The end of us living in NYC is a concrete plan, and our move to Michigan in October or December 2020 feels close and yet far away. I have to admit, I’m mostly excited, and that makes me a little sad. When I first moved to NYC, the love affair was very real. Now, I’m ready for more space, the ability to afford real estate, and to expand our family. I hate feeling like I want to be anywhere but here, so I’m on a mission to rekindle the love I felt when I first moved to New York. 

One of the most important things I’ve realized is that when you aren’t taking advantage of the amazing things the city offers, you start to focus on the negative. If I rarely leave my couch on evenings and weekends, it just starts seeming like a couch with very expensive rent. There are so many free or affordable things to do in the city if you go out of your apartment to find them.

One of my plans for the year is to make seasonal bucket lists to force myself to get out and explore the city while staying present. I find that observing the seasons is one of the things that helps me stay grounded in my day to day in the most positive way (unintentional rhyme). This year we have a ton planned for fall, and I’m super excited.

I got this idea from Elsie Larson’s “How I Changed My Life” post on A Beautiful Mess. She talks about how seasonal bucket lists have helped her create a more magical childhood for her daughter. I hope I can use my bucket list to add some magic to my remaining time in New York and adopt this habit to use with my kids someday!

I can’t wait to do a fall summary to see how many of these I can cross off my list!