Sometimes I feel like I’m writing about things that aren’t going as well as I might hope. Or I am wrestling with problems I haven’t figured out yet.
Today (I’m writing on a Saturday), I had a surprisingly lovely morning. I didn’t have to travel far, and it didn’t cost much. As I reflected further, I realized I had a pretty good week, and maybe it’s worth remembering that and figuring out how to enjoy more of what I already have.
I’ll start at the beginning of the week, Sunday, when the main road was closed for a road race. We walked over to the nearest corner (didn’t even have to wake up early to get there in time!) and cheered the runners on. I had a great time.
Monday I had to dress up, and I had a new dress. I seldom wear fancy clothes, so it doesn’t make sense for me to buy new dress clothes every year or two. In fact, the last time I bought new clothes appropriate for Autumn might have been in 2010 and several pounds ago. I am not sure I can really describe how happy I was to wear a new dress that fit me well.
Tuesday I finally ordered some books that had been in my Amazon shopping cart for weeks. One of them came Friday (the other will take a while to get here).
Wednesday I didn’t have to go to work right away, and I woke up early to beautiful weather. I went out for a walk in the early morning, something I used to do years ago and got away from. I loved walking in the fresh air, and coming back to relax over a cup of coffee. All morning, I felt good about going out and having that done before sitting at a computer indoors.
Thursday wasn’t the best day, and I left lots of work undone. I had resigned myself to working all weekend, but I managed to get everything done by a reasonable hour on Friday. Instead of worrying in the evening about leftover notes, I was able to relax with a book and listen to music after dinner. It was an awesome way to end the work week.
I’d been grumpy for about a week, with the total demise of the blog feed at Rockstar Finance. For the past year or so, I’ve gone there most days to pick out articles that look interesting. I’ve found a lot of blogs that way, but never made a list of my favorites. Finding the site totally down was quite a bummer. Friday I found the new(ish) blog feed at Collecting Wisdom. It’s not as extensive as the one at Rockstar Finance, but it’s nice to have a place to find new posts.
Saturday, this morning, my husband and I had to go to a different part of town for a meeting. We walked around afterwards, marveling at the improvement of the area. When I first moved to town, the area could fairly be described as ‘seedy.’ While there are still a few…interesting spots if you look closely, the area has clearly been revitalized. There are lots of coffee shops and new restaurants, with lots of young people out chatting, promenading with their dogs, or running. We even visited the weekly farmer’s market, with more people and dog-watching. We almost felt like we were in Europe.
Reviewing the week, I see a few themes emerging: getting outside in the morning, splurging a little with thoughtful spending, reading books, engaging with local events. All make me happy, and I should probably work these into my life now. And plan to do them still more when I am working less.
Are you sometimes surprised by the simple things you enjoy? Do you wonder why you don’t do them more often?