Catching My Breath

Sometimes, I take a hiatus from life. A pause. A reset. I need time to recharge, and while I know this is something many people do, I can’t help but feel guilty when I do it. I’m a giver—someone people often rely on—so stepping back can feel like letting others down.

My most recent hiatus came in May, after my grandmother passed away. I took two weeks off to grieve, to sit with the weight of her absence, and to begin to understand the shape of the world without her in it.

Then June came like a whirlwind—work travel swept me away, followed closely by our annual family beach trip. This year’s trip felt different. It was tinged with the kind of bittersweetness only loss can bring. We’ve been renting the same beach house since 2002, and this time, we gathered to scatter some of my grandmother’s ashes at her favorite spot by the ocean.

That quiet moment—surrounded by family, the salt air thick with memory—wiped away all the noise and drama of everyday life. I sat and watched my family, and for a moment, everything was still. All I could feel were the sweet memories rushing in. It was beautiful, and it reminded me of a quote by Maya Angelou my grandmother had shared:

“Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”

That trip, that moment, changed something in me. It shifted my lens and made me ask myself: Am I living for those breathless moments—or just moving through the motions?

So now I ask you:

Are you creating moments that take your breath away, or are you on autopilot?

Catch your breath with me.

~ Ditto Kiddo