Hi friends. Welcome back to picture love. If you were with me last week, the episode where I shared a letter of love that I wrote to my children, then you probably already know today as I'm recording this. I am officially an empty nester. And you don't have to be a parent in order to relate to facing a new season, a new chapter in life, where maybe you're used to having a certain body or bodies around you who are not Presently in your space, you know, whether it's retirement or a new job or a new home, change is good. That's the only way we can invite growth is with change. And this change is, I haven't slowed down quite honestly enough to really let it sink in probably. The move out went pretty well for my kiddo. There were a few extra tears because this was bittersweet. This is the only physical home she's ever had. For the most part, I raised my kids in this house and we will be moving in the coming months. And so just a lot of milestones all on top of each other and others I haven't even mentioned. And today I found myself and my husband, it's the weekend, it's a holiday weekend here in the States. And I found us just doing so many things after we'd just gotten back from moving her up to Massachusetts and now here it is late at night and I'm exhausted and I realized I didn't really take any time to rest and renew like I should have. But I did do one really good thing for my heart. And I want to share that with you now because maybe you can relate to having missed an opportunity to slow down. And there are other ways that we can feed our soul to rest and renew. And one of the ways is through reminiscing. So whether you can spell it or not, reminiscence is something that's highly, highly, highly Healing for me. And when we reminisce over something that really makes us feel good, there's just such a renewal that can happen by reliving, rediscovering something from the past that we can stand on that joy in the present. And one of the things I did was starting to clean up and do a little maintenance around the house on a tree house, a tree house that my father built for my kids when they were teeny tiny and it's in the backyard. It actually can see it while I'm speaking to you right now. And it was built with so much love and so many happy hours of playtime with friends were had there. And then when my kids got too big to use it, I converted it to a tool shed so that it would continue to get some life in it. Because I do love to garden. And, so now we're getting it all tidied up so that another loving family can live here. And I really, really, really hope that the new people who live here will have little ones who will have happy memories there too, because that would just be great. It feels so good to hand the keys over to another family that would feel the love that was built in the boards of that tree house. And I was an avid scrapbooker. I have been for decades now. But. At the time when my dad built this, I was taking pictures of the process. He did it over the course of a few weekends and it, I think he started in the summer and it finished up in the fall and it's just so cute. I made it as a thank you gift. I made a digital book, printed it for him and kept a copy of the world's greatest tree house. So going out there today and noticing that some of the lattice was cracked and it needed to be removed and he did a scrub down some of the siding and, all that. It just felt so good to just reminisce and put my hands on something my dad built for the, for the kids. And, This kind of reminiscing and those pictures with their faces, they were so little and chubby and the big eyes. And my dad is a perpetual kid. He listens to this episode, this podcast as well. Hi dad. And he built it with so much love and childlike adventurousness and fun and the skill of a man who knows how to use. Power tools and lumber with no hesitation. It's truly part of his legacy of love. And so I'm just very, very grateful for these memories. And while I didn't put my feet up and sip some lemonade and read a book and just slow my body down, I did get my battery recharged by reminiscing over these happy, happy memories. So, I'm going to try to pace myself a little bit better this week because everything will get done when it needs to get done and I don't have to have it all done now. Uh, one of the lessons I am learning every day right now is that life is not about the completed to do list. Life is about. Enjoying the process. Enjoy the unfolding, just like that tree house that just wasn't built in a day. It was built over time with love and, and laughter and mis measurements and recutting wood and figuring it out and plotting and planning and some sandwiches in between. That's what life is. It's, we figure it out as we go along and we can find joy in the little things and the surprises and the delight. And when things go wrong, maybe laughing at ourselves and finding hidden lessons in the unexpected. So I hope you are reminded of some really happy moments of your own that you want to go reminisce over. And share them with somebody you love. And if for some reason you feel compelled to share one of your stories with me, I strongly encourage you to go to the show notes of this episode and fill out the contact form. I would love to hear one of your stories that helps you get grounded when life is a little crazy and And maybe you're a little too tired, or maybe you just need to give your mind a break, and to recall a beautiful story that makes you smile in your heart and on your face is something worth sharing. And I would love to lend my ear to hear your beautiful story too. So I hope that you are reminded to keep picturing love through your reminiscing today. Stay present. Be where your feet are. Is that Ben Rector song? Maybe it's Jason Brass. Those are some of my favorites. And just enjoy the process. Here's to home, wherever that may be. Here's to beautiful new chapters. And here's to the curiosity that comes with being adventurous. And enjoying the process along the way from my heart to yours, happy reminiscing. See you next time.