HH Town House Living

I’ve been a coffee drinker since my sophomore year of high school. That’s my whole life. Who knows how drinking multiple coffees a day affected my development?! I know, you coffee lovers (aka the entire country) doesn’t want to hear this, and I’m not here to tell you to stop drinking coffee. I’m actually getting at the fact that in the back of my head for years I had this itch that I should get off it, that it wasn’t good for me specifically, but to quit felt like such death to me, that I couldn’t face it….this might sound ridiculous, but coffee felt like a part of my personality.

I decided to take a break from coffee as a spiritual fast, meaning a restraint to get my internal attention. The focus of the fast itself was “change”. I want change in my life, not because anything is wrong, actually things are so right, but I know there is more potential that I haven’t tapped into and frankly the only block is me! The side effect of no coffee, for me was surprisingly not headaches (well, only a mild one the first day). Frankly, I’ve had the most positive physical changes, my skin is clearer, and more hydrated. The puffiness in my face I was waking up with every morning is gone! I feel my hormones balancing! More than that, I’m feeling different about myself! I feel the ability to change. I don’t feel like an addict. I feel physically and emotionally cleaner!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely planning to drink coffee again. I’m going to have a gorgeous cup of coffee on Easter Sunday. I’ll have gone for 35 days without coffee. After that coffee will be a weekend treat and never again an hourly crutch. By the way, I did not at all plan this as a Lent fast…I haven’t done that since I was a college student. It’s only in writing this that Tyler pointed out to me my fast perfectly coincides with Lent!

Gaining traction with this change has affected so many unexpected areas of my life. It inspired me finally getting back on the workout wagon. It helped me find a better daily schedule for our homeschool requirements. I reached out to an old friend I was a bit estranged with, and I’ve established a better family chore routine. Change is so hard to initiate, but feels SO good once I get going. Where I need this to play out is my struggle with clutter. I’ve always been a little bit of a pack rat. I’ve had a hard time letting go of things that represent past seasons of life. Especially with my kids’ things. If I want change, then I need to change. My goal is by the summer to have the house decluttered and then over the summer to tackle our huge overflowing storage in the attic. It’s my time. I can do it, and if not now, when? If you have a word of wisdom in this area I’d love to hear it. Please leave it in the comments!

P.S. I just want to add that this was “my time” to change. In the past, I’ve tried to skip my third coffee of the day, and it’s been too hard for me! I think this is my moment to focus on lifestyle changes, and I’m so thankful there is a grace present to do it!