@TuesdayPause |#TakeTime Story by Kristin. Where did the name TuesdayPause come from? Great question! During my family’s stint in Japan (2003 to 2006), I found myself among a group of expat women determined to be intentional about living abroad. None of us would be staying long term in Japan and we wanted to make the most of our time. Well, intentionality implies planning and purpose and that’s precisely what we did. We organized a group and devised a plan to seek out new destinations to explore on a regular, recurring basis.
When? You guessed it… On Tuesdays! We even created a name for ourselves – The Tuesday Group! (Please, don’t envy our creativity and originality!)
The original Tuesday Group exploring the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto, Japan. (April 2005)
Belonging to this group of deliberate and curious women was one of the most rewarding aspects of my time in Japan. When you know you only have three to five years to enjoy something, you make good use of that time.You choose to get out and go and do and see and engage and eat and learn all that you can… while you can.
Most of us don’t have the luxury of knowing we’ll only be living in our current town for a limited period of time. We absently believe that the intriguing sights, historic destinations, cultural spots and natural beauty of our “hometown and surrounds” will always be there. So for most of us there’s really no hurry to make time in our schedule to get out and visit these places.
This mindset explains why I have lived here in Northeast Ohio for a decade now but have barely scratched the surface of exploring and enjoying all there is to explore and enjoy…and I’m sure I’m in good company.
It also explains how I could grow up in a famous tourist town (Santa Barbara, California) and never visit one of the city’s iconic landmarks, the historic Santa Barbara Mission. More embarrassing is the fact that I never understood until I moved away why Santa Barbara was considered a vacation destination at all!
But you don’t have to live somewhere exotic like Japan or famous like Santa Barbara to be in close proximity to unique and interesting destinations that are either worthy of exploration or that would simply serve as local get-aways spots to pause your daily routine to reflect and enjoy life.
Such places, I believe, are available everywhere if you’ll just take the time to seek them out or even open your eyes to actually see the places along your daily path, and then pause your routine to visit them. I know Hudson, my hometown of ten years, has plenty of places to explore and enjoy as does the Greater Cleveland area…and beyond.
Join me on my journey to discover as much as I can about what surrounds me…and be inspired to join the journey, either here in Northeast Ohio, or wherever you call home.