What my layoff season taught me about presence, proximity, and people.

I didn’t choose to slow down—at least not at first.

In 2025, a layoff pressed pause on the pace I had been running for years. Calendars cleared. Meetings stopped. The constant forward motion of what’s next went quiet. Shortly after, I moved back to North Texas—back near family, familiar streets, and people who had known me long before my résumé did.

What felt unsettling at first turned into something unexpectedly grounding.

Slowing down didn’t just change my schedule.
It changed my relationships.

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🌿 Time Became Available—and So Did I

Before, connection had to fit between flights, deadlines, and plans made weeks in advance. Conversations were efficient. Catch-ups were quick.

During my layoff season, time stretched.

I lingered longer at the kitchen table.
I said yes to weekday coffee.
I stayed present instead of checking the clock.

Without realizing it, I began showing up more fully—not because I had more energy, but because I finally had space.

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🏡 Moving Home Reintroduced Me to Familiar People

Returning to North Texas wasn’t about going backward—it was about reconnecting.

I spent time with family in unstructured ways. I helped where I could. I listened more than I spoke. The absence of urgency made room for deeper conversations—the kind that don’t happen when everyone is rushing to the next thing.

Relationships that once lived in “when we have time” moved into the present.

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🧠 Slowing Down Shifted How I Listen

When you’re not rushing, you hear more.

I noticed myself:

• Asking better questions
• Letting pauses sit instead of filling them
• Being less focused on responding and more focused on understanding

Without the pressure to perform or produce, connection became simpler—and stronger.

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✨ Presence Over Productivity

The biggest surprise? My value in relationships had nothing to do with how busy or accomplished I was.

People didn’t need me to be impressive.
They needed me to be present.

Slowing down stripped away the noise and reminded me that relationships grow in ordinary moments—shared meals, quiet drives, unplanned afternoons.

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🌱 The Lesson I’m Carrying Forward

I don’t want to wait for another forced pause to prioritize connection.

As life inevitably speeds back up, I’m designing space on purpose:

• Unscheduled time with people I love
• Fewer commitments, deeper ones
• Presence as a priority, not a reward

Slowing down didn’t shrink my world.
It expanded the parts that matter most.

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💛 The LTL Takeaway

Sometimes growth doesn’t come from adding more—it comes from making room.

Room to listen.
Room to stay.
Room to reconnect.

And in that slower rhythm, relationships don’t just survive—they deepen.