Choose what fits your life, not what looks best

There is something deeply satisfying about choosing the right thing on purpose.

Not the prettiest seed packet. Not the one that looked most impressive on the shelf. The one that actually fits your space, your soil, your life.

That’s what we’ve been up to in the garden lately. Cucumbers that stay compact instead of taking over everything in a five-foot radius. Carrots are tucked into rows by dropping them into corn starch, so you can actually see where you are planting them! And then there are the pumpkins, which we did not plan, did not design, and did not ask permission before deciding to grow directly next to the pig pen. Some things just show up and dare you to tend them anyway.

But here’s what the garden keeps teaching me: the intentional choices and the surprise volunteers both need the same thing. Good conditions. A little faith. Someone willing to show up and pay attention.

I think that’s true of a life too.

So many of us spent years planting whatever someone else handed us — the career, the role, the version of ourselves that fit someone else’s plan. And now, in this season, we get to actually choose. Compact or sprawling. Tidy rows or a little chaos by the fence. What fits who we actually are.

That’s what designing a flourishing life looks like in May. Dirt under your fingernails and a few good decisions made on purpose.

With love,

Jules + Lane

Bocephus enjoyed that pumpkin in the fall, and those seeds gifted us this volunteer pumpkin plant this spring!

Looking for the letter that fits the season you’re in? Take the quick quiz and find it here, along with free worksheets for designing what’s next.

This letter first went out to our readers in the Country Living Connoisseur on May 21, 2026. The full issue has the garden and farm kitchen sections too. Want the next one? Pull up a chair and join us here.