43

Well, here we are again. This time last year, we were in a very different space, but no matter how hard this season of life has been, I am grateful for my life and my health. I am 43 today, and I’m happy about it. No lie.

We celebrated over the weekend with a day on the lake in a rental boat, just as we did last year. Same crew, same sandbars, same good weather. We even took a photo in the same arrangement:

I was sure the lake would be over-populated, or perhaps the heat and humidity would’ve been as bad as it’s been in previous days, but neither of those scenarios played out. Both sandbars we visited were entirely ours, and as long as there was a breeze, the heat and humidity were manageable.

I love these girls and am so grateful they got to spend the day with us. 🙂

My favorite:

On Sunday, we enjoyed an exciting and CRAZY Hungarian Grand Prix (if you’re not watching Formula 1, WHY NOT?), and then Mom came over for dinner – venison roast and veggies.

None of us had to work too hard, which is exactly as a weekend should be.

Chuck nailed it again with his gift to me – a new custom suitcase covered in photos I took from Italy, France, and Monaco in 2019. I knew he was doing something with the photos I took, but I had no idea it was this. I was so (pleasantly) surprised!

We have two weeks until school starts, which means I have precious little free time left. We are about to enter the busiest school year yet, and I have absolutely no idea how we’ll manage. We’ll figure it out per usual, but sometimes I look at the schedule and shake my head. Who do I think I am? I had gotten so good at saying no, and there I went saying yes again.

Honestly, I went with my gut on everything I said yes to. All the classes, all the extras, all the things. We’ll see how it pans out. It’s Jeremy’s senior year and Jackson’s hardest academic year yet. I’ll have SIX English classes, plus the magazine. Even Chuck has a new position at work, so this year is all kinds of new.

This morning I went for a seven-mile run to legitimize the medal and 10K race I registered for a month ago. It felt good, but hoo-boy it was hard.

I haven’t run that far in more than a year. I keep thinking that maybe my half marathon days are over. I don’t devote an hour or more to running the way I used to, and I haven’t run a half marathon since November 2019. I know 2020 was a wash, but my motivation is struggling. Maybe with both boys running cross country, and certainly after the weather cools off, I’ll feel the urge to run another long race again.

We’ll see. Who knows what 43 will bring?

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