I did something tonight that shows just how much my life has changed since moving to Windsor. Brace yourself, as it’s rather shocking.
I made cookies.
“That’s it?!” you say incredulously? Well, my friend, to me this batch of cookies is a perfect representation of everything I love about my life these days, namely:
- I am not tired, tired, tired after the one-hour-each-way-commute-plus-full-workday lifestyle that I left behind, so tired that all I can bring myself to do when I get home in the evening is slump in front of the TV for a few hours, so tired that all I want to accomplish on weekends is to catch up on sleep.
- I have more time to myself. In addition to the reclaimed travel time (my commute these days involves, depending on where I am at that moment, walking up or down a flight of stairs to my home office), my reduced cost of living allowed me to reduce my work week to the equivalent of four days. With more time to myself, I have more options as to how I spend my time.
- I have a larger kitchen! There’s not a ton more prep space in my new kitchen, but there’s quite a bit more in the way of cupboard storage, so I was finally able to buy a proper stand mixer and toss my dying old hand mixer that was almost worse than useless. There’s a lot more incentive to bake when one has the proper space and equipment, you know?
- I am proud of myself for following a dream, taking a calculated risk, taking the steps to live my life instead of simply putting in time.
- I am, plain and simple, happier. Money isn’t as tight, time isn’t as fully claimed, I adore my house and love being here. For me, happiness tends to bubble over into things like writing more, taking better care of myself, maybe even baking.
I never thought making a batch of cookies could evoke so much gratitude, but there it is.
I’ll bet they taste great.
