Anticipation.

One of the trips I am looking forward to the most the summers is our annual trip to Biloxi. Mom, Dad, and I have been going to Biloxi the week of July 4th since I started working for the GS...so I guess this really does make it year 4! Dad does a great job of holding down the blackjack table while Mom and I do a great job of sitting by the pool, reading, drinking adult beverages, and tooling around Biloxi and Ocean Springs. There is a little art museum and a chocolate shop that we always find ourselves strolling by/through/in and I enjoy the time with my parents and not having to share.

But this year, we are adding my fun friend Jess to the mix! We haven't had anyone go with us in our 4 years so I think it will be fun to show her around our little vacation stomping ground! We've been travelling to Biloxi for YEARS now...I'm not even sure how many but I was either in late elementary school or middle school when we started heading there. We used to pull a 5th wheel trailer and camp at a great KOA campground in Ocean Springs and I have great memories of those trips. Somehow we never ended up there in the summer and I can even remember being there once when we ran out of propane in the middle of the night (our heat source!) and it being crazy cold - so much so that we worried about pipes freezing! We stay at the casino of Dad's choice now which is great - view of the bay, salt water pool, plenty of chairs for lounging. It'll be a great vacation - one I am very much looking forward to!

Brunch.

For background, my sister lives in Atlanta and my parents live in Columbus. That means, my parents are about 3+ hours from me but only an hour and a half from my sister. Periodically, they meet in the middle and get together for lunch or brunch and I am always really jealous. I truly love living in Chattanooga - my life, my job, my home, my husband - but I seriously and deeply miss being close to my parents. As I get older, I realize how much I treasure them so I am a little sad when my sister tells me that she is going to get to spend a couple hours hanging out with them.

So, my sister texted me yesterday and told me that she was going to get to have lunch with them today and it made me superbly jealous. I checked my calendar, thought about it for a while, and decided that what-the-heck, 4 hours round trip wasn't too far for lunch with my parents! I got up this morning at 5:20, threw on the clothes that I laid out last night, and headed towards Atlanta. I am so glad that I don't have to make that commute every day because the traffic was so terrible and made me cranky. I got to my sisters around 8am and we headed farther south together. Mind you, my parents don't know that I decided to come with her - fun surprise!

We got to Newnan and waited a few minutes for their arrival and I was pretty darn excited to see them. It was actually pretty entertaining because it seemed like they couldn't figure out why I was there for a second...you know, that look on your face when your brain is processing....processing...OH...HAPPY FACE! I am glad that my can't-keep-a-secret sister was able to keep my secret and that I got to hang out with them for a while today. I love those 3 folks...

Once I got on the road back to Chattanooga I was pretty tired so I pulled the music up too loud/windows rolled down bit to get me to the office (yep - still had to go to work). Thankfully, my flex scheduled allowed me to NOT feel guilty about taking most of the day off but I had a meeting that I couldn't miss this afternoon. I worked a little late then headed to the gym where I had a super sweaty/rear kicking workout. I hope to sleep really well tonight. :)

Came home and made myself dinner - trying to get protein sources without eating much meat - and not really any red meat (lots of reasons) so I am experimenting with quinoa. My first experiment was learning how to pronounce it (keen-wa) then I made it yesterday for lunch. I did a cold salad with it - tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese, and a lime vinaigrette which turned out really good! Tonight I did a warm bowl of Asian veggies, extra added edamame, and some Asian inspired salad dressing with the quinoa and it was super good. An easy way to get my fix of Asian food - and that is saying something for this girl that could eat it 7 days a week. Anyone else out there experimenting with no/low meat intake and have any suggestions?

Worth it.

The CEO at my GS council has an internal blog that she posts on pretty regularly and always with careful and wise speech. In today's post, she talked about how we can not be great employees during the day if we are not taking care of ourselves outside of work. She used the example of a tree - if the roots are not healthy, the canopy can not be healthy. She talks a lot about taking care of ourselves so we can basically perform at our peak in all areas of our lives; easy to hear and hard to put into action when you are working 70 hours a week.

I've been thinking about this idea a lot, especially recently. I willingly give many more than 40 hours per week to my job because it is what I want to do and what I feel is necessary to be truly productive and successful (not in a monetary sense, more in a positive daily outcome sense). I work hard because I deeply believe that what I do has an impact on the lives of girls in our community, many of whom have life-changing experiences because of Girl Scouts. However, this hard work and these long hours come at a price...little time with my family, missed special occasions, few vacations, and no time for kids of our own (because I am busy with 16,000 of other people's kids!).  I've been thinking a lot about what "needs to give" to make me healthier; less work, more time with people I love, more mornings at the gym, more time at home. How can I live by the old saying "work smarter, not harder" in order to be a better ME?

I think the answer is two fold.
Be Intentional.
And
Don't be lazy.  

I guess that those two things sort of go hand in hand. Be intentional with your time and when you have time, don't misuse it by being lazy.

All of that to say...I've been working hard to do things that I know my heart needs to do. Flex off those extra hours and stay home to do the dishes. Paint. Write. Make time for a date with my husband. Go on a field trip with my nephew. It is hard because I feel like I should be at work but in that moment, I know i am exactly where I am supposed to be.

Tonight is a great example of this.
My sister texted me and said that both of my parents would be in Atlanta tonight and I should come and have dinner with them. It is hard to justify a 4 hour drive and a full tank of gas for a meal. But not really. I miss my parents; my sister texted me a picture of their sweet smiling faces and I cried at work. Easy justification...I needed to see their faces in person. To hug their necks and kiss their checks. To sit near them and remember their voices.

I needed this just for me today. More than I needed to work or do laundry or be in bed at a decent hour. I needed to feed my roots so my canopy will be strong...

(Edited at add: my amazing husband went to Atlanta with me, just so I wouldn't have to drive back alone at night. I married a blessing.)