Believe in the Future You’re Creating
Day of Hope #126 - Tuesday June, 2023
Goal: Celebrate how far I’ve come and spend the day doing what fuels my soul
Quote: “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt
Bonus: Hopes Highways Is Live!
My heart is full, and I am incredibly proud of what I have accomplished. On May 31st, 13 backwards!, my Hopes Highways website officially went live.
After months of planning, writing, photos, revisions, and moving the launch date more than once, my website was finally out there for the world to see. The response was wonderful, and seeing Hopes Highways online made this dream feel even more real.
I celebrated with one of my favorite girlfriends, who came over with blackberry margaritas. We sat on the patio, ate salads, talked, laughed, and watched a movie, The Whale, which gave us plenty to think about and talk about afterward.
I also got to spend time with my granddaughter, who had chosen patience as our angel card for the week. Listening to her explain what patience meant to her, made my heart smile.
Flowers, friendship, family, margaritas, and a live website. I'd say that was worth celebrating.
My Own Private Resort
For my actual Day of Hope on June 13th, I decided I was going to the pool. And not just the pool. Today, I was pretending I was at a fancy resort. I packed a cooler with drinks and snacks and headed out around 11:30 a.m. The sun was shining, it was 75 degrees, and there were only a couple of other people there.
Perfect.
I alternated between relaxing in the sunshine and sitting in the shade, eating my hot-air popcorn, journaling, and working on some of my older Day of Hope stories.
My phone kept warning me that rain was coming. I looked at the sunshine and decided: I'm staying. The clouds rolled in occasionally, but the rain never came. As the afternoon went on, the pool became quieter and quieter until it felt like my own little private resort. The temperature climbed to 81 degrees, the birds were chirping, and all was well.
I sat there thinking about my life and everything that had changed. I was still working my corporate job, but building Hopes Highways was fueling a completely different part of me.
It fueled my soul.
I don't think I would have made it this far if I hadn't started believing in myself, recognizing my own worth, and making intentional choices to create a better future.
Eventually, almost 4:00 p.m. rolled around and I decided it was probably time to leave my “resort.” I stopped at Starbucks for tea, headed home, and finished my Day of Hope with dinner and movies. Nothing complicated. Just sunshine, quiet, journaling, reflection, and time to appreciate how far I had come.
And after spending so many months building something for my future, it felt really good to simply sit by the pool and enjoy the life I had right now.
My Lesson of Hope: Believe in yourself enough to build the future you want, but don't become so focused on what's next that you forget to enjoy where you are today. Sometimes you need to stop working on the dream, sit by the pool, listen to the birds, and recognize that the life you're creating is already beginning to unfold.
