

What I’ve recently learned (and feel compelled to not only share, but build my 12+ year old brand around)is that slowing down can happen right in the middle of your current full life.

Sometimes it looks like putting everyday systems in place so I’m not constantly rushing to “catch up”. Sometimes it’s automating the things that don’t need my attention so I can give more of it to the things that do. It’s having a go-to outfit when I don’t have time to think about what to wear. Read a whole article on that HERE. Setting the table and having a candlelit dinner on a Tuesday. Booking the trip. Sitting down for dinner instead of standing in the kitchen while everyone eats.

None of these make life less full. They just help me be more present inside of it.

I’ve struggled with how to verbalize this feeling for awhile, but after a lot of thought I think it’s this: It’s not always about the number of things on your calendar- it’s about the pace at which you move through them.

A full day doesn’t have to mean a frantic one.

And I think that’s what livable luxury has come to mean to me. Not saving the beautiful things for someday. Not making everyday life more elaborate or expensive. Just finding those small ways to make the life we’re already living feel a little easier and a little more intentional. Maybe this idea of slowing down isn’t about a quiter life. Maybe it’s about learning to be fully present in the one you already have.