If your going to San Diego, please let me come with you.

California is awesome, but you already knew that. P had a business trip to Cali last week, and I decided to tag along for a few days. It was a win win win situation because his company was paying for his flight, food, car, and fun! All we had to pay for was my flight and meals. Score!  I took a 1/2 day off of work on Thursday, and we flew out on Friday. Unfortunately, I am already back home, but it was a fun and busy weekend. 

I could do what ever other blogger does after a trip and give you a recap, but I won't do that. I will however show you a ton of pictures, and tell you what I learned. 

California is beautiful. I know this, and so do you. But there is something about standing on a cliff, overlooking the ocean that takes my breath away every time. I could sit and stare out into the ocean for hours, and relish those moments where I felt small, vulnerable, and insignificant  I walk around acting like life is all about me and my situation. The sun does not rise and set because of my life, according to my schedule or needs. Life moves forward with or without me, and in the grand scheme of things, I am only a second in a trillion year story. It was refreshing to be reminded that the world does not revolve around me. 

 I crave beauty. The hardest part of being in Dallas is living in a concrete jungle. This trip reminded me to seek out the beauty in life. Find it. It may not always be so obvious, but its there.

There are many people who are nothing like me, and that's ok.  Call me naive  but sometimes I go through life thinking that everyone is just like me. They believe what I believe, think how I think, and agree with my world view. That could not be further from the truth. California is very different from Texas. I live in a very Southern, conservative, wealthy town, and there are many people who have the same world view as I do. It was refreshing to be in a place that was different than my every day experience. It challenged me, and at times made me feel uncomfortable, but its those times of uncomfortable that lead to growth. I want to grow and need to grow. I didn't love when I saw a guy shooting drugs up his arm. It scared me, it saddened me, and it made my heart cry out for him. So often, I am quick to judge, and write people like that off. I tell myself "If he were strong, he would quit." "If he had discipline, he would pick himself up on his own." "If he were more like me, he would not be such a loser." That was hard to write. That was even harder to admit to myself. The last thing anyone needs is my judgment. The first thing I need to give is love. There is not enough of that to go around.

I hope you have a chance to get out of town this summer, even if just for a weekend. To go somewhere beautiful, to feel inspired and challenged. I hope you have a chance to step out of the norm of life and ask questions to yourself, even if they are hard, and you know the answers are ugly.  I hope you get to feel uncomfortable, and small. I hope you give yourself the gift of really living and dreaming. I hope you turn of your phone, and forget about email for a few hours. I hope you turn off the t.v., the music, and the distractions, and tune into life.

So often I am so caught up in the day to day that I forget to live. I forget to dream. I forget that this is my one shot, I don't get any do overs. I need to enjoy life more, and focus less on my to do lists. I need to hug my husband more, and kiss in public. I want to walk hand in hand with him everywhere. I want to be warmed by my toes in the sand, and the sun on my face. I want to continue to be shaped, molded, and challenged. I want to be better tomorrow than I am today.

Embracing Summer

The days are long, the air is hot, and things have become more laid back. Is it just me, or do you find that everyone chill’s out a little bit more in the summer time?

Work is busy, like always, but everyone seems to be in a little less of a hurry. Fewer people are in the office, we have been shutting down early on Friday’s, and the restaurants are always full when I drive by.

I have always loved summer. I don’t care if 105 every day for 3 months straight, there is something magical about those long, slow, hot nights. I still get a thrill out of seeing lightning bugs in the yard. I still get giddy when the sun starts to rise at 5:45AM, and does not set until almost 9:00. Growing up, I always felt like summer was my gift; a present of hot long days that are meant to be cherished. I was always terrified of the dark, and so the long days when the sun stayed up made me feel comforted and safe. The blanket of heat meant never having to go outside in anything more than shorts and a t-shirt.

Some of the best times of my life happened in the summer of years past. I met P in the summer. We took vacations in the summer. No school in the summer. Lots of swimming in the summer. Summer time is magic, its special, and its to be embraced.

A few weeks ago, I told P, “I really want to embrace this summer. I don’t want to hole up inside watching t.v. I want to get out, explore, and have fun.” His response “Yea, lets do it.”

We have one very short trip planned this summer. I am just piggy backing on a business trip with him for a weekend, and other than that we are stuck in the big D. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a place nearly as beautiful as this. Yes, Denise, I stalk your blog for hiking photos daily. But, we do have our share of parks and trails, so P and I have decided to hit them all up. The last few weeks, we have managed to hit up 3 local parks. We either ride bikes on the trails or run. Its been fun to get out of the house, explore some new hidden areas, and get really sweaty.

This past weekend, P and I were going to have date night. It was hot. And sweaty. And we covered about 11 miles on our bikes. On Sunday, we ended up hitting the trails again, and covered nearly 20 miles. I feel as if we have discovered a hidden gem in Dallas. This huge city is actually connected by a major trail system. Our goal for the summer is to cover every square inch of the trail system on our bikes or on our feet. The great thing about this is, its all free. We don’t have to spend any money to go anywhere.

I want to find the gift of summer again. I want to get dirty and explore. I want to have skinned knees, and horrific tan lines, and let go of responsibility, even if its just for an hour, and rediscover the wide eyed young girl I used to be. The girl who was outside so much her hair was dyed by the sun. The girl who only came inside when the street lights turned on. The little girl who was the eternal optimist. Full of hope, laugher, and innocence.

 

How are you going to embrace summer this year?