Last Wednesday I took the afternoon off from work and had lunch with my dad! He drove up from Colorado Springs and we ate at a Thai restaurant. I was so happy that he made the trip because for the past couple of years, it’s been me going to see my family versus them coming to see me. So this was a great and rare treat. I enjoyed getting to relax and take my time eating lunch since I didn’t have to rush back to work. Once I’m in my new place, both my parents will have to come visit again. Only a month away at this point!
On Saturday, I met up with my cousin, Amanda, at the Botanic Gardens. That also is a rare treat because while her and her family have lived here for 1 1/2 years, we’ve only spent time together once. I told her I hope this next year we can get together a little more often. Still, getting to see her more than once every 10 years is more than I can say for the rest of my extended family so I’m still grateful. We wandered around the conservatory, soaking in those bright greens and the flowers that still continue to bloom in the warm, humid space. It was lovely. I’ll probably go back again before winter is over so I can imagine spring wrapping its arms around me. Amanda and I explored the rest of the gardens too even though there was less to see. We enjoyed catching up.
Sunday I had a virtual comic book meetup chat about a couple of comics and I felt so happy visiting with my friends. I could almost feel the warmth emanating from the computer screen from the love and companionship we have for one another. It was a very pleasant morning and a relaxing afternoon. I got some chores done and was even able to play some Beat Saber on Shari’s new oculus. I like that game.
Today, I crossed another item off my #30 before 40 list – do something scary! I went to a boxing class with Shari. I had told her I would go to one for the past year and a half but always felt too scared to actually follow through with it. Doing something I’ve never done before, especially exercise, felt scary. I’m not in good cardio shape and I knew that boxing would be cardio heavy, at least compared to what I normally do. Welp, I did it. And it was fun! And this class, while there was some cardio, wasn’t as bad as I had imagined. I had a really great time and was reminded, yet again, that while something may feel scary, in reality it’s more often than not, not scary. Sometimes it can even be fun! So if anyone has considered taking a boxing class but wasn’t sure about it, I do recommend it. No one was paying attention to me, I did my best, and if that meant I did less squats than others, so be it. No one cared! It was honestly pretty freeing. shout out to Shari for continuing to encourage me to go and for coaching me through the basic boxing moves so I didn’t feel as nervous going in. It’s still January 2022 and I’ve crossed one thing off my list and another will happen next month. What a great start to my year!
Just Lauren 