Planes, presence, and freshly squeezed orange juice

Pre-P.S. You're reading day 25 of my 32 days of insights, inspiration, and instigation. (Very informal title). Get the full scoop here. ✨

We made it to Chicago yesterday!

After 16 hours of travel, one better-than-usual but still not great airplane meal, three episodes of The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling, two episodes of Queen Charlotte, 1 hour waiting for our bags, and 45 minutes in a taxi, we stepped foot into our swanky hotel overlooking the river.

We were surprised to discover the hotel's restaurant is Ocean Prime. The one in Denver was the restaurant Geoff took me to for our first official date. So in a moment of serendipity, we snagged a table for two and had dinner there.

We're staying here two more nights and then joining our family and friends at a hotel a few blocks away.

I missed emailing you yesterday in the craziness of the travel day.

These emails aren't batched and bottled like the store's gross, overly sweet orange juice; they're fresh squeezed daily (sometimes taking hours).

Back on my birthday, I said I would write for 32 days straight—even though I've been moving countries, renovating a house, and getting ready for our wedding.

Objectively, it's been one of the busiest seasons of my life.

And while some might call me crazy, that's exactly why I started the series when I did.

In the past, I've let life come before the creative nudges. This time, I said, "If I can do it in the busiest time, how much easier will it be to do when things calm down?"

It was essential to start in the messy middle instead of waiting for when things "calmed down."

After all, calm can be an inner state.

And so, I've written every day.

As I come to this week, though, I thought about how I can be fully present with loved ones and still stick to the 32 days. The answer wasn't clear to me because like I mentioned above, sometimes these emails take me a while to write.

I thought about getting ahead in emails and scheduling them out.

I thought about dropping recommendations for past podcast episodes that I'm immensely proud of.

I thought about pausing.

I thought about sharing shorter emails.

I immediately tossed the last one in the trash because short emails are not my current style.

And the first two options felt like I would be honoring the number I committed to instead of quality, which felt shitty because it was never about the number, it was about connection with you, creativity, and producing quality emails that help us peel back the layers of life so we can experience more of the sweetness it offers.

So, sitting here on this king bed that now feels exceptionally large compared to the standard king bed size in Spain, I've decided to go with option three and pick back up with the rest of my daily emails after Geoff and I tie the knot.

Today is technically day 25/32, so I'll be back in your inbox on June 1st with the juiciest stories.* You can't have 80 members of two families in the same room and not end up with some quality content on self-awareness and relationships.

*Caveat: Expressing joy has always felt more vulnerable to me than expressing anger. So, if I have a joy-filled perspective pop into my head that wants to fly through my fingertips and that I suspect will be valuable to you, I'll pop in and share it with you. In the meantime, you can find my episode on when joy feels terrifying here.

Freshly squeezed content peeling back the layers of life will pick back up next week.

xx, Alyssa

P.S. Do you want to see wedding pics? Our photographer used to babysit me, and I have wanted her to shoot my wedding since I was eight. While I'm hardly on social media, I'll share them there. You can find them with our hashtag #AlyssaGetsAMister 😂 which Geoff voted as his favorite out of the 10 I came up with.

P.P.S. Did you know there's a company whose only service is combining people's names into witty wedding hashtags? Creativity has no limits these days.

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The Peel: Fresh perspectives on the layers of life with Alyssa Patmos soon-to-be Alyssa Kulesa. 🧅
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