Here’s another blog. The world is full of them.

I’ll start by saying that this blog isn’t here to teach you anything. It’s actually quite the opposite. I’m the one who needs the lesson.

I am creating a place for myself to document what I observe about myself and the world. I’m learning to be a better person, the person that I always wanted to be, and now I have the chance to be.  It’s quite selfish, actually.

At age 41, I find myself meeting a stranger in the mirror each morning. When you spend the first 20 years of your adult life under circumstances that bring out the worst in you, you may not recognize the best in you when it’s over. This is my diary for finding the best in myself again. I have lots of ideas and fantasies.  Many of them will be attempted and subsequently abandoned. There are some constants in my life: I adore my husband and my pets, and I enjoy cooking and sewing.  But the big thing you’ll be reading about, something that has changed my life for the better more than anything else ever has, is Florida and what it has to offer me.

The word temperate has multiple meanings. In climate, it suggests moderation, rhythm and the presence of seasons. The seasons may be reliable, but we are not meant to live the same way in all of them. We adjust. We dress differently, we eat differently, rest differently, move differently, and care for our homes differently depending on what the weather asks of us.

Every day temperance is similar. It is partly the wisdom to stop fighting the conditions and start responding to them. It is not denial, perfection, or performance, but the quiet art of choosing what serves you.

For me, this blog is about accountability- a place to record and hopefully retain what I am learning. I’m not horribly photogenic, so this won’t be filled with perfectly staged photos of myself wearing up-to-date fashions in gorgeous locations.   This is not about Palm Beach glamor. This is learning my own weather- my rhythms, appetites, seasons, limits, and longings- and building a life around what actually helps me feel steady, nourished, and at home in myself.

And guess what? It’s not set in stone; it can come and go with the tides.

Temperance is not about staying the same. It is about living in the right relationship with the conditions of your life.

Erin