Making Time for Slowing Down

Notes on homecoming, overscheduling, and choosing rest in the middle of it all

Last week we drove our trailer back to the Seattle area, a place we lived and loved for 6 years before going on the road. We have a campground we can stay at that is about 20 minutes from our old home and we love the opportunity to see friends, revisit our favorite places and do practical things like check our mail and visit the dentist. When we come back “home”, it’s always a bit of a whirlwind at first: visiting with friends and family, scheduling dinners and lake evenings and playdates, attending doctor’s appointments. It feels much different than our typical rhythm on the road where we might make a few friends in the campground but spending time together requires no driving and almost no planning: we just send the kids outside to play together every afternoon and might end up around a campfire together in the evenings. Or we might be visiting friends or family in a certain place and any social plans we have center on that one person or family.

When we are back in Washington we have many friends we want to see, many things we want to do, and several things we have to do. It can feel a bit chaotic and is definitely more driving than we are used to in a typical week. Every year I tell myself that I won’t overschedule and overextend myself and every year I still need to pull back from plans because I find myself a bit exhausted from trying to fit it all in.

I have to remind myself to make time for slowing down. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of catching up with old friends and fitting in all our favorite things to do up here: swimming in the lakes and rivers, sailing on the sound, exploring Seattle, berry picking, fishing, hiking, mountain biking. But it is also important to remember what the rhythm of most of our weeks looks like:a few adventure days balanced with a few days at home where we do laundry, go on a campground walk and maybe visit the pool.

I remind myself that we don’t have to do it all: we got to live here for six years and we went on a lot of amazing adventures. Of course we want to see all the people we love when we are up here but that doesn’t mean we have to schedule every minute of our time here.

Being back in the Seattle area also feels a bit like culture shock compared to being in a tiny town on the Oregon coast with only one stop light. The city and the traffic and the people can feel a bit overwhelming compared to the quiet simplicity of a little town on the foggy coast. So I’m embracing the spirit of a small town on the coast and bringing that slowness with me in the midst of a busy schedule and busy place. I’m making time to drink my coffee outside and catch up on my laundry and cook meals at home and read to my kids and write.