Monday, September 30, 2013

What I Learned in September :: Seven Things

I'm taking a page out of the playbook of one of the bloggers I follow. Every month, she posts what the 30 days taught her. Love this idea. At home, I do this every week withe the baby girl about her school work. We write down her favorite things from the last five days of learning. Each day, I reflect in one sentence about the prior day. (Hmmm...Reflecting may be a passion of mine.)

So here goes...September 2013 brought lots of learning opportunities as does most months and that is why I double love life and all of its imperfections. Here's what I learned...

1 - No matter how far in advance you plan, life still happens. 

Many, many months ago, I purchased two tickets to paradise AKA two passports to the Gentlemen of the Road Stopover in St. Augustine, Florida. First of all, it was an amazing experience. The advance planning several days before though started to morph into something completely different. At a certain point, I thought I may be going to the two day music binge by myself. That didn't happen but there was a point where I questioned how I got into the situation. The tickets were purchased, discussed and all was set until three days out. And as many would say, it all happens for a reason because the result was absolutely perfect. I enjoyed the concert both on Friday night and Saturday night. Saw more than I expected. Everyone was so friendly and fun to be around. St. Augustine did an outstanding job with planning and crowd control. I learned how plans are good but the experience is more important.

2 - Soccer Championship games can end with a score of a baseball game and ignite important conversations about what's next.

The gods were looking down on me and granted me access to the Championship game of the Orlando City Soccer team. They won 7-4...Yup...SEVEN goals to FOUR. I cheered them on all season and through the playoffs so to see them win it all and #gettheirtrophyback was awesome. Orlando's in the middle of a major conversation around MLS and it looks like it's going to happen. I love me some soccer so the closer to home it is and the more the world's most popular sport gets some love and new fans, the happier I am. So GO CITY!

3 - Take a day off. Even if it's just a day. 

So this year started off a little rocky when it came to taking some time off...We had a hard time finding mutual weekends in the beginning of the year. Plus, we were so darn busy we couldn't catch a break...literally. The first long weekend I had scheduled ended up getting rained out. I'm not talking a few afternoon showers. I'm talking they type of rain that put a golf course under water. The second time, the baby girl had a fever that wouldn't quit so we took one of three scheduled vacation days to see if it would get better. Each day seemed to get worse SO instead we stayed close to home (and adopted two beautiful rescue dogs - more on that in a separate post). FINALLY, we ended up taking a full glorious week of vacation in late July. Since then, I've tried to schedule a day where I can just breathe and catch up with my own thoughts much less everyone else's. I know it's important, so I'm doing it.

4 - Embrace change but it is okay to feel and process it in your own way. 

I love change. It keeps me going and helps further clarify and evaluate where I'm heading. September had a lot of change and it will go into the rest of the year. It's all positive but it doesn't come without some growing pains and that's completely fine. So, I'm just feeling what I need to feel and moving forward with a little reflection along the way.

5 - Bridal Showers and Birthday Parties have jumped a whole new level since Pinterest.

After helping my beautiful cousin a few months ago before a shower she was co-hosting and attending one in September for a soon-to-be Mrs. on my soccer team, I had no idea how fancy and clever the whole shower thing had gotten and I blame one site and one site only...PINTEREST. Never again will a party city ready-made kit be acceptable. Oh no. You need to iron on stencils, cut them out or glue gun everything, creatively display everything in a way that looks staged but not like the you're trying to hard, design the food just perfectly and the favors are detailed. The more, the better. And colorful paperstraws are so, so in. Whether it's Pinterest inspired or just a cake with some leftover decorations, I love to celebrate my friends and family as much as possible.

6 - Just take more naps. 

If time off isn't an option in the near future, take a nap on the weekend. It's not a waste of time, it's a full proof way to slow down everything and just dream.

7 -  Coffee is universal. 

In the morning, I enjoy all of the Twitter posts and Facebook mentions about coffee. The love for it. How many cups someone has had. What people are like without it. It's like I know exactly what they're experiencing since I'm typically thinking the same thing depending on where I am with my coffee fix. Something so simple becomes the common thread for several of us. Love it when that happens. Now, where's my coffee people???!!!??

Thank you September for keeping it fun and interesting. Here's to October and the rest of 2013!