Week two of my summer vacation was spent at home with the intention to restore my love for where I live. Let’s face it, being at home during a pandemic ain’t easy. No matter how much or how little life has changed for us over the past 4-5 months, we’re all feeling a little stuck I think. The world is not functioning as it has before. Things have been turned upside down, stopped, changed, or disappeared altogether. And, whether we’ve been on lockdown, in quarantine, or working as usual, we’ve still all been in our homes a little bit more than usual. It could just be that we are getting a little tired of seeing the same walls. Anyone with me on that?
For me, I’ve been able to cautiously + carefully move about in society since sometime in May/June. Sweden never had a lockdown, I haven’t had to quarantine so far, but Lina + I did self-isolate through April/May, I lose track. We worked from home + chose to stay home except for grocery shopping, visiting my brother-in-law’s family + my soul sister’s family (both families we have seen + met throughout the entire time), and walks around the neighborhood. We both worked from home as well – until I had to return to the school for some days just before vacation.
Needless to say, we love our home, but we are so tired of it. And, we had the privilege of safely getting out of town last week. So, we took a 4 hour drive south in our car + rented a cabin – see all about last week’s deeply restful vacay right here.
But, this week we’re home again. And, to have had a week away did wonders for me. I must admit… I am still a bit tired of everything with this pandemic, but I was determined to use week two of my vacation to restore my love not only for my apartment, but also for where I live (Uppsala, Sweden).
Now, having a car is a game-changer. Back in the spring we were trying to decide whether to renovate our kitchen or buy a car. When the pandemic hit + we saw that life would not be the same for a long while, we chose to get a car. Because then we could at least move about safely… exploring places + not running into people.
Best. Decision. This. Year.
This week, we’ve been at home + continued to rest and take it easy. Restoring my spirit on a whole different level. It’s a whole different ball game to know that I am at home + I don’t have to wake up + work tomorrow. The opportunities seem endless. I can move as slowly as I want. The sense of freedom really does restore + refill my energy. I’ve written, slept, watched YouTube, wandered in the yard, talked with my love, and given myself permission to be “lazy”. I hate that word. I take it back… given myself permission to rest.
We’ve also done some walking around town. We avoided people as much as possible. Stayed outside – except when we needed to go in to a store to look for something. But, we limit our time so as to get back out as soon as possible. And we soaked up the good weather with hometown favorite activities like visiting a brewery/pub.
But, we have used Luna the car quite a few times as well. There have been a couple of spontaneous trips + adventures, both in town + out in the country.
With everything that we have done with week, though, it’s been simple. I’ve been present. And mindful. And so very grateful for this time to just take it minute to minute, deciding what to do based on what I feel. There have been no big, wild, crazy moments. No exotic, out of the ordinary things. Just days at home. To restore my love for where I live. But, more importantly, to restore my soul.
Örsundsbro: cozy little village with a river running through it
Alstabadet: perhaps our new favorite lakeside beach!
Resta gård: a working organic farm from the 1200s
As this week comes to a close, we are gearing up for another out of town adventure. We’re heading (in Luna the car, of course) all the way down south in Sweden. To the southeastern end close to Denmark. We’e rented an Airbnb from an aquaintance (a Methodist minister) from Sunday-Wednesday. He messaged us this week + offered us to stay an extra night (for free!), so we will be gone Saturday-Friday. We leave tomorrow (Sat) and drive a little more than halfway.
It feels like such a luxury and so amazing to be able to have a vacation with just my love. We haven’t traveled anywhere alone in quite some time (way before the pandemic). I am over the moon grateful + excited.
So, while last week I focused on resting + settling into the rhythms of summer, and this week I have wanted to restore my soul, next week I will reset my spirit. I enter my 3rd week of vacation today + I intend for it to be a reset button for, well, everything. I am certain that the inspiration that I will feel is exactly what I need to prepare me to begin to emerge from this very different, yet, very sacred July.
For now, (I am writing this on Friday since I’m traveling tomorrow) I have few more hours/days to continue to restore my love for all of the ordinary things of everyday life. It is, as I often say, in these simple spaces + moments, where medicine + magic + authentic life is found.
Sending love + blessings of restoration for your soul. xoxo. liz.
