I came across this quote the other day…

If your mind is loud – Write.

If your mind is empty – Read.

If your mind is racing – Walk.

If your mind is tired – Sleep.

If your mind is sharp – Build.

Most problems are just mismatched energy.

Get the inputs right, the rest follows.

Our trip got off to a rocky start from the beginning. The day before we left, I was traveling back from visiting my family in South Carolina while my oldest daughter Riley was traveling back from camp in Florida. Neither one of us got much rest that evening as we were up late packing for our early flight. Then, when we arrived we experienced the classic problem of the car company running out of vehicles to rent us (despite a months long reservation). I found myself thinking of the Seinfeld episode where he says, the problem is you know how to take the reservation, but you don’t know how to hold the reservation. And that really is the most important part right? Unfortunately for us it wasn’t really a laughing matter. It took us about an hour for them to find us a car, one that was in pretty bad shape actually, but it at least drove.

Already in a pretty foul mood (and I hadn’t yet eaten breakfast), I was completely out of my rhythm and off my game. I found myself snapping at the kids and griping about each new inconvenience. The restaurant we drove to for brunch was packed. We were late for the baby shower. The Airbnb was too “historic” (i.e. old) for my taste. I had a lot of complaints, legitimate or not, and I was clearly killing the vibe.

Finally at one point we were sitting in the SUV outside about to head to the baby shower when I figured enough was enough. Samantha had already hinted after a previous stop that she hopes they weren’t going to be the ones paying for all the bad luck we’d experienced thus far. I knew it wasn’t their fault, but I was matching energy with the wrong energy. So, probably surprising them (because I know I kind of surprised myself), I turned around and faced the kids saying: listen, we’ve experienced a lot of bad juju thus far on this trip and I believe I’m largely responsible for attracting it because of how I’m responding. So, from now on, I’m going to do better with my energy. It wasn’t technically an apology and the girls had a little fun with my use of the word “juju”, but they got the message and appreciated it. Meanwhile, I set out to experience a different kind of trip.

I’m learning to pay more attention to my own energy and how I show up. For example, my mind stays loud and racing, so it’s hard for me to relax when it’s time to relax. I guess that’s why I’ve spent the better part of our trip this week to Baltimore trying to figure out what to do with myself. I’m ordinarily a restless person, but the vibe this week has been different. It’s almost like a supercharged restlessness brought on by the convergence of so many things at once. It’s the classic conundrum, the last week before the end of summer. We arrived in Baltimore to visit the family, but so much was already on our minds and on our plates. Back home we’ve got business to tend to, the kids start school in a matter of days and we’re not quite prepared. As business does, it follows you to wherever you are so we’re dealing with it as we go.

Meanwhile, we didn’t help ourselves by staying in the middle of all the action. Something about this particular visit to B-more prompted us to let the girls get to know a different side of Charm City. Usually we either stay with family or somewhere close by. This time we stayed right near the inner harbor in Little Italy. It’s a walkable neighborhood with family run establishments that have probably been around for generations. The girls have loved it for the most part. I’ve alternated between wanting to go home and trying to relax while I’m here.

Our first day we spent the day sight seeing like real tourists, checking out the boats in the marina and visiting the historic landmarks. My wife spent her entire life growing up in this city (in east Baltimore) but like any place that changes over time, some of it has been new to her as well. In the mornings we’ve walked to bakeries (I’m sitting outside at one right now) while I write this blogpost. Last night we walked to dinner at Amicci’s of Little Italy and the ambiance was amazing.

Probably my favorite parts of the trip though have been our excursions to DC and later VA to visit friends. In DC we visited the National Museum of African American History. This was just our second visit and each time I feel like there’s still more to see. After a few hours there, we went across to the Washington Monument to take in the sights before heading to my new favorite bookstore, Busboys and Poets. There we had lunch (and picked up a few books) before heading to Fairfax, VA to catch up with our friends for dinner.

Yesterday we found ourselves suddenly with no planned activities due to our newest nephew making an early arrival. I found myself more stir crazy than ever before Samantha recommended that I take Olivia out and go walking. We ended up at a cafe before we then hopped on scooters and rode around downtown. That was good times, we probably both needed to get out of the house. What better way to clear our heads and relieve our bodies of restlessness than racing around the harbor on scooters?

Today on our last day I’m looking to match energy, but with continued intentionality. That’s hard to do with distractions, but it’s doable if I work on it. Thankfully my family tends to bring the best out of me, even when I’m not at my best.

SDW3