Advice to our Future Selves

Finish the sentence for me…. If I could tell my future self one thing it would be __________.

Things around here are starting to open back up.  My hairstylist called this week to book appointments for mid-month (we miss you Lori!), clients are starting to book family and senior sessions and the future feels so much more do-able than it did even just last week.

I’m not gonna lie…April was hard.  Okay, hard is the most understated adjective I could have found.

April was a freaking dumpster fire of a month.

Let’s recap:

-I got fired from my writing job through no fault of my own.  (I’ve since been rehired…it’s a long story.  I’m grateful for the opportunity but it was an emotional roller coaster there for a while!)

-I set a personal record for how many times I could use the f-word daily, weekly, and monthly.

-My laugh went from hearty to positively maniacal.

-All my photography jobs were canceled…state FFA convention, soccer pictures, newborn sessions, senior minis, family sessions, school class portraits…gone.  As a family and school photographer in southeastern Wyoming, not having any work was positively unmooring.

-My normally sunny, ebullient daughter was sullen and mean.

So. So. Hard.

But there was also joy.  And laughter.  And growth.  My daughter and I spent a lot of time talking walks and riding bikes.  We sewed together.  We went fishing, discovered some fun Alexa games and crafted as a family.  She learned how to use Zoom and code with her robot.  I made cakes and bread and tortillas from scratch.  I spent evenings driving the backroads and taking shots of pelicans and meadowlarks, which is something I haven’t done in ages.

So in a lot of ways, it was April amazing month.

As we start shifting back toward our normal routines, there are things I want to take with me.  So I would tell my future self this…

• Ask for help. You cannot do it all.  Even when you have all the time in the world and fewer things to do, you still cannot do it all.  Ask for help from your husband, your family, your friends.
• Make time to photograph what makes you happy. Birds, flowers, sunsets, etc.  It doesn’t matter that you aren’t a wildlife photographer.  If it brings you joy, spend some time doing it.  It improves your mood and your skill, even if it’s not something you’ll ever sell.
• Write for yourself. Part of the reason April 2020 was so weird was that you stopped writing.  You are at your best when you have a list of topics, a fresh notebook and a pen in your hand.
• Work less.  Read more.  Vacuum under the bed a little more regularly.

I don’t think any of us will ever be the same again after this period in our lives.  For one, we will probably all keep a good supply of toilet paper on hand regularly.  I also learned how good it feels when I don’t have a To-Do list a thousand items long.  And I’m probably more grateful for things big and small, from the ability to stop and talk to a neighbor on the street to traveling across the country for fun or business.

So friends, let’s hear it.  What advice or wisdom can you take from this time in our lives and give it to your future self?  Are there things you learned and want to carry with you as we resume life?

Write those things down.  Keep them close.  Let’s not forget the beautiful and abundant we enjoyed these last few weeks.  And wash your hands.

Teresa