This past weekend marked two weeks of being back on U.S. soil in the comfort of our own home and routine and daily activities, but I have to tell you something: I’m still struggling.
What am I struggling with exactly?
Well, everything.
For one, I haven’t managed to get back into my daily workout routine (which I so desperately crave and need). I typically wake up early (like it or not) and go to my 5am HIIT class Monday thru Thursday, so I can get it over with and enjoy the rest of my day. Normally, that 4:30am wake-up call feels natural and although I may, at times, be tired and not quite ready for it, I’m eager to get up and move. But since I returned from our trip, all I want to do is lie there in bed contemplating getting up but not actually doing it. Most days, I sleep right through the alarm.
In addition to being off with my workout routine, I just miss our beloved Austria, and being back in Texas feels like a slap in the face. Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for all we have here, yes, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t still ache and yearn for our country and all the people in it that we left behind. I feel like the kid who comes in from the cold outside and won’t take his coat off and allow himself to relax and stay a while. I just want to stay in that place…in those memories just a while longer, and a big part of me never wants to take my coat off and stay.
Truthfully, I didn’t really have a plan in mind for this post. What I did not plan to do was lament, vent and whine about the fact that I’m back home and don’t wanna be. All I know is that my head is spinning and I needed to write. But more importantly, I need to get back into my routines again.
What I’ve found out throughout my life, but also again this year, in a big way, was that we thrive within routines. And whether we like them or not, we need routines to stay our course and continue on the path that leads us where we inevitably need to go.
Last year, in 2018, my word for the year was “Discipline”. I’ve written and talked on my podcast about this before, but I always felt like I lacked discipline to do the things I knew I needed to do, and that was something I knew I needed to change. And so, there I was, fumbling around, trying to learn the art of discipline and create the habits that I knew would benefit me in the long run. Those habits are arbitrary for anyone but me to know, but I do know that I felt happy when I began to incorporate them into my life each and every day, regardless of how I felt about doing them.
That said, I want to commit this second week of July to getting back into routines that help me stay sane and think and feel at my best and help my family feel healthier and happier too. There comes a time that, while we may think we want to coast through the days and weeks of summer without a routine, we desperately need expectation and a schedule that gives us a framework for our days and weeks ahead.
I’ll be sitting down today mapping that out and seeing what that looks like for us. I’m happy to share it with those of you who would like some help getting your summer schedule in place as well.
In any case, thanks for reading! I appreciate you and value your time. If you’re struggling with having a working summer schedule, just know you’re not alone!
xo, Amy
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