Your life is never on hold – it’s still happening. Plans fall through but nothing actually stops. New plans take their place. Or maybe no plans, for once.

This year was supposed to be The Year of Travel. It started in Boston in January, with a whirlwind weekend of wandering and eating and exploring. I even bought Rémy a giant scratch-off travel map for Christmas, so he and I could start scratching gold film off of all the places we went to together, revealing colors on the surface beneath. We scratched off teeny, tiny Massachusetts when we got back from Boston. We didn’t realize that was the first and only place we’d scratch off for the conceivable future.

Chicago is on hold, Birmingham is on hold, Maine is on hold. Anywhere else we mentioned – on hold.

New York, then France to see family in August is still one big question mark. Technically, the trip is still booked.

For now, we can look back at all the photos we (Rémy) took on other trips. France 2017: Mont-Saint-Michel, Normandy, Versailles, the French countryside. So bright and new and exciting.

For now, we can relax into our non-plans. Or perhaps our new, simpler plans.

Plans for dinner. Plans for working out. Plans for the backyard or for the living room. Plans for the next phone catch-up or weekend drive.

Plans still matter.

Life is still happening. Just a little differently.

Just a little closer to home.

Photos: Rémy Thurston, of course.