I found myself in the shower just about an hour ago thinking about what I will write in my next Sacred Sundays blog post, and then I realize today is in fact a Sacred Sunday. For subscribers and returning readers, welcome back to another opportunity for us to reconnect over our monthly check-ins. For first-time readers of this series, I dedicate the last Sunday of every month to writing a blog post on my current life and mindset standings in which I discuss within a reflection of my previous month and intentions for the upcoming. I encourage you all to make a cup of coffee (or beverage of choice) before you read and try to take part in some introspection of your own, specifically on welcoming change in with the well-anticipated season that is beginning to grace us. Today is the last day of May: life is simple, I do not have any complaints, I am looking forward to the future, and I am grateful for the present.
It is rather ironic how I always tend to have an amazing day on a Sacred Sunday, even when I am unaware of its presence like today. While waking up at 7:18 with only ten minutes, which turned into twenty, to get ready for a shift that just seemed to drag on forever was not the most ideal, I am having an amazingly nourishing day. After work, I needed to relax and was taking any excuse to enjoy the weather, so I read a bit of My Year of Rest and Relaxation while in the hot tub and laying out in the sun. I think reading a book with such depressing content, I mean just think about what an entire year of rest and relaxation would really do to you, actually encouraged me to do the opposite. I randomly got the urge to run a mile, and if you know me this is weird, but I was not in the mood for a hike because it would take too long and I needed to do something active immediately. I didn't run a fast mile, but nevertheless, I ran a mile, and now I am one step closer to not having an asthma attack while climbing Mount Rainier next month.
This motivated lifestyle where I work, relax, read, exercise, and write a blog post all in one day without feeling like I am loaded down with burdens is freeing and that is how I want to spend my summer. I was listening to a podcast the other day while hiking and they were talking about the idea of changing up your routines with the changes in the seasons as we have already started to wear lighter colors, and spend more time outdoors, and we actually do naturally change our routines, just not necessarily purposely. Before the summer officially starts I want to set intentions and routines that will help me flourish the most so I can get what I want to get out of this summer. Every summer morning I have these slow starts out on the back deck either in the hammock or rocking chair where I will sip my coffee, eat breakfast, read a book, and possibly write. I have had this set summer morning routine since 2019 and it is so important to me and how the rest of my day will be because that first hour really defines how the forthcoming will appear as. Overall, in summer I want to slow down, despite my insanely busy month of June that is creeping up, because it is my last summer before college. I want to spend time with the people who make me feel good, I want to prioritize myself, and I will live every moment to the absolute fullest. Today was a really good transition into that routine where I am setting aside time for myself, my hobbies, and my wellbeing.
To continue this theme of embracing change, my lifestyle in itself is about to change tremendously and it is finally starting to feel real. Yesterday I met my college roommate and I have less than three months until I move two and a half hours away to a new place with thousands of new people. I feel like I bring this up every Sacred Sunday, but so be it because it is true and has such an impact on how I am currently viewing my life. I feel like I have always viewed my life in sections of pre-college and post-high school where there is that big bolded line separating my youth and the person I will one day be. I do not know what to do with myself as I am currently wavering somewhere along that border, secretly dreading my last two assignments of high school purely because they are my last ones, while simultaneously counting down the days until graduation. There really is no other way to say it besides plainly bittersweet. I cannot wait to see the opportunities that will come my way in college like how my writing is going to improve, the lifelong friends I will meet, and the experiences that will shape me into who I am meant to be. All this is great but I don't know if I am ready to leave my best friend behind, ready to make new friends at all, be so far from everything I have ever known, and face the fact that I am growing up.
I feel like I am getting to the point of this post where it may soon become too much introspection surfacing so I will leave it here with a quick wrap-up. January was an escape, February I felt everything, March was balance, April and May were slow, and now June shall be a month of gratitude to soak up the naively exciting nature of standing on this threshold to my future. Thank you for reading this month's Sacred Sunday and I have a feeling the next one will creep up on me even faster so I will see you all again soon.
-Emma Claire