My three-day weekend was… family time. Baby smiles/giggles. Ice cream sundaes. Swinging at the park. Enjoying the outdoors. Cooking out. Putting my feet in the pool. 90-degree days. Staring up at the big sky. Writing in my journal and finding a passion for it again. Sitting on my deck with my feet propped up while reading The Help. Sleeping in on Monday morning and having the house to myself. Watching a movie and eating McDonald’s french fries with a mocha frappe (which tastes, oddly enough, like funnel cake). Getting rid of old clothes and clothes that I’ve grown out of (physically and emotionally). Husband’s grandad’s 70th birthday. Getting accepted to the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga. Thanking God for the men and women that have served (such as my dad), are serving, and will serve our country so that I can have happy weekends like this, full of freedom.
I’m truly looking forward to this month. I cannot believe we’re already in June and halfway through 2011. Today is my half-birthday. I’ll be twenty-three in six months. Age really is just a number to me. I don’t feel younger or older than I am. I just feel happy with who I am. On the fourteenth, I’ll be going to an orientation to sign up for my classes at the university. I’m nervous because I haven’t done this in a while. I’ve been comfortable with my community college, and now I’m stepping out of my comfort zone. It feels so good to be halfway to my B.S. in Psychology, though, and I’m more than a little excited. On the seventeenth, Husband and I will celebrate our 3-year anniversary. I almost can’t believe it’s been three years since we were preparing for our wedding day. In other ways, though, I feel like he has been in my life since the beginning. On the twenty-fourth, Hayden will be four months old. He’s sleeping through the night now (usually about eight hours), and he’s sleeping in his crib, rather than his bassinet. (He loves his crib, which makes me excited, since I bought it for him.) He wakes my sister up in the morning by giggling, and he is the most precious baby I know, and I am so glad he is in my life.
Life is beautiful, really. Even in the negative moments, there are so many good things shining through. I’m thankful for that.
How was your Memorial Day weekend? What are you looking forward to during this brand new month? Remember, this day is unique–we will never know June 1, 2011 again, so make it worth it.
by Megan on January 7, 2011
We’re now a week into 2011 (what?!), and I’m trying to figure out how I want this year to be different. I mean, all I know is that I do want it to be different, and better different. 2010 was an odd year for me. It wasn’t a bad year, but it wasn’t what I’d consider a good year either.
In 2010, I had a lot of ups and downs with things. While I know where I’d like my life to eventually lead up, I’ve been struggling with what I should do now. Last semester, I ended up taking Fridays off work for a couple months so that I could put my focus on school and life. At first, when it was time to take on Fridays at work again, I was thinking that I hadn’t accomplished what I wanted to. Now that I look back on it, I realize I did focus on school and life. I ended up nearly making straight A’s last semester. (I was TWO POINTS from an A in my Religions class, and I made A’s in all of my other classes.) I also spent those weeks running, and I ran my first ever 5k on October 16th. At times, I felt stressed and overwhelmed, but now I’m thinking that maybe life is supposed to feel like that occasionally, especially if it’s because you’re working hard at making life better. Life isn’t supposed to be as easy as we think it should be. It takes determination (and some stressful days) to get us where we want to be.
2010 was a year of attempting to find simplicity in life and feeling like I didn’t succeed. I’m slowly starting to realize, though, that life isn’t supposed to be simple. It’s supposed to be complicated and hard at times, but it’s how we deal with those times that make it simple.
On Christmas, Husband’s aunt gave me a bracelet with the quote “be the change you wish to see in the world” on it. Although I don’t often make New Year’s Resolutions anymore, I want that quote to be my 2011 mantra. I want to be the change I hope to see in this world.
by Megan on January 3, 2011
It’s a new year. This year, I will (hopefully) finish classes at the community college and move on to a university to complete the second half of my Bachelor’s degree in psychology. This year, I will most likely be moving again to be closer to school. This year, I will become an aunt. (My sister’s baby, Hayden, is due NEXT MONTH.) This year, I will turn twenty-three and Husband will turn twenty-five. This year, we’ll celebrate three years of marriage. This year, my sister will be twenty-one and my brother will be fifteen. (THEY ARE SERIOUSLY GROWING TOO QUICKLY.)
I spend my days surrounded by grey cubicle walls, grey-blue floors, and mostly unnatural lighting. I’m not sure if that’s the life I want to lead daily, but it’s what I’ve got right now, and it’s what I’ll have for a little while longer. I’m waiting for the next big adventure in my life. I still have a few years before I get my degree. I’m too young (and not ready) to have a baby. (Yes, I want a baby or two, but we need our degrees first, and we need stable employment.) I’d like to go on a big roadtrip, but responsibility keeps getting in the way, and I realize I need to save money to pay bills and pay off student loans.
Maybe it’s the new year that is getting to me. I just want something exciting–something new–to happen. It’s somewhat of a let-down when January 1st comes around and everything feels and looks the same.
I have a good feeling about 2011, though, despite all that is predictable about it.
by Megan on October 21, 2010
On Tuesday, I immediately turned my macbook on when I got home from work, like always. I began to zone out in a world of twitter and facebook and blogs. Eventually, I snapped out of it and realized just how sick I was of technology. Sometimes, you use it to take a break from reality; however, I decided to use reality to take a break from technology. I closed my computer, turned off my iPod touch, set my cell phone to the side, and I told Husband I wanted to go for a drive. It looked like a beautiful day outside, and I didn’t want to waste it by sitting inside with my fingers glued to the keyboard of my laptop.
Husband glady accepted my idea, and we hopped in his car and drove off with the windows down. He drove while I sat in the passenger seat, and we took some winding back roads. I asked him to slow down a little so we could enjoy the wind and the beautiful leaves around us. It was so nice to just slow down.
When we got home, I snuggled up on the couch to read Whole Living magazine; after that, I dozed in and out of sleep before finally reading some of my Astronomy book. I decided to shower, and I actually allowed myself to stand there with no time limits. I usually rush, but I just wanted to breathe a little and relax because I had absolutely nothing to do. (Clearing your schedule and allowing yourself to do nothing is actually very nice!) I tucked myself into my bed early that night, and it was the perfect end to a technology-free evening. My mind was so relaxed and clear. I’m definitely ready to incorporate technology-free Tuesdays into my life.
Do you ever step away from your computer, television, and cell phone for an evening? I think you should try it!
