When Life Forces You to Pause

Approaching October, Michael + I knew this was going to be one of the busiest months of the year for the two of us. We had events planned every weekend and despite my best efforts to decline a lot of mid-week gatherings (because I just knew last minute things would pop up), our weeks were getting full, too. It was one of those months where you're excited about everything happening individually but if you pause to think about all of it as a collective whole, you get overwhelmed. (Or am I the only person who experiences that feeling?)

Skip to where we started hearing more about Hurricane Matthew and its approach towards Charleston. Now, Michael and I are still fairly new to hurricanes. (We moved to Charleston last year just a couple months before the 1,000 year flood happened, so we're slowly getting used to this new weather, but there is a little more unknown for us than for some of our friends who have weathered more of these literal storms.) As it approached we kept an eye on the weather and talked about options. It was pretty much guaranteed that all of our previous plans for the weekend were canceled, so how did we want to handle the storm?

Because I had a wedding the weekend after the hurricane was scheduled to hit, we decided it would be best for us to evacuate so that I could keep internet. (Side note: it kept occurring to me during this storm how sad it was that internet was an actual priority.) Michael's grandparents live near Atlanta and said we could come chill there, so we loaded up our car with some stuff and Max and headed out for the weekend.

Leaving for the weekend was definitely a good decision (even though our home was perfectly fine when we returned), but I struggled with feeling guilty that I was not going to get everything done that I had previously planned to conquer that weekend. I do not like leaving things unknown (I'm a wedding planner - conquering tasks in advance and preparing for everything is kinda my jam), so being at the lake house and knowing that there were so many things I wasn't going to be able to accomplish was really hard for me. Michael is patient, though, and just encouraged me to find a new routine. He also encouraged me towards finding fun, relaxing things to do with him where we could focus on reconnecting and relaxing instead of spending my time lamenting what I was unable to accomplish. (I am so thankful for his perspective when I'm stressed.)

One of the things I filled our time with was practicing my every day moment photography. Juggling being present in the moment with capturing the moment is a skill I've been wanting to develop, so it was nice to practice in a more low-key setting. These every day moments aren't glamorous or well stylized, but they are mini time capsules of our weekend. Our mornings were slow, we tried new recipes together, I didn't touch makeup, Michael took me to see Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (loved it!), we found a new hiking trail, and tried our hands at some star photography.

In the end, it was a much needed (though forced by circumstances) pause and I'm very thankful for it. (I also have a bunch more photos coming soon.)

Making the most of my circumstances is not something I've always been the best at, but this trip definitely reminded me of its importance.

How do you handle things when life forces you to pause?

xoxo, Stacia

P.S. A very important note to wrap all of this up - my prayers are definitely with everyone who is still working to recover from the devastation the hurricane left behind!