This image looked really familiar to me, like I have posted it before, but I can’t remember. If I did…oh well! I still like it, and it feels fitting for this weekend. I have a lengthy to-do list, as usual, but we also have a date night planned, and I have some personal projects that I am looking forward to. Almost time to head home and get this weekend started!
Today I bought a 2026 calendar. Let that sink in for a moment. Over half of this year is gone already. Heck, we’re almost halfway through July now! It just doesn’t seem real that I have started buying planners and calendars for 2026 already.
I read somewhere that time seems to go by faster as we get older because we have less novel experiences and more routine lives, and each year represents a smaller fraction of our total life. The “less novel experiences” part got to me. I can’t do much about the day-to-day responsibilities of going to work, cleaning the house, taking out the trash, or folding laundry, but reading that inspired me to throw some color, pizzazz, and newness into our lives whenever I can.
Too many times, my husband and I talk about trying something new or going somewhere we’ve never been, and it typically ends with “someday” and no real plan. I want to start changing that. Why wait? What’s wrong with now?
I’m not talking elaborate trips or bizarre experiences here, since both of us admittedly really like being at home, and there’s something to be said for peace and quiet. I’m just talking little new experiences that can build memories for us, give us new experiences to try together, or allow us to simply slow down and appreciate the moments we already have.
I haven’t written much on here about anything happening in my life lately. Sometimes it just feels easier to keep things private until I can put them into words better and really explain them.
Nothing bad or difficult, mind you…quite the opposite. It’s just that I don’t believe in gray areas or half-assing anything. When I want to change something, I want to go all in, make a clean sweep, and sometimes that involves completely gutting something, emptying it all out, and starting over from scratch.
It’s left me feeling exhausted but satisfied, like finally climbing to the top of a steep hill and settling down for a moment to take a well-deserved rest, tired but peaceful. I’m not where I want to be just yet, but so much closer than I was at the beginning of the year, and I have no more doubts about my ability to get there. I will. I just want to reflect for a moment, appreciate the distance I have covered and the hurdles I have stumbled over, and look forward to where I am headed.
Then…it’s back to full speed ahead.
My husband and I text each other like teenagers all day long, with everything from funny stories about our day to silly jokes to simple “I love you”s. Probably the most common text we send is some equivalent of wishing we could just go home and and hang together, so when I saw this the other day, I knew I had to send it to him:
We are trapped at work again today, but I am excited, because in a few hours, we will be heading home for a 4-day weekend. The 4th of July is my second favorite holiday (after Halloween, of course). I know the days are going to fly by insanely fast, but I intend to fully enjoy every second.
Sweat & Sparkle 