Just Lauren

This weekend I went to the pool on Saturday and Sunday (and Friday evening too, actually). Not only am I trying to get the most out of my rent, but I’m also trying to enjoy my life AND stay cool in these hotter summers we’re getting. Shari has been such an encouragement for going to the pool. I’ll say, “Should we go to the pool today? I know we just went recently,” and she’ll say, “Yes!” I always enjoy myself when we go. We’ve gone in the evening twice now where we just put our feet in for a bit and then sit on the pool chairs and cool off. It’s so incredibly pleasant, I highly recommend the practice. There’s also something about being at the pool in the heat of the day with the sun beating down on your mostly bare body that’s lovely too. I do my best to keep the sun screen on while at the same time hoping that I’ll get to become a slightly less bleached white by the end of the summer.

I say all this because I never thought I would go to the pool this much as an adult. I became an adult and got a job and pools were basically erased from my mind. Even when I had the house and the neighborhood pool was less than a block away, I went there once. And I lived in that house for 3 or 4 years. My point is that it’s never too late to enjoy your life, to try something you haven’t tried in a while, or to try something you’ve never tried but now want to try. It’s never too late to change or to grow. Or to go swimming.

I also went to two get togethers this weekend too. On Saturday one of my coworkers hosted a bbq at her house. I made some tofu “egg” salad and spent three hours eating food (my manager made a vegan pasta salad!) and loving the fact that I was seeing the people from my department in person. The last time I had seen some of them in person was March 2020, the day we all said, “Bye, see you in three weeks,” when our company thought covid would be over in less than a month (what strange, unknown times those were). I thrived on getting to be around my team again and getting to hang out. My coworker has a beautiful home and a beautiful deck where we lounged almost the whole time. I came home tired and happy.

Then, earlier today, Shari hosted a brunch for our friends that also lasted three hours. She was a fantastic host and the brunch was superb. Seven people total made up the event which allowed us to get to know each other on a more intimate level than some of our other, larger gatherings. Some of the more quiet members of our meetup came so I loved that they got to talk more. I learned that one of them used to write poetry! I’m now going to have to bug her, kindly, of course, about letting me read a poem or two of hers. Shari made us delicious funfetti waffles and I tried out this new potato recipe and there were bagels and Duffey rolls and fruit and juice. There was also bacon and sausage and eggs that looked and smelled great. The food was all tasty and the company was delightful. Then, after the brunch, we went to the pool. 😉

So, my life continues to be mostly good. I still struggle at times, of course, that is to be human, but I feel optimistic most days. Which reminds me, I decided to create a list of “30 Things I Want To Do Before I Turn 40”. I know I’m 32 and so maybe I should have started this list when I turned 30 but you know, to heck with that. As I said above, it’s never too late to do something new. So I’m working on the list now. Somewhat surprisingly, I’ve only come up with 15 things so far (although I’ve yet to sit down and think about it for more than 5 minutes at a time) so I’m putting it out there to see what things would be on YOUR list. Either your “30 before 40” list or maybe your “10 before 70” list, whatever strikes your fancy. I’ll take ideas of what would be on your list or what you think should be on my list. And once I have all 30 items, I’ll share them on here. Maybe we can do some of them together. Who’s in?

Hope everyone had as busy and pleasant and fulfilling weekend as I had. And if you didn’t? Well, that’s ok. Maybe you’ll have that kind of weekend next week. Maybe you won’t, but it’s still worth a try.