On Tuesday, I set out on an adventure by myself. I came to visit my mom in Nevada. The start of this trip was because of a TV show. As silly as that sounds, it really was.
She and I used to watch Gilmore Girls every Tuesday night when it aired and we frequently enjoyed Café Rio while we were at it. Sometimes when I hear the opening song, I can taste Café Rio! I think we loved it so much because we could relate to it so well. It’s a popular show, which is why they revived it. For us, we connected with it. The premise of the show (if you have been living under a rock) is about a woman who had a baby girl as a teenager and starts with the daughter as a teenager. They are best friends, fast talking and witty, living in a small town.
Well my mom had me when she was just barely 18, still in high school. She did go on to marry my dad and had two more kids after but they did divorce when I was young. My dad has always been in my life consistently though. My family is very fast talking, maybe not at the same level as Lorelai and Rory but especially since moving to Alabama, I have realized how fast I talk; because everyone tells me I have a motor mouth. Anyway, our story is a little different but their relationship was what we really connected with most. It was our thing, a ritual of sorts and I loved it.
Whenever I have rewatched any of the episodes, I want to see my mom. It’s an emotional thing. The ending of the show was abrupt and the last season wasn’t really great. There was a different writer and it was just not the way it felt it “should” be. There was a lot of disappointment in the ending of the series. When Netflix got a revival together, I was stoked! I had this thought of how I’d love to watch it with my mom. I then thought about a surprise visit; maybe setting up to FaceTime one another and watch it together when it aired but then instead of being at my house when we connected, I’d be at her front door. It got me even more excited about the show. Then they announced it was airing the day after Thanksgiving. I was slightly disappointed. I didn’t want to leave my kids and husband for a holiday. Stephen encouraged me to go though and I’m so glad he did.
I set out to plan a surprise visit, enlisting the help of my mom’s husband to ensure the dates worked. I bought my plane tickets and was ready to wait for months. However a few weeks in, I ruined the surprise and accidentally told my mom! Whoops! Oh well, it was fun to plan it with her.
The way my life has been lately, it was a perfectly timed break. I need to reassess somethings and figure out where I am headed. I recently got promoted at work, I’m going back to school in the spring, I do quite a bit of freelance work on the side, we are buying a house, I’m a mom and a wife, etc. It’s been a little crazy. In prepping for this trip, I decided I wanted to reconnect with myself. Take a real break and just take things easy. Practice some things I’ve been interested in, like hand lettering, read a book or two, think on things and just be alone.
So far it has been so wonderful for my soul. I have been able to spend quality time with some family, a couple friends, a previous boss and client. It’s been a different kind of productive and I was even bored for a minute, I can’t remember the last time that has happened outside of an unnecessary work meeting. I’m almost finished with “The Happiest Toddler on the Block” and started “The Light Between Oceans”. I can’t remember the last time I read a book that wasn’t a children’s book. Not that I don’t love those with my kids but sometimes my journey needs to be focused on me. At least a little.
I’m having these thoughts about how I want to live and be. I’m realizing with all the wonderful chaos going on in my life, I don’t really feel present in what I am doing. I think that means I have too much going on. I need to cut some things out and refocus a little. The most important things to me are my family. That means that providing for them is also important which means work and especially the work I love so much is important to me. It’s about finding that balance and cutting the things that are keeping us from our priorities.
I’m not sure what I intended with this post other than an update me and my thoughts. I’d encourage anyone out there to take sometime for yourself. Really connect with you. I think this exercise will be invaluable to me on my journey. I may discuss the Gilmore Girls revival show in another post but for now, I’ll share one of my favorite things from it. Lorelai is telling Rory about how sometimes it’s just a journey, ya know? I love that. I made a little printable on that while practicing some hand lettering. If’ you’d like a free copy, Sometimes it’s just a journey, ya know?
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