The Reset I Need

Part one of two: permission to step away

I'm going away with Lilly | The Commonplace Circle this weekend. Three(ish) books, a hotel room, phone off. What I actually want is two days where nothing needs me.

Here’s the thing about being a busy mother: rest doesn’t just happen. You have to claim it. You have to be intentional about it. You have to say out loud, “I need this,” and then actually do it without the guilt.

When I got back from Europe a few months ago, I came back on fire. Refreshed, creative, confident. I had the space to find myself again. And then real life happened. The noise crept back in. The busy days, the scrolling, the pressure, the doubt. That spark slowly faded because life. Even trying to protect it, I still found myself slipping.

So this weekend is intentional. Time carved out for a reset that I truly need. Between the constant consumption of fast content and already being an overstimulated mother, I often need resets. A way to clear my head, journal, read uninterrupted, and just not have to cook, clean or take care of anyone but myself for the whole weekend. I will come back hopefully on fire, like I did when I came back from Europe, my cup refilled for my family. Lilly and I are meeting at Whole Foods to curate snacks together. We're going out one night, getting cocktails, taking photo booth pictures, hitting our local bookstore. We're waking up slow, journaling, doing blackout poetry and collaging, moving our bodies, reading all day. We plan to be pure lazy most of the time, coffee, books, face masks, just being in the hotel room creating and reading without the world demanding anything from us.

And here’s what I want to say to you: you don’t need a big budget or a fancy trip to reset. Forty-eight hours is a beautiful time to unwind, but you’d be surprised at what just a day retreat in your bedroom would do for you. Maybe that’s a Saturday with your supportive partner bringing you food and snacks while you read a book cover to cover, uninterrupted. Maybe it’s a skincare routine and silence and permission to just be without producing anything. Doesn’t matter what it looks like or how long it lasts, it still counts.

I personally need resets often. And I used to feel shame about that, like I should be able to just keep going, keep pushing, keep showing up without needing to step back. But I don’t need to apologize for needing to refill my cup. I’m done pretending that rest is lazy. Rest is resistance. Rest is how you protect the spark.

This weekend costs us almost nothing because we’re doing it locally, off-season. Two nights at a hotel that’s basically down the street, snacks we love, books we’ve been dying to read. That’s it.

Lilly and I had agreed on bringing three books, but I’m throwing a few more in my bag because your girl is a mood reader and you just never know. I’m actually curious to see how much reading we’ll get done. Here’s what’s coming with me:

• Into the Blue by Emma Brody

• My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

• Grape Juice by Eliza Dumais

• A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

• The Passion According to G.H. by Clarice Lispector

• Finding Grace by Loretta Rothschild

I’m bringing a comfortable outfit and one cute outfit for Friday night. I’m bringing my journals and supplies for collaging and blackout poetry. I’m bringing face masks and eye masks and the intention to not check my phone unless it’s to post here and there, but mostly to just disappear into this weekend.

If you need a reset, give yourself permission. Your rest matters just as much as everything else on your list today.

I’m going to go protect mine. And I hope you do the same. I look forward to sharing part two on how the mini reset went, and if it gave me my fire and confidence back like my two-week European trip.

xo, Leslie