Hello world!
It’s been almost 20 years since “Hello world!” titled my very first WordPress blog post, as it has for so many new bloggers.
Back then, I was a 20-something navigating the start of adulthood in Washington D.C. Restless with the monotony of adult life, I used the pages of that blog to chronicle my efforts to complete a 25 before 25 list, looking to do, have, and experience MORE in life.
That ethos shaped so much of my life over the last 20 years: always searching for the new, different, better — convinced that the life I wanted was just on the other side of whatever came next, all the while forgetting to savor the here and now.
That drive took me from Washington D.C. to rural Texas to farm. It led me to start a business, reinvent my career more than once, move from house to house and city to city, and book almost any trip that promised a change of scenery. For so long, I believed those adventures were where life happened … and more than that, I thought they were what made me feel alive.
Now, as a newly turned 40 year old with the gift of hindsight, I can see that those grand adventures weren’t giving me something I couldn’t have at home. Instead, they were reminding me of what is possible wherever I am.
The relaxation I felt in Costa Rica, the meal I savored in Italy, and the beauty I marveled at in Paris – none of those experiences were really about geography. They were special because I made room for the things that make life feel rich and full.
So, as I start this blog, I’m done waiting for the next adventure to make life feel full. Instead, I want to live my everyday making the mundane memorable.
If you too have ever caught yourself waiting for life to begin after the next promotion, the next vacation, the next move, or the next season, I hope you’ll find ideas, inspiration, and practical ways to remember that the best parts of life aren’t waiting somewhere else.
Here, we’ll cook meals worth lingering over, grow things, gather people, and bring a little more beauty, joy, and intention into ordinary days.
And with that, Julia, not in Paris, says, “Hello, world!”
