Present Over Perfect: A Summer Presence Check-In
A few weeks ago, I was sitting on our courtyard with my husband Doug after dinner — nothing special, just leftovers before we went for a walk — and I caught myself picking up my phone for the fourth time in ten minutes. Not for anything urgent. Just habit.
Doug said it gently, but it landed hard: you're here, but you're not really here.
That one sentence turned into this week's episode of Beyond Broke & Hungry, and honestly, it's been sitting with me ever since. We've spent this whole summer series talking about movement, hydration, listening to your body, staying healthy on the road — but this episode isn't about your body. It's about whether you were actually there for your own life this summer.
Experience Over Perfection
Somewhere along the way, a lot of us picked up the idea that summer has to look a certain way — the right vacation, the cute photos, the swimsuit body. I've stood in my own closet before a pool day more worried about how I looked than excited about the people I was about to spend the day with. But nobody remembers the pristine version of a summer. They remember the real one — the messy, unscripted, slightly chaotic one.
I tell a story in this episode about a family road trip gone very wrong (my dad's brand-new truck did not survive it), and it's still one of my family's favorite memories to laugh about, years later. That's kind of the whole point.
Who You're Present With Matters
In the episode, I walk through three relationships that each need something a little different from us this summer — family, friendship, and marriage — and share what's actually worked for Doug and me, from a spontaneous "porch night" text from a friend to a small phone-free habit at dinner that changed our conversations more than I expected.
Rooted in Something Bigger
For me, presence isn't just a productivity habit — it's connected to faith. I share the verse that's been anchoring this whole idea for me, and why I believe being present with the people you love is its own form of gratitude.
If you've been feeling like this summer is already slipping away in a blur of to-do lists, this episode is your gentle nudge to slow down before September gets here.
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