2 posts in one day?

Despite having already posted today - I had to post this quote from one of my favorite writers and bloggers - Shauna Niequist, because she mentioned something that really resonated with me.

"David Gergen (Harvard professor, author, former presidential speechwriter, CNN political analyst, all around fascinating person, with, incidentally, fantastic social skills and name recall) said something like this: It’s easy to confuse motion with progress.

Ah. Confusing motion with progress. He was, of course, talking about a president. He wasn’t talking about a mom in Chicago who feels like she spent the last week driving in circles between Baby Gap, Trader Joe’s, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and Costco, over and over. One more gift, one more box of Cheddar Bunnies, one more try at the right outfit.

So maybe today, let’s stop the motion and think about what it would mean to make progress. What can go undone, what it would look like to rest a little, what expectations we’re putting on ourselves that, if we were to let them drop, might just set us free. Let’s learn new solutions to the same old problems."

I guess lately between grocery shopping, working, establishing my company, and all around taking care of life it feels like each day is filled with motion more than progress. When you work in a job that isn't exactly making the world a better place, how do you daily make an effort to grow, to do something kind? What does that look like in the day in day out mundane? The days are going too quickly for me it seems - summer is almost over, and I guess I feel that I haven't spent it as well as I should. As the count down to another pretty freezing Chicago winter begins, I'm thinking I need to have a fresh start.

As a kid, I loooooved the start of a new school year. My favorite part was shopping for school supplies. I would spend the few weeks before school started admiring all my supplies(they were so clean and fresh) and making promises about how this year I was going to get all A's, make new friends, and stay organized. Of course those promises weren't always kept (I stopped getting straight A's in the 3rd grade). But as an adult we miss out on the fresh start of a new school year. We don't get to start over every year. We don't go through the important process of making new goals, reorganizing our lives, and prioritizing our dreams for the upcoming year.

So, while I'm on vacation this next week- I plan on sitting down and working towards a fresh start, talking with my husband about our goals for the new year, and how we can progress and grow rather than just living through the motions of a busy, busy life.