This is spot on.

I like making leather goods for friends and family. As soon as I made my first few things, my parents and (now ex) wife starting making comments about making it my side hustle, selling at fairs/farmer markets, etc.

I took a few steps down that road, but the business side of figuring out costs, meeting deadlines, etc., absolutely killed my passion for my hobby and I basically quit doing it for almost two years.

I’ve only just gotten back into it over the past few months, making some things for my friends and “charging” them something like a homemade painting or a six-pack of good beer and letting them know their wallet/purse/whatever will be done when it’s done.

I’m happy, they’re happy, and my day job continues to be my source of income, while my hobby is my escape and still feels good.

Wish I could claim credit, but in the immortal words of Shaggy, “It wasn’t me.”

This is just something my mom drilled into us when I was younger, and I still do it to this day

Others have already said to let go about everything being perfect, because there will be things outside of your control that you cannot account for, so I won’t harp on about that.

Instead, I recommend a little pre-trip prep at home to make the end of your trip a dream as well. Take some time to clean the house/apartment, do the dishes and laundry, make the bed.

There is nothing like coming home after a long trip, but coming home to a mess or chores after a (hopefully) amazing time is a terrible way to cap off your vacation, so do yourselves a favor and spend a couple hours on making home perfect before you leave.

Can we please start using this photo of him for every article?

I’m in a similar boat, Spanish degree from college, but learning Portuguese now, and I’ve found that kids programming like Sesasme Street (Rua Sésamo) is really great for getting some fundamentals. They tend to speak slower, avoid idioms and focus on foundational parts of the language. And the good thing is, you can find all 30ish episodes of Rua Sésamo on YouTube

Edit: Rua Sésamo is European Portuguese, if you want Brazil, then Vila Sésamo is what you’re looking for (or simply Sésamo)