Anticipation

I've had a week filled with positive thinking, good vibes, and excitement. Nothing really big has happened, nothing too fabulous, but I found myself feeling uplifted by the smallest things - the little things that make life nice.

One contributing factor to my overall lightheartedness is, I'm sure, the wonderfulness that is November. This particular November, in addition to including my birthday, as usual, also brings with it a number of getaway(s). There have been no vacations or even weekend trips this year, for a number of reasons. Now, however, they seem to be coming back-to-back.

• Last week, our family spent the night at a hotel not too far away, for "Sleep Cheap" - A charity event sponsored by several hotels in the area, where for a small fee, local residents can stay and enjoy their facilities, with all of the proceeds going to a good cause.
• This coming up weekend, hubby is taking me away for a "surprise" getaway, just the two of us. Destination is unknown - I just pack my bags, get in the car, and see where he takes me. He made arrangements for the kids for the weekend, so it's just he and I, with both the time and opportunity to reconnect.
• Immediately following this weekend getaway, the whole family is going away on a vacation. It's an all-inclusive "dude ranch"-type resort, and we're really looking forward to it. The "no electronics - including cell phones" mandate has been communicated to each person in my family, and everyone's on board with this. It's time to reconnect as a family, as well - and this will be the perfect time and place to do it.

So I've had a bit of a "pep-in-my-step" for a couple of weeks, now. Looking for the good, rather than the bad. Trying to focus on the positive and let things go. Trying to prevent myself from getting stressed, but rather, feeling very zen about things.

So far, I've been successful - between a focus on how I WANT things to be, and the anticipation of so many exciting things happening at once, things are really looking up.