August Adventures

Earlier this week, I got to live a picturesque dream of mine...picnicking on a blanket in Harmon park ALL MY MYSELF. I've visited this park built in 1923 by the WPA all throughout my childhood, and always loved to think of my future self there with my husband and children, and when and if those days would ever come. It is the backdrop to many wonderful memories and many hopes and dreams, and to get a chance to be there and soak it in felt pretty darn magical. I knew a storm was a brewing' but continued to enjoy my snack, snap some lovely pictures on my phone, and write these ideas in my journal.

This whole solo-trip to Kearney that I just returned from has been like medicine to my soul... restful, nostalgic, fun, delicious, heart-warming, and most of all, without responsibilities or many worries. It included so many favorite things from my childhood, and getting to relive some of it was something I will never forget. It was a beautiful 'reset" to a crazy fun and busy summer, and a wonderful wrap-up of my #jugglejuly...where I've realized I'm never going to be able to expertly juggle everything I want to be amazing at, but that I'll often have to put one ball down or ask for help. There's simply not "enough" me to do it all every single day, and that's very very okay. I love lists, but my life is not defined by whether or not my to dos get completed each day, but more of what my love story for the day was.

And the whole goal for 2018 with my monthly habit changes/shifts was that I would fin more time to o the things I love, and more often put down the things that I did not actually love or serve me well...unhealthy habits, unhealthy relationships, and unhealthy thinking. The first half of 2018 hasn't been easy or everyday full of "accomplishment" or fun, but the work I've done to find the love and joy in each day has made it one of the most beautiful years of my life yet.

So if you know me, you know I love adventures. I think you can find adventures in your everyday, and when I use the #valentasfamilyadventures, to me it is mostly a time, great or small, that I feel so grateful and so happy for this life I get to live. It's not simple, or perfect, or easy, but those adventures make it worth it and for as long as I live, I'll take every chance I get to have another adventure and make another memory doing things I love with people I love. And that's why August, my birthday month, is going to be focusing on our adventures each day. My hashtag MUST have illiteration (of course) so I'm excited to soak up the last days of summer and the first days of the school year with #augustadventures. Hope we inspire you to have one of your own!