September GBOMB

Good

Teaching. I got to facilitate an emotional intelligence presentation at Leadership University. I love teaching. It feels like home. 

Anticipation. We go home to CA in 9 days, and I am so excited! I'm enjoying the anticipation of it and will be sad when it's over. 

Busyness. We did a LOT in September. It's thanks to having Matthew home on weekends, honestly. I don't know that we would do as much if it were just me and AJ. We went to the zoo, the fair, Peach Days, Sandy Harvest Parade, Cornbelly's, and did a fall colors drive. I am ready to slow down a little bit, but love looking back at how much we did in September. 

Acupuncture. Wow. I didn't even know what I was missing my whole life. I've had three appointments, and the last two I've taken a nap during the session. It's SO relaxing. 

Cold mornings. I LOVE to run in the cold weather, and I love to open the balcony when I lift weights and it's only 50 degrees out. I love to feel the shift of seasons. 

Sleeping in. AJ has been sleeping till close to 7:00 very consistently (because he falls asleep later than we'd like). And he's often very quiet when he wakes up. So I have gotten to sleep in past 7 a lot lately just because he's either still asleep, or doesn't wake me up when he wakes up. It's been SO energizing getting some extra sleep. 

Day off. I took this past Friday off, and just spent the morning with my son. We went to breakfast. We stopped at my office to say hi to Matthew. We went to Trader Joe's. We went on a walk. I didn't feel like I needed to be at home cleaning or doing laundry. Actually, I did feel like that. But I told myself I deserved some leisurely time, and I took it. And I was happier for it. I need to do it more often. 

Pumpkin season. My Trader Joe's haul gave me all the heart eyes.

Fall colors. I'm so grateful to be a short drive away from such majesty. We did Guardsman's Pass this year instead of Alpine Loop. It was awesome. 

Bad

Costs. We go out to eat too much. Adding it all up is alarming, honestly. 

Summer is over. I love the fall, truly. But fall leads to winter. And winter is long, and dark, and cold. And I love the summer. 

Routine. I feel a shift in myself. I spend a LOT of time managing my life--cleaning my home, doing laundry, etc. It's never done. It never will be done. I want to relax a little more. I want to move some things around so maybe I spread cleaning throughout a week instead of spending my Fridays and Saturdays doing a thorough cleaning. (see my "Day off" point above)

On My Brain

Fertility. No one is surprised. We have an appointment this month if I don't get a positive pregnancy test first. I'm ready to back off my efforts but also just want to be able to report the data at my appointment. 

Creativity. I mentioned this when I listened to Brene Brown's audiobook The Power of Vulnerability, but I just want to tap into my creativity. I want to build in time to express myself somehow. I'm just not sure how. 

Mission statement. We worked on our personal mission statement during our Leadership event at work last week. I revisited mine from 2017. Honestly, a lot of it holds up. But I'm wanting to simplify it to a single statement. I landed on, "Others will feel loved, understood, empowered, and inspired by me." I'm still not sure that's sitting right. Mostly I just want to leave places and people better than I found them. 

Leisure. I came across a reel someone posted to their story last week about how even though people a century ago worked really hard, they also allowed themselves time and space to "just be," and how necessary that is for our nervous system and well being. It really resonated and has been on my brain since. I want to find ways to just be present, not feeling like I need to be doing or cleaning or learning or reading. 

Annual goals update

Still killing it in all my goals EXCEPT for hikes. It's been on my brain, but I haven't had the energy to look up an easy hike AJ could do.