When we lived in Memphis I romanticized my life heavily. Gardening in the afternoon, eating dinner on the screened in porch with Caleb as music played and string lights were lit. Then we moved to Nashville. In an instant the romanticism of life’s simplicity was gone. Replaced with endless traffic, sirens and lights all hours of the day and night. I had forgotten how to fall in love with the day. I had forgotten how magnificent a cup of coffee on the porch in silence could be at 3pm in the afternoon.

Becoming a mother and moving out of Nashville has catapulted me back into a remembrance of how beautiful it is to simply slow down and enjoy the mundane. Plant the flowers, cut the flowers, or buy the flowers. Stop scrolling, stop sizing up my life with everyone else’s. I caught myself waking up at 4:30am too many times this month knowing I’d be exhausted before Mayne’s bedtime that evening- but I couldn’t sleep any longer in anticipation for the day.

Lying in bed I’d romanticize about the cup of coffee I’d enjoy in the chair by the window- having coffee with God as the sun rose. Social media talks about romanticizing life like it’s something you need to plan out. Articles breakdown 40 Ways to Romanticize Your Life on The Everygirl and we create Pinterest boards acting as inspiration on how to romanticize our lives. It’s not that deep.

Romanticizing life isn’t something you plan. There’s no strategy. It’s the simplest, yet single most difficult thing to do in these modern times. At its core romanticizing life is to be in meditation. Breathing in the little things, reveling in the beauty of nothing special. Everything becomes art, even the messy and mundane.

We used to celebrate life. Beautiful uncomplicated meals, the art of conversation, the joy of the setting sun with a loved one. We’ve lost the ability to live in an attempt to stay connected through technological advances. We’ve forgotten what it is to simply enjoy where we are and with whom we’re sharing the little moments that make up this life.

Just be. That’s where I’m at right now. Not thinking of who I want to become or what I want of this week, month or year. Not comparing myself to who I was or someone else on the internet. Not planning out how to enjoy life. I’m putting away the strategy of learning how to live and replacing it with a celebration of the mundane. It feels like I can finally breathe.

Our grandmothers survived just fine without planning life through a Pinterest board or reading articles like 40 Ways to Romanticize Your Life. I’d argue they were even happier without those things. I’ll ask Bobbie Jean about it next time we talk.