We travel messy!
We try, honestly, we do. But no matter how good our intentions may be, we always return from a trip with a car that looks like a frat house after a wild weekend.
In our defense, our trips are not neat little events where we wheel beautifully matched luggage sets containing capsule wardrobes through swanky airport coffee shops.
No.
We travel hard!
We’re usually gone for several weeks, visiting multiple states, navigating vastly variable weather conditions, and requiring clothing for everything from sporting events to church services, beach walks and nice restaurants to wrangling grandkids.
After weeks of hauling our luggage in and out of hotels, Airbnbs, and the homes of family and friends, we’ve collected a jumble of gifts and souvenirs, the remains of numerous coffee/fast food stops, a few lost grandkid toys, and a generous sprinkling of beach sand. It’s just not a pretty sight.
Which is why when we pulled into our driveway after our Spring trip, I sat for a few moments, gathering the courage to open the car door and begin the daunting task of unpacking it all.
Finally, I loaded my arms with as much helter-skelter as I could manage and made my way across the lawn and into the home we’d left behind six weeks earlier.
And that’s when I received a beautiful gift left behind by six-week-younger me.
The living room was completely free of clutter, with vacuum lines still fresh on the rug. Kitchen counters gleamed in the late afternoon sun, and the sink sat empty, every dish washed and a fresh linen towel hanging ready.
I stood still for a moment, honestly shocked. Whose beautiful home had I stumbled into with my armload of chaos?
Then I remembered.
We’d planned to leave on a Tuesday.
After a long winter, the call of warmer climates was loud, and we were in “get out of town” mode. Full steam ahead. Load ‘er up and hit the road. Let’s get a few hours under our belts to make Wednesday’s drive shorter.
That was the plan until we had a heckuva Sunday, a staff party on Monday, and now, on Tuesday afternoon, we faced a thousand details of closing down three businesses and packing for six weeks.
The residue of our busy days lay scattered around us: dirty dishes, overflowing laundry, and a jumble of winter coats, boots, tools, and other contents of the car’s hatch, removed to make room for our luggage. We rambled about the mess, ignoring the fact that ... We. Were. Tired.
At some point in the flurry, one of us ventured a crazy idea. “How about we take the rest of today to get more organized and leave early tomorrow?”
Of course, there was a discussion, for the pros and cons were many. However, in the end, we simply didn’t have any more PUSH left in us that day. We took a deep breath and spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening puttering our way around the house, getting our affairs in order.
After a good night’s sleep, we pulled out of the driveway early Wednesday morning to begin our adventure.
Six weeks later, I walked into the results of that decision.
Dropping my armload, I leaned against the gleaming counter and whispered, “Thank you” to my younger self who had prepared this gentle homecoming for me.
We are always on the way to ourselves.
The decisions we make today become the template for the life we will be living in a few hours, a few days, a few weeks.
We know this! And yet, the details of the day at hand swirl and shout with so much intensity that we rarely have time to think about what we’ll wish we’d done six weeks or six months down the road!
I’ve been home about a month now, but the sweet surprise of that welcome has shifted the way I move through my days. Several times a day, I ask, “What will future Amy wish I’d done?”
Future Amy loves simple things that only take a few seconds to do!
Things like:
* pulling the covers up on the bed and tucking her pjs under the pillow
* returning the shampoo bottles to the cabinet
* wiping toothpaste and hair out of the sink
* rinsing the tea strainer and returning it to the shelf
* opening and sorting the mail each day
* adding electrolytes to her water bottle
* packing a snack for a busy day
It turns out that future Amy also really appreciates it when I:
* go to sleep at a reasonable hour
* stretch in the morning sun
* take a walk a few times a week
* do laundry BEFORE she’s wearing her last pair of underwear
* choose to NOT eat that thing that will bloat her
* leave a few minutes earlier than necessary for appointments
* make choices with her nervous system in mind
* deal with my inner #%$@
Future Amy is deeply invested in these choices because she’s the one who will enjoy the benefits or deal with the fallout down the road!
She watches me take five seconds in the morning to pull up the covers, and I feel her gratitude at having a calm bed to return to at the end of a long day. She winks when I start a load of laundry so that her Grill shirt will be fresh and clean on Monday. She smiles when I pause and watch hummingbirds for a few moments while her cortisol settles. She applauds when I eat well and move my body because she wants to be a healthy, spry old woman.
Through each decision, I’m sprinkling gifts along the path for my future self to discover.
And here is the magical part.
Every act of intentional kindness makes me smile TWICE: When I make the choice, and when future me discovers it!
I’ve begun to think of these little decisions as preparing a kind space for a dear friend. If my best friend were coming to visit, I wouldn’t welcome her into a bed of tangled sheets or expect her to fend for herself with no food plan for the day. I’d make time to do things she loves - even on busy days.
Future Amy is on her way to me, and I want to create a life she’ll love - one that nurtures her body, mind, and spirit. One that she will lean into with a grateful smile when she realizes I cared about her on a busy Tuesday afternoon.
****
Look around your day. What could you do right now that will make your future self smile? How can you show love to the YOU that you’ll be this evening?
Next week?
A few decades from now?
I’ll warn you ... the “Future Me” game can become quite fun to play because, truly, everyone comes out a winner!
Now, go have a week that your future self will HUG you for!
About the Author:
Hello there! I’m Amy, a writer, innkeeper, and accidental restaurant owner living in the Adirondack mountains. After years of building a “successful” life, I’d mostly succeeded in being exhausted and depressed. I realized the ache inside was a longing for a beautiful life – for magic in the middle of ordinary days, since those are the kind I keep having!
Pour some tea and stay awhile in this gentle space where I share essays, meditations, and practices for tired hearts longing to live in a more beautiful life.
Go Deeper:
Read my book: The Blessed Home – How Your Words Can Heal Your Home
Download my free Gather the Magic “Treasure Map” to help train your brain to spot the magic dancing in the corners of your ordinary day.
My website: www.amyjae.com
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