The Power of Breaking Routines

Hello, tender friends!

This weekend, several outings broke our normal routine. Breaking your routine can lead to mental clarity and increase creativity, so I was sort of hoping for some solutions to things I’ve been mulling over. I didn’t get that, but I did get a deep sense of peace, which is another kind of big win.

We celebrated July 4th with fireworks on Friday.

On the drive home from fireworks with relatives, we rode with the windows down and let the wind blow through our hair. The summer air was perfect, comfortably warm but not humid. Pops of fireworks crackled across the sky all over town. It was even better than going somewhere to sit and watch fireworks.

On Saturday, we went to the local fair.

Cubby is now tall enough for some of the rides he couldn’t get on last year.

We also rode some old favorites.

And we visited with the farm animals, which never get old.

Then, yesterday, we hiked a local trail by waterfalls.

On the drive home from the hike, Anthony said he was happy that we did the hike even though he was initially not that excited when I was planning it. He said, “Sometimes I get so stuck in the routine of going to work that I don’t want to do different things even on days off because I’m tired. But I’m so glad we came here today, and we should come back again another day this summer.”

I do the same thing. The more stressed out I am from work, and the more I really need to do something different for my mental health, the less likely I am to do so. The same thing happens with exercising and meditating.

But this is my reminder to myself to be intentional about varying our activities.

We went to bed early last night and all slept well, the good kind of tired after a weekend of family fun and a day of family hiking.

Thank you, Lord, for this little family that I love so so much.

Ok, that’s all for today, tender friends! I hope you enjoyed your 4th of July weekend and also did something to break the routine.

Thank you for stopping by, and thank you for sharing!

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