I got married!

My first newsletter that is actually about "quiet time."

Wanna hear something weird? I’m a wife! (Photo credit: my dear friend Courtney Repko)

On September 28, I got married! It was simultaneously one of the most challenging and rewarding things I’ve ever done. I don’t think I’ll recognize the full effects of it all for months or years to come. Before we’d even gotten engaged, the idea of planning a wedding felt too daunting to me. It was a challenge that many parts of me didn’t feel was worth pursuing. “We could skip all of that noise and just go to the courthouse,” I thought. “That’s the right decision for so many people, what if I’m one of them?” But Tom wisely knew that if we went that route, we'd be left to wonder what could have been. So we had a wedding, and I am very glad we did.

After the wedding, we spent a few more days on the farm (which deserves its own post because I’m still processing the magic of that place) and then headed to a tiny house in the woods for a few more days of rest. The tiny house offers a lockbox where guests are encouraged to store their phones during their stay, promoting a truly disconnected experience. I was determined, long before saying 'I do,' that I wanted to tackle this challenge and reset after such a prolonged high-stress time of my life. When was the last time I went more than a few hours without looking at a screen? I expected it to feel more like a challenge, but instead, it felt essential—like when a body cries out for a fresh vegetable following an indulgent fast food period. My brain was screaming, “Laura! For the love of god, give me a break!”

I packed some reading and a coloring book for entertainment, however, I mostly just rested and gazed at the trees and sky. This allowed me to reflect on the wedding and the overwhelming love I experienced from and for so many people. And the days went slowly. I can’t remember the last time days felt long in a good way. I felt grounded and peaceful.

So now my goal is to carry on some of that into my everyday life. I’ve just come off of my first week back to my normal routine, overwhelmed by a demanding workload, post-wedding duties, and all the tasks I neglected beforehand due to wedding anxiety. Carrying on the grounding feelings is much easier said than done.

When I opened my Substack today for the first time in weeks (oh gosh has it been months?!), the first post I saw, published by a writer and all-around admirable human Suleika Jaouad, was called “Slow Living.” I knew what I needed to write about today.

🐌 So this week’s recommendation is: find a way to slow down. For me, small things I can do are walk Ginger around the block and leave my phone at home, wash the dishes without listening to a podcast, or spend 20 minutes attending to my plants with only my thoughts for entertainment (scary). Realistically, listening to a podcast while coloring in my coloring book feels like a step in the right direction compared to playing a game on my phone.

🐕 Ginger of the Week:

The queen of slow living at our tiny house

Thank you for reading and indulging me,

Laura