Happy Monday! While you’re reading this, I am likely napping after my double-layover-red-eye flight home from Portland. Keep my sleep schedule and my sanity in your thots and prayers, please. And as always, if you’re new and want to check out my previous issues, you can do so here.

In my last newsletter, I wrote about the need for rest in a world where I was back to over-scheduling and over-committing myself. At the time of writing it, I was exhausted in every quadrant of my life — physical, mental, spiritual, and social — and didn’t even think about the fact that I would be spending the entire last week of July on vacation in Portland, OR.

I have never been someone who relaxes on vacation. Instilled in me by my dad, whether he meant to teach me these things or not, vacation and travel have been one of my highest stressors for most of my life. My dad taught me to always be vigilant for crime or attack (meaning I’m searching for every exit and planning my escape in every room I enter), not to waste time by moving slowly (so we speed walk everywhere, from the airport to museums) or sleeping in, and that making the wrong turn or missing an exit is one of the absolute worst things that could happen while traveling.

Over the years, he’s begun to calm down and take travel less seriously, but I’ve struggled letting go of the exhausting nature of Harrison Family Travel. I find it hard to let go of set plans and I rarely allow myself to just sit. On our first day in Portland, when I led us in the wrong direction for a few blocks, I couldn’t stop beating myself up for “wasting” 10 minutes of our time and making us walk out of the way.

But I really focused on rest and listening to my body, despite my mind and neural pathways screaming at my to keep going. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely had my moments, but focusing on rest this week did help break some of my overly-stressful vacation habits. And although I often find it hard to ever come back from vacation well-rested, I am trying to believe I’m leaving this week with a calmer demeanor than I entered it. Or maybe that’s all the CBD Kombucha talking.

Talk soon,

Emily

The Recipe Breakdown

Lemon: Tired, exhausted, and overcommitted. I’ve been busy and tired and stressed and I’m sick of it (but also mostly unwilling to change my ways).

Ingredient #1: A hard log-off. But like, actually. Rarely do I actually log off. Even from work, I’m usually watching and waiting for someone to need me. But this week, I really did it. I posted some Portland sights to my story, but beyond taking pictures, I was rarely on social media, we didn’t watch TV (yes, I missed the Olympics, but oh well), and I didn’t check Slack for four days straight (a new record!!). It took a lot of conscious effort and some getting used to, but overall, I think taking the break and letting go of some responsibility definitely changed my week for the better.

Ingredient #2: Finding joy in rest. Tbh, I don’t think I would’ve discovered this ingredient if it wasn’t for the absolutely addicting book I was reading (In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado!!!!). But because I was reading this book, I took every spare moment we had as an opportunity to sit, get cozy, and read. Soon, this became a daily practice. And it helped me become more flexible, too! If the day was getting exhausting, I felt fine skipping our planned events so I could continue to sit and read. Definitely a win-win.

Ingredient #3: Journaling. A lot of people assume I am someone who journals. Unfortunately, with the exception of my one-line-a-day journal, I don’t. I’ve always wanted to be a journal person, but I’ve never stuck to it…until this trip! My friend Katie, who joined me on this trip, bought me a journal to keep track of our travel adventures. And I actually used it! Throughout the trip, it became a nighttime ritual of sitting, reflecting on the day’s events, and writing it out. Really hoping this one sticks!

Want to talk about your own lemons, ingredients, or lemonade recipes? Feel free to reply to this email!

🍋 Lemon Zest 🍋

The Little Things that help make my days a little brighter 💕

🎵 My partner and I finished Euphoria a few weeks ago, and I haven’t been able to stop listening to the soundtrack. Mt. Everest by Labrinth literally plays in my head 24/7 now.

📝 A planner PLUS themed monthly challenges? My dream. Bought the Unfuck Your Year planner immediately.

🥤 While in Portland, we fell in love with the SOMA Kombucha Taproom. I, in particular, fell in love with their CBD Wellness Water.

📚 I’ve been reading a lot of good books lately. My last few were dark, but with beautifully relatable prose: Animal, My Dark Vanessa, and In the Dream House.

📧 I wouldn’t say Katie Couric’s daily newsletter has changed my life, but it is nice to get a brief overview of the news in a pretty inoffensive and easily digestible way.

💭 My Career Has Barely Started & I Already Have Ambition Burnout. Same.

🍦 This long-read on the McDonald’s ice cream machines is a few month old, but continues to be a ridiculous story.

☕ Thank you to Maddy for buying me coffee! If you’d like to support my work and Making Lemonade, consider buying me a coffee or sending a few dollars my way via Venmo: @emmyfromminny! ☕