Finding Joy

So, my vacation is coming to a close.

Sad, but also not. I'm ready to get back to work.

The nice part was that this was a really balanced vacation. Rob and I set about the tidying task before us, and while we got a shit ton done and it resulted in getting well over half of our stuff (yes, you read that right) in its rightful place at goodwill, we also took time to rest and detach from our respective jobs.

In short, I think this might be the best vacation I've ever had.

I've really started to consider this idea of intentionally practicing joy, and I realized that I do it a good chunk of the time. I find joy in my job, I find joy in my non-work life, and I find joy in my relationships. A lot of changes over the past year have happened in my relationships in particular, and I think without these changes, I actually would feel less joyful. I've been more intentional about the time I spend with others, and this whole experience this week has helped my living space match how I have been feeling inside.

Take my wardrobe, for example. I had all of these clothes, some of which I felt indifferent about, others that I just felt like I had to have as staples in my wardrobe, and I realized that I needed exactly none of these things. So you know what I did? I got rid of about 75% of my wardrobe. No exaggeration WHATSOEVER. 75% of my clothes, gone. I started off feeling pretty nervous, but by the end, I looked at my clothes, and every single item I kept are items that I genuinely love. Not a single placeholder t-shirt to be found. Not a single sweater that I keep "just in case I need something to keep me warm". Only clothes that make me feel good to be wearing them, and only clothes that fit exactly how I want them to.

I also had the opportunity to do some decluttering of other stuff, like my electronics, and I found our wedding and honeymoon pictures. It's so fun to look back on those times and have them all in one place (now) where we can access them anytime we want.

I also unloaded (or will be unloading tomorrow) something huge - I'm submitting my article to its first publication tomorrow. This two and a half-year labor of love, and I have a publishable article. I'm so effing excited about this that I could puke. Even if it doesn't get accepted (which doesn't entirely feel likely, because in discussing it with the editor of the publication at a conference last year, he was more excited about it than I was at that point because I had just started writing), I still got this big huge thing done. I have a few other publications that I can submit to in case it doesn't get accepted, but because the counseling field has this annoying (but understandable) ethical code that says that we can only submit to one publication at a time, I will hit the submit button tomorrow and (hopefully) shove it to the back of my brain for three months.

In the same vein, you know what will bring me joy? If I can figure out how to get my signature in a word document. As soon as I have that part done, it's goin' in.

Fingers crossed! :)