August was a wonderful month. It was a slow month, but also a month of big decisions, new experiences, and tons and tons of time spent lounging lazily reading.
Disconnecting from my blog and the Internet as a whole was exactly what I needed. I needed to get away from blogging and social media, to let it all go for just a little while. I will admit, at a certain point, I began to feel weird, so cut off from what was going on in people’s lives. As I added my social media apps back onto my phone yesterday, I felt as if I was entering this unknown world. I felt awkward as I scrolled through Twitter and Instagram once again. In due time, it’ll become second nature for me. It always does.
We’re two days into September already. We’re a mere eight days away from the kick-off to the NFL season and I’m sure Halloween costumes and candy will be littering the aisles of Target soon enough. Before we know it, we’ll be eating Thanksgiving dinner, decorating for Christmas, and singing holiday songs. This year is passing by in a blink of an eye, but that’s just how it goes. I’m just trying to be present and open to what each day has for me.
Early into August, my roommate and I signed a lease! After losing out on some privately owned condos in South Tampa, we decided to rent from an apartment community. We move next weekend, so August has been a flurry of decluttering, packing, shopping for the new place, and saving up for move-in costs. I have many emotions surrounding this move, which I’ll be talking more about next week.
I celebrated two years at my job last month. I can’t believe it’s been two whole years, and that I still love what I do just as much as I did when I started. Like any job, it has its low points, but generally, I love it. It helps that the work environment is healthy and motivating and that I work with wonderful people who are fun to be around. I had an informal annual review, which was more of a discussion where I could ask questions and give feedback on their processes. It’s truly a joy working at this company and I cannot wait to see what lies ahead in year three!
After more than two months of having a UTI, Dutch is back to his normal self. It was really in August when he seemed to be back to his usual perkiness. He’s not having accidents in the house anymore, though we have been careful to take him out more often. (And, sometimes, that entails waking up at 4 a.m. on a Saturday, which is totes fun.) Last week, he went to the vet for a dental cleaning and his biannual comprehensive exam. He passed his comprehensive with flying colors, and it makes me so happy to know that he is healthy again and not dealing with the pain of a bad UTI. That was such a low point of my year!
Other happenings in August: Dutch and I walked in a race, which was fun even if the race was a little unorganized. I met up with my friend Amber to participate in a Home Depot workshop, where we got to make a decorative shelf (and it was completely free! Score!). And my writing partner and I started meeting weekly to work on our novels. We hadn’t made the time for it in a very long time, so it’s been fun to get together for a few hours on the weekend and have dedicated time to work on my novel.
All in all, August was good to me. I loved my time away from the Internet, but I was also counting down the days when I could return to it. I missed it so much more than I thought I would, especially blogging. While I needed the time away to reconnect with myself and make some big plans for my life and this blog, letting it go for a little while made me realize how much I love it and what a big part of my everyday life it is. I’m so very happy to be back.
Tell me something good that happened for you in August!
