10 things to smile about: October 2018

October was full of life and adventure. My heart warms as I look back on the month’s photos. I have so much to be grateful and thankful for. After a lot of grief and healing over the past several years, I’m looking forward to a bright holiday season. Below are ten things that made me smile in October.

1. Apple picking: In early October, the boys and I visited Grandad’s Apples ‘n Such in Hendersonville and had a blast picking apples and enjoying other fall time activities.

2. Old school arcades: We have two pinball museums in our region which I think is pretty cool. The same weekend we picked apples, we visited the Appalachian Pinball Museum in downtown Hendersonville. In this photo Case is obviously playing Pac-Man, not pinball, but I had to include it. Something about his buttoned-up shirt and focused expression makes smile.

3. Soccer: It’s been a fun soccer season watching both boys learn and grow in the sport. The final games of the season are this weekend. I’ve asked them if they want to play again in the spring and they both said, “Yes!”

4. Celebrating Papa Bill: My dad turned 74 this year. It’s always hard celebrating these milestones without my mom, but we make the best of it. This was the third year in a row the boys and I have celebrated Papa Bill with dinner and a cookie cake. It’s our new tradition.

5. Sister birthday fun: My sister and I were born three years and four days apart, so we’re both October babies. We grew up celebrating our big days together and we try really hard to continue that tradition even as adults. This year, we traveled up to D.C. so we could enjoy our birthdays and have some fun in the Capitol City.

6. Homemade sushi: Making homemade sushi was one of my birthday gifts from Matthew. It was such an awesome gift. He bought the bamboo roller mat, wasabi, fresh sushi-grade fish and everything else we needed. We had such a good time creating our own unique sushi rolls. If you’re a sushi fan and you’ve never tried this, it’s a must!

7. Halloween parties: Until last weekend, it had been a long time since I’d attended a Halloween party. My office manager and friend hosted a spooky soiree with the theme of White House Horror. We decided to dress as Vietnam. And in a very interesting way, dressing like this spawned a lot of emotion for me. I’m forever grateful for the soldiers and nurses who actually embattled this time in history.

8. Early voting: Have you voted yet? I hope so! It’s such an honor we have as Americans and it’s so easy. It took me 15 minutes to vote. I know we’re all busy with life, but please find the time to get out there and vote.

9. Wolfpack workouts: Abby Wambach, world-famous soccer player and activist, has started a campaign on her Instagram page encouraging people to get out there and work out. We’re using the hashtag #wolfpackworkout to track everyone’s success. To begin, she says to merely walk or run one mile then move up from there. I’d gotten out of my fitness routine, and this was just what I needed, something to kickstart my workout regimen. I started running one mile and now it’s been over a week of working out. Woo-hoo! Feels so good.

10. Halloween: I’ve written before about how much I enjoy Halloween. I love picking out and perfecting costumes with the boys. These two have such different personalities. Case wanted to be a scary Grim Reaper and Brooks wanted to be Abe Lincoln, and they both looked adorable. We met a group of friends and had a lot of fun trick-or-treating. After that, the boys stayed up a wee bit late sorting and trading their candy.

 

I hope you had a wonderful October and made some great memories of your own. Whether you have a blog or not, reflecting upon the positives of a month is very gratifying and can be done in a journal or even on a scrap piece of paper. It truly helps the mind push away the worry or stress and focus on the good in life.