Time to take a time-out for a time-out.

My life is filled with bowling events, baseball practices, lessons, fun dinners and events with friends. Life is fast paced. But there are also moments when I acknowledge the need to slow down. I try to take those moments between the busy ones to intentionally clear my plate.

It’s not easy for me to slow down. These slow-down moments just don’t happen. I have to be intentional about them. For instance: a few weekends ago my family and I went to our dear friend’s wedding in the state of Washington. I extended our trip even though the kids had started school, and I purposefully chose an AirBnB on a lake. I knew by choosing a lake house we couldn’t help but relax and slow down.

It felt like the ultimate end of summer retreat. Smores’ over the campfire by the lake. Canoeing. Basking in the sun in the kayak. Reading. No to-do lists nagging at me.

The lakehouse was really remote. We were surrounded by tall trees that we don’t have in the Midwest.. There were no streetlights and to get anywhere we had to drive long, windy forest roads. It was completely removed from normal life – and it was perfect. I figured, we’re going to the Pacific Northwest, somewhere we don’t go very much, and somewhere with a very different feel from Chicago. I wanted for us to feel immersed in that environment. I’m so glad that I made that choice. Choosing the lake house created precisely the experience I was looking for – and so much more.

The kids really appreciated the quiet and the moment of slowdown – the not bouncing from one thing to the next like we do in our everyday lives. In fact, Jersey became obsessed with kayaking and fishing. It was so cute. My friend Kate, whose family we shared the cabin with for the weekend, showed her how to kayak by herself. She explained why kayaks are so great, telling her, “you can paddle and then when you get tired, you can just relax by leaning back.” That is exactly what she started doing.

Jersey would paddle, paddle, paddle and then when she got tired, she would find a sunny spot on the water and just put her head back to rest. Then, the last day, John went out kayaking with Jersey and they tried fishing. Jersey would cast out the fishing line, and then while she was waiting for a catch, she’d just lean back in her kayak and relax while holding onto the pole. At one point, she looked over at John and said, “I could just do this all day.” It made me want even more of those moments in our life. Because moments on a lake like that – that’s something we never do. Jersey clearly loved that time out. So did Madden. The weather was great. We were outside most of the time, and they were out on the water.  I think it’s really important to build those retreats into life because it’s so easy to get so wrapped up in being busy that we don’t make enough time like that to just rest and relax.

While they were out on the water, I was usually outside in a hammock. Not a scene you’d normally associate me with either, right? But that weekend just created that space. So I hung out (literally) with my Kindle or sat by the outdoor fire and did even more reading. For once, I didn’t have anything that needed to be done. I had the freedom to just get lost in more stories.

That lakehouse was the perfect setting to slow down and feel refreshed, to hit the reset. That is how we all approached it.

This week, I’m also slowing down. Sometimes life just hands you a time out and you don’t have to go scheduling it. That’s okay too. There are times in life when you just have to stop to take care of yourself, accept help, and not feel bad about it. That’s me this week with my knee. Even though this slowdown isn’t by a lake with a fireplace, I think this week on my couch is a good slowdown too – and it’s good for more than just my knee. It’s all in the way that you view it.
 
I’m usually always on the move. Literally. This week it has been kind of nice to not have any other option than moving slowly. I’m embracing this forced slow down as I mend my knee. Last Friday I had Makoplasty surgery where I got a joint replacement thanks to a robot! Slowing down is part of the healing process and it has really brought my attention, and intention, into the slow down. I’ve had time to think, to read, to watch shows on tv (something I never usually do) and just to be.

I’m usually found snuggling on my couch with my dog, Carmen. I haven’t been able to go out much and I haven’t even been pretending to be busy. I know my body literally needs me to move slowly for a little bit of time. I am on a mission to do everything I can to recover as quickly as possible, but I am not going to try to be a superwoman. I went for a drive for the first time yesterday and walked across the street to a friend’s house to get out of the house, but other than that I’m giving myself permission to stop for a beat. I’m taking everything reaalllly slow, and I have enough self-awareness to be okay with that.

Friends have reached out to me, sent cards, flowers, or offered support. I do feel really supported while taking this time out. And I’m definitely not starving over here – executive chef John is off work for a few days and in the house serving up some of the most amazing comfort meals! I am certainly grateful for all that I do have.

I’m also doing ALL the work – no surprise there! I am following all of the doctor’s orders, and doing the exercises everyday. I have a bike I need to ride very slowly five times a day and my progress goes directly to my surgeon, which is actually kind of cool. There’s specific exercises programmed into the bike to strengthen my knee joint and to gradually increase my range of motion. The bike also directly tracks my progress while the setting levels gradually go up each day. On top of that, I’ve had physical therapy appointments at home this week and next week I’m cleared to start outpatient physical therapy. From there, it will be a slow, step by step, build up to regular activity levels again.

Being forced to slow down could be thought of as uncomfortable…or, if you flip the script, accepting that those moments can be just another part of living more intentionally. They’re part of our evolution. Our lives aren’t going to be perfect. Life won’t always look the same. There will be time-out moments when you have to have things like surgeries. That’s not a bad thing though. We can choose to embrace those moments as part of what makes us human. They’re part of the bigger picture, and who we are becoming next. That’s why I wrote a letter to my knee last week before surgery too. I’m grateful for my knee’s part in my journey. I don’t know exactly where it is going to take me in the future – other than those trips to Europe I keep talking about. Ultimately, I don’t feel it’s something I can plan. Instead, I’ll keep living my life intentionally and very intuitively and then I’ll see where we go together…on and off the lanes.

I’m taking things slowly. And whenever you need a moment to take a slow moment – scheduled or unscheduled – embrace it. See what that moment teaches you.