A saying often repeated this year has been “you can do hard things.”  

“Mom, I miss my friends” - “I bet you do, but you can do hard things, we will be home soon.”  

“Boiled Octopus for dinner?”  - “It is our only choice, you can do hard things”

But then Traverse read a book “Atomic Habits” about how small changes can make a big difference over time.  He twisted the line around and started to push back saying, “you can do easy things” referring to the importance of the small habits that make real change.

This focus on the small habits shaped our final days in South Korea.  After doing a “hard thing” and biking across South Korea we took eight days in Busan, the bustling beach hub of South Korea, to do “easy things.”  

For each of us these “easy things” were different.  The girls explored the city on their own, played volleyball, spent days at the art museum and connected with friends.

Traverse had a daily ritual of joining the throngs of other Koreans at the local gym to work out and bath, providing both a place to be in shape but also a source of endless cultural encounters.

I loved the time to write and read in a way that I probably won’t get again for years.

As Traverse described it to the girls,  this is “sparkly magic unicorn time” to be together and  do “easy things” with the hope that these habits we can carry some of this years magic fairy dust home.