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The season you choose...
I’ve never been a big Halloween person.
Growing up, there was always a battle between my parents on whether or not we’d be allowed to celebrate. My mom thought it was a devil holiday, while my dad thought it was all in good fun.
As a kid, of course, all I wanted was to dress up and go trick-or-treating. Those were the days that neighbors still handed out homemade popcorn balls, at least to the kids they knew, and I thought popcorn balls were pretty much the most delicious thing I had ever tasted.
In any given year, you never knew which parent was going to prevail, so some years we trick-or-treated, and some years we didn’t.
As an adult, I’ve often found myself grappling with that same ambivalence. When my kids were little, I’d help with costumes and my husband Chuck would take them trick or treating, but otherwise it wasn’t a huge deal for our family.
But when we moved to a new neighborhood a few years ago, in September 2019, our girls—then ages 10 and 13—begged us to decorate the house for Halloween, something we had never done before.
“It’s our first holiday in this house,” they argued, “and you always tell us you never get a second chance to make a first impression!”
Swayed by their logic, my husband Chuck bought a whole truckload of Halloween decorations from some friends who were retiring their annual haunted house and just wanted it all gone.
And so, for the four years we lived in Babcock Ranch, we were the Halloween house. We had a creepy brain-eating zombie girl in our upstairs window, while our front yard was converted into a spooky graveyard, complete with strobe lights, fog machines, music, and video display.
We even co-hosted a couple of epic Halloween parties for the neighborhood Drinker’s Union—parties we literally spent months planning for.
There was “Parkside Penitentiary,” complete with a very realistic electric chair and 9’ tall guillotine.
That was followed by “Zombie Baywatch,” where we built a life-size lifeguard stand and had 7 tons of sand trucked in and dumped in our neighbor’s driveway to create a beach.
It was a very fun season.
And yet, when we moved to the farm last year, I was more than happy to let go of all those Halloween decorations, which took up half our attic storage space.
Frankly, it’s a relief to not have to haul out all those boxes, knowing that in just a few weeks I’ll have to pack it all away again so I can haul out all the Christmas stuff.
I’ve officially reached the point of middle age where one big holiday a year is enough!
Does that make me the Halloween Grinch? Yes, it might.
But I’m okay with that.
Because that’s the thing about life—it’s always changing, whether you want it to or not.
Seasons come and seasons go.
But I think sometimes we forget that.
We fool ourselves into believing that just because that’s the way something has always been, that’s how it always will be, or how it always has to be.
We think the season we’re in will last forever.
Or worse, we get stuck thinking that we’re not allowed to change.
But as Taylor Swift has so masterfully demonstrated, you’re actually allowed as many different Eras as you want.
My Halloween Era has ended. But my Farm Era is just getting started.
Albert Camus famously wrote that "in the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer." Along those same lines, B. Oakman pointed out that “every season is one of becoming, but not always one of blooming. Be gracious with your ever-evolving self.”
In other words? You’re allowed to grow, evolve, and change.
Who you were ten years ago, or five years ago, or even six months ago doesn’t have to define who you are right now, or the future you get to create for yourself. Seasons change. Perspectives change. Circumstances change.
And you don’t have to stay in one place forever.
But you do have to be intentional about choosing what you want.
Sometimes that means asking yourself hard questions. Sometimes it means being willing to say goodbye to the parts of your life that are no longer serving you, even if they did at one point. Sometimes it means setting new boundaries with the people in your life who are holding you back.
And so, my challenge for you this week is to think about that very thing. What season of your life are you in right now, and is that the place you want to stay? If you could choose your next Era, what would it be? And what needs to change to get you there?
They’re big questions, my friend, but always worth asking.
And as always, I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic—just hit reply to this email to let me know what you think!
Live with purpose, friend, and have a Happy Halloween!
xoxo, Ruth
P.S. If your next era is your HEALTH era, consider joining our next 10-Day Sugar Detox challenge. In 10 days, we’ll help you break your sugar habit and take the first essential step towards balancing your hormones, reversing insulin resistance, and healing your gut. Our next challenge starts next Monday—you can sign up here.
This week’s podcast episode…
What’s cooking in my kitchen…
Here’s the recipe I shared this past week:
The Best Grilled Chicken You’ll Ever Make |
The latest from my Instagram…
Instagram is my jam! If you’re there too, I’d love to connect with you—find me at @RuthSoukup or @ruthsoukupbiz for online business tips!
What’s Happening Around RSO…
What if you could take control of your health in just 10 days? Join our 10-Day Sugar Detox Challenge starting this Monday! It's your chance to kickstart your weight loss, revitalize your energy and eliminate your sugar cravings for good. JOIN HERE. |
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