Seattle on a sunny day is a beautiful thing. Sparkling blue seas dotted with steadily gliding ferry boats. Immense craggy mountain ranges topped with snow on nearly every horizon. An expanse of the expected evergreen trees and an unexpected vast variation of green plants, bushes, grass create balance bordering the blue skies and seas.

We live in an admittedly liberal oasis, sometimes forgetting that there’s a significant part of our country that bleeds red. Our beach community is involved and idyllic with sweet surprises, like yarn “bombed” trees, and children and adults alike who stop to pet our dog. A neighborhood blog keeps tabs on all news, big and small, and makes us feel more united. The local elementary school our children attend has high parental involvement and the afternoon pick-up feels like social hour…I half expect to see a parent sipping out of a martini glass as they chat.

A year ago, we purchased and moved into my grandparents home, after painstakingly remodeling it, and its bones provide the deepest serenity…its history a foundation for our family to grow from.

So why leave? Today it’s 77 degrees in Seattle, I paddle boarded in Elliott Bay, meditating on each wave as it undulated toward me. It’s tempting to say, “Heck, let’s stay here…I could do this self-care thing for an entire year.” How decadent.

And that’s exactly it…it’s time for less decadence and more simplicity. When your child asks you to purchase Italian Soda for yet another school celebration and then complains that you purchased the wrong brand…your household is in need of a global reality check.

We cash that check on September 1st.