I am completely overwhelmed by big, crazy, wonderful life things lately.

As I blogged about in my last post, an article I wrote was published in my local newspaper. I’m still currently wowed by this.

I started volunteering at a child’s counseling center this last Tuesday. Exciting stuff for me because it’s a great way to get my foot in the door for a possible future career choice. Amazing to me because it is mind-blowing what some of these kids have gone through. Amazing to me because they’re still smiling. So many of them, years younger than I, are stronger than I’ve ever had to be. Being there for a couple of hours, conversing with both a 7 year old and a 17 year old girl, has already melted my heart and changed my perspective a little bit.

Um. Gulp. I‘ve signed up for my first half-marathon. It’s in July. It’s slowly dawning on me that this is a big deal. I am equal parts terrified and giddy. Well, maybe a little bit more terrified right now. I run six days a week, but I take plenty of walking breaks in between. I have to up my game a bit. But I’m also more in shape and healthier than I’ve ever been in my life. Yeah, I’m scared shitless, but I’m also confident that I can do this. But just in case, I’m blogging about it so y’all can hold me to it. Guys. I’m running a half-marathon!!! Ah!!!!!

Pictures from a photo-shoot I posed for a couple of weeks back were delivered to my front door today. I’ll make a separate post about this later, but here’s a teensy sneak peek:

Oh. And hubby and I are leaving for Florida at 5:00 am tomorrow. I haven’t had too much time to think about this lately, but now that it’s the night before, I’m kind-of really-super-duper-freaking-excited.

It just feels like so much is falling into place. Things are happening. I am doing things to make these things happen.

I just finished reading my favorite book of the year thus far, “Man & Boy”  by Tony Parsons. It’s been a long time since a book has made me teary-eyed or produced this many heart-tugs. Amongst my favorite quotes was this:

“Sometimes we are only aware of how happy we are when the moment has passed. But now and again, if we are very lucky, we are aware of happiness when it is actually happening. And I knew that this is what happiness felt like. Not happiness in dewy-eyed retrospect or in some imagined future but here and now, in a green dress.”

Today as I pack and cuddle with my husband and text wonderful friends and think about where I’m at and where I’m going, I know that I am happy. And that makes me feel very lucky indeed.