Friday, February 5, 2016

24 Hours In A Day

I have been looking forward to today for a couple of months. It was my first day off of work that my kids didn't have the day off from school since October 2, 2015. My husband also had to work, so I had the day all to myself. 

A few weeks ago I scheduled a hair appointment for today, thinking that it was the perfect opportunity to get a trim and highlights without feeling rushed or too busy. But, last night when I was thinking about what I wanted to do today, I realized that I absolutely did not want to spend my day off sitting in a salon when it was supposed to be 37 degrees and sunny. So, I cancelled my appointment and started planning an adventure. 

Trails are pretty much my favorite thing, and I really wanted to spend my day exploring some new ones. I text some friends and posted on Facebook asking for ideas of where I should go. Since I had the whole day, I was willing to travel a little farther than normal, and I ended up at some single track mountain bike trails about an hour from my house. 

Just me and my boxer, Blu.




There wasn't a cloud in the sky, or a footprint on the path. I honestly can't even explain how happy my heart was to be out there. I got to the trail head at 10 AM and I had nothing but time. That is NEVER the case these days. I'm always in a hurry, or at least always looking at the clock to see how much time I have before I need to be done with what I'm doing so that I can move on to what I'm supposed to be doing next. 

But not today. Today was different. Today, instead of taking the shortest trails, I took the long ones. I stopped often and took pictures. I looked around. I listened. 




I was all alone in a brand new place and I wasn't nervous. I felt confident, brave, and adventurous. I felt like the world was mine. 


And it was beautiful. So beautiful.


We explored for almost 3 hours. I couldn't believe how tired my body was from our hike. About 2.5 hours in, I was starting to feel like we should probably figure out where we were and start heading back to the car. There were definitely a few moments of concern, thinking that I was lost. Luckily, the trail was well marked and we made it out safe and sound.

As soon as we got in my car, Blu crawled in the back and passed out. She was one pooped pup!


I was tired too, but I was wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the rest of my day. If I went straight home, I would only be there for a little over an hour before I would have to leave and grab my boys from school. Plus, I didn't really have anything I wanted to do at home. 

The other problem I was weighing was that today was supposed to be my "rest" day. That hike was not a rest... So, I was thinking that I should go ahead and do tomorrow's run today, and take tomorrow as my rest day. And just like that, I figured out how to spend my last hour of "me" time.

Blu and I drove 45 minutes to my favorite local metro park, and I knocked out my 5 mile run. 



It was the perfect end to the perfect day.

I wish I had more days like this, where I didn't have to watch the clock or rush from one thing to the next. When I could spend my day exploring God's beautiful creations, without a care in the world. 

Even though these days are few and far between, I will continue to take full advantage of every single one that comes my way and be incredibly thankful for them.

Because 24 hours in a day never seems like enough, but it's all we have, so let's make the most of it.

Sparkle.Pounce.Make It Count.

-Kendra

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