Celebration Continues...

I spent the weekend continuing my birthday celebration with a friend of mine from California who also had her milestone birthday one month before me in January.  We became fast friends when I moved out to California in the late '90s and after I moved back to Texas we regularly took birthday celebration trips near our birthdays.  However, it's been at least 5-6 years since we've taken our annual birthday trip, so this year it was a must!  

Looking back on the time that I met her, I was in one of those transition phases of my life.  I was looking to break out of the regular routine and explore more of the world.  So, when the opportunity came up to take a new job and either move to Austin or near San Jose I jumped at the chance to move out of state!  A new adventure!  A fresh perspective!  It's exactly what I was looking for at the time!  I didn't know what I was really getting into...organizing a move, finding housing, moving to an area that I didn't know anyone and all those other little details that come along with moving halfway across the country!  It was an adventure, though, and I'm glad I did it!  I met a lot of wonderful people and many I'm still friends with today!

Sometimes you have to take a chance, take a risk...we've all heard that at some point in our lives...and it's true.  Break out of your shell, your comfort zone and reach farther, higher where you don't know any of the answers.  The answers will come, but you only have one today, one tomorrow....so make it count!  I don't really consider myself a risk-taker by nature, but I do know when it's time to make a change in my life...force the issue...find another way...make a 'new' normal.  Change is comfortable and we all like comfortable.  I'm definitely a creature of habit, but change is also inevitable.  It will always be there, so the more we can embrace it...the more we can be flexible with it...the more comfortable we'll remain.

So, as my birthday celebrations come to an end for this year I'm reminded of the journey I've been on and the wonderful people in my life that have contributed to it.  The ones that have come into my life for a moment, a short time or a lifetime have all influenced my being in some way, shape or form.  I'm grateful for their presence in my life and seek the change ahead that will continue to drive me forward with hope, joy and love!

Blessings to you in the week ahead!!