Why I Skipped Last Week's Newsletter

You might have noticed something missing last week - my usual newsletter didn’t arrive in your inbox.

Turns out, it completely slipped my mind to write it - we were in New York, working on finishing touches on our land before we handed it over to our management company to open it up to renters & I was on a completely different schedule than I normally am.

Past Lauren would have beaten herself up for days for not keeping her commitment to herself or “giving up” on something that I told you I would do. But, current Lauren has learned a practice that helps me determine how to have grace for myself & keep my commitments (the key to being consistent in anything you do) so that I can do the things that make me feel my best & create a life that is meaningful to me.

Before I tell you what that practice is & how I used it recently, I wanted you to be one of the first people to know the name of our property in New York.

We had originally thought we would just reference our airstream as Maggie, but as we started developing the land, experiencing the peace & intentional simplicity there, we felt like the property itself needed a name. Something that would capture the feeling we want each of our guests to have, because it is the feeling we have personally experienced from when we set foot on the muddy mess 1.5 years ago, and as we drove away this weekend with our phase 1 done.

Our friends own two properties out there, one named Wildwood & one named Fall Brook. We loved the quiet serenity that comes with each of those names & they fit their prospective properties so well. We wanted our name to feel the same.

After a long bout of trial & error of trying to figure out what to name it, which I imagine is the same as naming a child, we landed on a name that brought both of us to tears & created a settled peaceful feeling in us both. That “yes” that has come with every step in this entire process.

Evermore.

For us, it’s more than just a name. It’s a reminder of the enduring peace and clarity we’ve found in this space. A reflection of the stillness that remains long after we’ve left. Our hope is that every guest feels the same sense of coming home to ourselves.

The definition of Evermore is “forever, always, eternally”. We loved it’s poetic feel - nodding to something that is enduring - a continuous gentle permanence. As we thought about the feeling we have had even after we left our property, it’s been this lasting peace, a feeling of self-discovery, a clarity that only comes when you step outside of your everyday & make room for quiet & rest.

That is what we want for every guest that stays. For what we have created to be the welcoming space that naturally creates an awakening & a sense of coming home to themselves. We wrote a note in our guestbook to share our hopes with each person:

So I hope that in the coming months, you’ll be able to visit Evermore & have a sense of coming home.

So, what happened last week?

If you don’t know this about me, I love the perfect balance between having a framework of a schedule, but that also allows flexibility. I call it “structured flexibility”. When it comes to my process for writing & posting my newsletter, I have a goal to write it the Thursday before the Tuesday it’s posted. Most of the time that happens, but I also have a few days buffer in case something comes up in my schedule or maybe the words just don’t come to me on a Thursday. It’s been a really wonderful routine for me because I feel such a sense of accomplishment when my newsletter hits my inbox on Tuesday morning, knowing that I didn’t write it that day. I planned ahead, I kept my commitment to myself, & I scheduled it so that my time & mind is free to do more things that I want to do.

Last week, we traveled to New York on a Thursday (writing day) & immediately hit the ground running with dealing with unexpected challenges (the wrong gravel was put down in the pergola area and we were sent the wrong cartridge replacement for our kitchen faucet that was damaged when our pipes froze last winter). On top of those challenges, we had ALOT to do before we left the following Tuesday. Those 5 days were filled with 11 hour days outside & the time went by incredibly fast.

Throughout our time there, i kept thinking “I need to write my newsletter” but I also knew I had a buffer of time. Then, as we were standing in our friend’s kitchen at 11am on Tuesday morning - I realized that I hadn’t written my newsletter yet & it was past the time I normally schedule it to be sent out.

So I was at a crossroads… In that moment I was INCREDIBLY mentally & physically exhausted from all we had done & endured that past week. I had somewhat of an idea of what I wanted to share, but felt a block in getting it down into words. I knew my mind had to rest because our days after getting home were also very busy. Do I go ahead & write a short newsletter to keep my cadence of a weekly newsletter? Do I post it later this week? Do I just skip it all together?

In these crossroads moments, it can be hard to choose the decision that is right for you. To separate out what you truly want vs what you believe other’s want. To not put your hopes, dreams & commitments to yourself on the back burner but to also not burn yourself out.

In moments like these, I do an internal check-in.

I pause & ask:
- What will make me feel my best?
- What will give me a sense of accomplishment?
- What honors me & my dreams the most?

Not thinking about what is easiest, but what is most beneficial for the person I want to be & the life I want to create?

If I went ahead and wrote a short newsletter to keep the cadence I had committed to - I knew it wouldn’t have time to give my brain a break before hitting the ground running again once we got home. It would take away from the precious time we had with friends that we deeply care about. I wouldn’t write about the topic I had in mind in the way that I wanted to, which wouldn’t be fair to you. Sometimes, it’s good for me to push through and have something done vs something perfect - but in this moment, it didn’t feel like the right move.

If I posted it later that week - it would take away from the space to create the newsletter for the following week. It would disrupt the cadence that I appreciate so much, making the newsletter feel more like a chore than an overflow of thoughts & feelings.

If I skipped it all together - it would protect my energy & peace for the following weeks newsletter. It would give me time to think about the next topic I would want to share. It would give me time to be present with friends & to be prepared to take on the rest of the week. It would keep me in a state of flow & ease.

I ultimately decided to skip last week’s newsletter to make space for creating this one. And just as I thought, a better idea for the topic came to me. I am sitting here on a Thursday, writing this post & it feels so good.

Sometimes, when I do that same type of check-in, with another situation, but the same options, the one that feels best ends up being one of the other two. I would say that very rarely do I skip something, mostly because i feel better when I go ahead & do it. If I were to skip it, it would put me in a spiral of negative thoughts. But this time, skipping it was the right choice to continue to be present & energized in other aspects of my life.

Put It Into Practice

The next time you find yourself at a crossroads of not being able to do the things that you had committed to for yourself, use this internal check-in to make the decision that feels right to future you & not the one that is easiest.

It’s always good to create this intentional pause to keep you from settling back into what you always do whether it’s pushing yourself to burnout or putting other people’s needs before yours time and time again.

If this was helpful, please let me know! I always appreciate hearing how what I share has impacted you 🧡

Cheers,

Lauren

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• Right now, I am wearing this necklace to remind myself to be grateful for every season I find myself in while also bringing positivity & balance

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