Recess #8: 31 for 31
Last week was my birthday 🎉
This feels like a very aughts blogger thing to do, but let’s do 31 things for 31 years, which is how old I turned last week! These are simply 31 things I’ve been thinking about as I get another year older. Some of them are life lessons and advice (to myself, mostly), and some are just fun and arbitrary.
When you’re growing up, no one tells you how fulfilling it is to just enjoy mundane things. Weekends with no plans that end up filled with sunny park dates with my toddler, stopping into a local bookstore, spontaneous visits from family or friends, and cooking something simple at home are my absolute favorite.
I don’t have to pretend not to like country music anymore. Blasting Toby Keith in my car lately because a) rest in peace and b) it feels like my childhood.
There truly is almost nothing a little walk outside can’t cure. The more I walk, the more manageable life seems. Can be substituted for simply sitting outside for 10 minutes in a pinch.
Sharing a meal with people you love is the supreme hangout/relationship builder/way to show you care, and you can’t convince me otherwise.
None of us are in competition. The older I get the more I believe in abundance, abundance, abundance in all aspects of life: work, love, friendship, ambition, etc. Someone else’s success will never be my failure, even if we want the same thing.
Change my view: Love languages are BS and everyone wants to be loved in all of those ways. Related: More people should read self-help books that are based on science.
Double-stuff Oreos are the best and only kind. Kind of weird people are still buying the normal ones.
Spending an hour doing whatever you want in the morning is a lot more restful than doing it at night. I barely ever get to do this but I kind of think we (as a society) should prioritize it more.
It’s so much more interesting and fun to talk about things you do like than things you don’t. As a very opinionated person, I need to remember this.
Spending time talking to kids is the best mood booster. My toddler pointed at a sink the other day and purposely called it a “pillow,” and nothing will ever be funnier (until he comes up with his next joke). Smiling thinking about it right now.
Video games are self-care. I’ve come to see them as a form of active rest like reading, baking, or crafting.
Going to the movies alone is the best.
Similarly, going to a bar or restaurant alone with a book is the best.
Celebrating holidays as an adult with kids is my favorite form of celebrating holidays. They’re fun as an adult without kids, they’re amazing when you are a kid, but creating the magic and watching it come to life in their eyes is unmatched.
Therapy is one of the most important things that has ever happened to me.
Sometimes I think about how it feels like my life has become exponentially harder in the past four years—like before I was 27, my problems were a lot smaller, and now they’re usually big hurdles and really tough life stuff. But then I think about who I would be if those things hadn’t happened to me, and I’m really grateful for who I’ve become.
Audiobooks are reading and you shouldn’t listen to anyone who tells you they’re not. Also, reading is not a morally “better” hobby than anything else you like to do with your free time.
There are people out there who don’t have a lot of struggles making the transition to parenthood. That is not the norm. For most of us, it’s one of the hardest things we’ll ever do. And also for most of us, there’s no way to put that experience into words or TikTok videos or a podcast episode. You are not alone, and if it seems like you are, get off social media and text one of your parent friends instead.
Having a little drink ritual to start your day is both incredibly grounding and gives you a sense of control. It has to be something you make, though, not just something you pour into a glass and go.
Sometimes, the books you read and loved as a kid should stay there as good memories and should not be revisited.
You can teach yourself to like almost any food if you eat it enough times and in enough different ways.
You don’t need botox. You don’t need botox. Even if everyone around you gets botox, you don’t need botox.
Aging is beautiful. Not everyone gets to do it.
Every parent says the same thing: Time is a thief. You want to freeze your children where they are, but you also love to watch them get older. It only gets better and better. The same is true for you.
Chocolate chip cookies deserve to be made with semi-sweet chocolate. (Looking at you, Crumbl.) You also don’t need to talk about how much you did or didn’t eat of it in one sitting. You’re allowed to just enjoy cookies.
There is nothing more freeing than creating your own belief system and trusting yourself to make decisions.
It’s okay to change your mind.
Tech that actually makes my life significantly better: a good phone camera, wireless earbuds, a bedside clock with great ambient noise options, and an e-reader. The rest is just fun.
It really doesn’t matter if you’re not caught up on the show that everyone’s talking about. They’ll all move on in a few days and you can try again.
Having something to “train” for every year makes life more fun and exercise more rewarding. It could be an actual race, a specific peak to climb, or a physical accomplishment. Bonus points if you do it with friends.
Almost nothing is really that serious.
Currently
Reading: Everyone seemed to be reading this so I downloaded the audio on Spotify and it’s a funny, lighthearted read for February.
Watching: You know I’m spending my limited TV time on the new season of Love is Blind. I live for it.
Listening: Lil Nas X put out a new single so I’m into MONTERO again and eagerly awaiting his next album.
Eating: We’ve been trying a few different meal services lately because life has been hectic and really loving Hungryroot for speed, simplicity, and kid-friendliness.
Questions, comments, Love is Blind theories? You know what to do.