Five Things to Look Forward to- July Coffee Date
There’s an old Peanuts cartoon where Linus explains the secret to happiness: having “five things to look forward to and nothing to dread.” Sounds good to me! Grab a coffee/tea/beverage of choice and I’ll tell you five things I’m looking forward to right now. Thanks as always to Coco and Deborah for hosting our monthly coffee date! 1. My next race On Monday I’m running a 5K! For the first time in a long time, I’ve actually been doing some speed work. I’m definitely not going to be setting any PRs, but I’m slowly emerging from the molasses I’ve been running through for the past couple of years. I’m not looking forward to that last mile- 5Ks hurt- but overall I’m looking forward to the race. Races are fun! 2. Having a real holiday Where I work, we’re closed four days a year: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and July 4th. Other than those days, if a holiday falls on a day we’re scheduled to work, we’re expected to be there. Since I work Mondays, I always work on Labor Day, Memorial Day, President’s Day, Juneteenth… all the bank holidays some people have off. So it’s an extra-special treat to have July 4th fall on a Monday and have a real holiday! 3. My trip to Chicago At the end of July I’m flying up to Chicago for a few days to see my sister! I haven’t seen her in over two years. She actually lives in a suburb of Chicago, and I’m not sure if we’ll make it into the city or not. That doesn’t matter to me- I’ll be happy to relax at my sister’s the whole time. 4. Another road trip In the middle of August, my son and I will be driving to Texas again. Last summer we made the same trip prior to his freshman year at Baylor. That trip was bittersweet for me- we had fun, but all the way there it was in the back of my mind that I would be leaving him at school and returning alone. Many tears were shed on my solo drive back! Now that I’ve adjusted to the whole college thing (more or less) I think I’ll be able to enjoy this trip more, AND since the purpose of the trip is to get his car there, I will be flying back this time! I think it goes without saying that flying is better than driving twenty hours by myself. 5. The Ink Black Heart On August 30, the sixth book in Robert Galbraith’s (aka J.K. Rowling) Cormoran Strike mystery series comes out. I’m SO EXCITED. I’ve come to the conclusion that J.K. Rowling is my favorite author of all time. After reading the Harry Potter books twice (now just waiting another ten years so I can read them again), Casual Vacancy, and the first five Cormoran Strike novels, I know that I’ll love everything she writes. I originally put a library hold on this book, but it’s 1000 pages long (yay! The longer, the better.). I don’t want to rush through it in order to return it to the library on time, so I pre-ordered it from Amazon instead. Seriously- I’m counting down the days. So that’s it! Five things to look forward to, and nothing to dread. Linus was right- I do feel happy! How about you- can you think of five things you’re looking forward to?