Processing

So, my chin-up attitude about cycle 1 not working imploded Thursday night. I am in a book club, which is super fun and would be more appropriately named wine club. The 4+ glasses of wine I had during book club on Thursday were just what I needed to let my feelings out. After I got home, I just started sobbing in my husband's arms. It was cathartic to get that out and I'm glad I can get on with cycle #2 now.

Brett and I had a great weekend -- we went out with another couple for dinner on Friday night. This couple is super on top of their finances. They have no debt, 6 months of living expenses in savings, and pay 4 times their mortgage every month. I was super impressed by their diligence (and pretty sure they make loads more money than us since we are both in the non-profit field). Anyway, our dinner with them inspired us to spend much of the weekend coming up with some plans for our lives.

I recently read an article in Real Simple about how families should be run more like businesses, meaning that they should have core values and priorities. On Friday night, we brainstormed the traits that we most value and want to pass along to our families. They are: unconditional love, kindness, confidence, health, and learning. When it came time to choose a priority, we both knew that having a baby would be our choice. However, when Brett wrote it down in our notebook, he wrote, "create life." I'd never thought of it that way and it sent shivers up my spine and tears to my eyes. It's such a profound thing to do.

We made two sub-goals: develop healthy habits and make new relationships. Since we've only lived here for six months and have lots of family in town, we haven't done much to expand our social circle.

It was a great exercise for Brett and I to talk through who we want to be and the kind of family we want to create.