Slow Down & Enjoy the Life You’ve Created
Day of Hope #125 - Saturday May, 2023
Goal: Slow down, be present, and enjoy the people and places that fill my soul
Quote: “The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.” – Richard Bach
What a great weekend for the soul.
My Day of Hope started around 8:00 a.m. Yes, you read that correctly. I was awake before my alarm. I'm not exactly sure what was happening, but apparently miracles do occur on the 13th. Just as I got out of bed, my smoke alarm started beeping. For a few seconds, I thought, Seriously? Not today. Then I quickly changed my thinking.
Thank you for waiting until I was awake instead of starting at 2:00 a.m., like smoke alarms normally do. See? Personal growth. I grabbed a 9-volt battery and my step ladder and climbed up to change it. Except apparently smoke alarms don't use 9-volt batteries anymore. What? Mine needed two AA batteries.
Back down the ladder. Down the stairs. Find the AA batteries. Back upstairs. Back up the ladder. Because nothing is ever as easy as it should be. Eventually, after several rounds of my smoke alarms loudly announcing warnings to what I assume was my entire apartment complex, I managed to get the batteries changed. I'm sure my neighbors appreciated the wake-up call. You're welcome.
Back to One of My Favorite Places
Once the smoke-alarm adventure was over, I put on my workout clothes and headed somewhere I hadn't been in a while: The Boise Greenbelt. Oh, how I had missed it.
I went to one of my favorite parks in Boise and spent several hours simply enjoying the river and walking. No rushing. No agenda. No headphones filling my head with more information. I just tried to be completely present. I noticed the birds. The trees. The river. The fresh spring air. All the little things that are so easy to miss when you're moving too quickly through life.
I've spent so many Days of Hope walking along the Greenbelt over the years, and every time I return, it feels a little like coming home. There is something about being outside that settles me. It reminds me that I don't always need to be accomplishing something. Sometimes I can simply be.
After my walk, I stopped for a smoothie and a wrap for lunch. My total? $13.13. Seriously. I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried. After more than ten years of Days of Hope, the number 13 still seems to find me. I just smiled.
Twenty-Five Years of Friendship
After lunch, I headed home, showered, and got ready to meet two of my longtime girlfriends for a movie. We went to see Book Club: The Next Chapter. What a perfect movie to watch with women I've been friends with for more than 25 years.
The movie was about friendship, adventure, getting older without getting old, and not wasting the life you've been given. And it took place in Italy. Beautiful villas. Wine. Girlfriends. Laughter. What's not to love?
We had wine and popcorn while we watched, and I couldn't help thinking about how fitting it was to experience this story sitting beside two women who have been part of my own story for more than two decades. Friendships like these are special. We've watched each other go through different seasons of life. We've celebrated. We've struggled. We've changed. We've grown.
And somehow, after all these years, we're still here. Still laughing. Still showing up. Still making memories together. That's something worth celebrating.
Keeping the Italy Theme Going
After the movie, I wasn't quite ready for the Italy experience to end. So, I kept the theme going at home. Spaghetti and wine for dinner. Perfect. Then I took my journal outside and spent some time writing on the patio. I watched another movie, took a long Epsom salt bath surrounded by candles, and let myself completely relax. It wasn't an extravagant day. But it was filled with so many things I love.
Nature. Movement. Friendship. Movies. Good food. Journaling. A long bath. And absolutely nowhere I needed to rush off to. Sometimes those are my favorite Days of Hope.
One More 13
There was also something very exciting happening behind the scenes this month. After moving my launch date a couple of times, my Hopes Highways website was finally scheduled to go live on May 31st. May 31st. And what is 31? 13 backwards. Of course it is.
For months, I've been working on my book, building my website, learning new technology, creating content, organizing years of Day of Hope stories, and trying to turn this dream into something real. And now another piece is about to become official. What started as one personal day each month more than ten years ago is slowly becoming something I can share with other people.
But today wasn't about working on the future. Today was about enjoying the life I've already created. As I ended the evening, I realized that hope doesn't always arrive as a giant accomplishment or an exciting new adventure. Sometimes hope looks like birds along the river.
Sometimes it's laughing with women who have known you for 25 years. Sometimes it's spaghetti and wine. Sometimes it's a receipt for exactly $13.13. And apparently, sometimes it's a smoke alarm reminding you at 8:00 in the morning that even on a Day of Hope... life is still going to life. And you can enjoy it anyway.
My Lesson of Hope: You don't have to wait for an extraordinary experience to feel hopeful. Slow down long enough to notice what's already around you, the people who have stayed beside you, the places that bring you peace, the little signs that make you smile, and the ordinary moments that fill your soul. Sometimes the best Day of Hope isn't about doing something bigger. It's about being fully present for the life you've already created.
