Connecting and Disconnecting

This weekend's girls' trip was a reminder of how important it is to catch up with people face-to-face. Technology makes it easier to stay in touch with loved ones, but it's no substitute for "real life" interaction. Texts and emails and Facebook messages just don't cut it.

We got to spend time together, just hanging out, and I laughed harder than I have in a long time. (Have any of you read some of the personal ads on Craigslist? Read with caution but they were so funny, we were practically in tears!)

And getting out of the city allowed me to disconnect. The quiet of the lake, the snow, was a departure from all the city sounds, computer, and online chatter I'm used to. Aside from our spa appointments and a dinner reservation, there wasn't even a reason to keep an eye on the time.

Since I didn't take pictures this weekend, here's a peek at the desserts I baked and brought: compost cookies and brownies with Reese's peanut butter cups inside!

I also had lunch with my best friend N. yesterday, and we had a long-overdue chat about everything going on in life. Just what I needed. I've been a bit overwhelmed with thoughts of the future, both near and far, and all the uncertainty and where-do-I-start? feelings have made the planner in me a little crazy.

Preparing for the baby's arrival has stirred up all kinds of thoughts and questions about our future plans (how long will we stay in our condo? where would we move? what's the state of our finances?). And it's hard to know what will happen when and what we need to do first. Because most of these things are new for us, they involve a lot of steps, research, Google searches, and tapping into friends and family for advice. We have to decide what to keep, what to store, what to sell, what to buy. We have to think big picture and long term.

When I got home from lunch, I made a long list of all the to-dos in my head and broke things down as much as I could so that I can cross off even the small accomplishments and see my progress. I've already checked a few things off, and it makes me feel good that I'm taking action rather than worrying or wondering. After all, we have a lot to celebrate these days.

I know we'll figure everything out as we go, that we don't have to (and can't!) plan everything. So I'm working on taking small steps and focusing on what's truly important... because connecting with people and disconnecting from the "noise" of daily life will help carry me through anything.