I’ve been so spoiled this summer.  I’ve had so many little getaways and I’m loving it!  I’ve definitely made my way down the beaches of New Jersey from Belmar to LBI to Pier Village with friends and family.  I’ve traveled to North Carolina and recorded my album with dear friends.  And now I’m hitting up Europe with my husband for three weeks. I don’t think summer gets much better than this!

Back in July, my best girlfriend and I ran off for a beach day.  We kept the plans loose and met at a midway point to soak up the sun and talk until our voices hurt.  It always happens when we’re together.  I become almost quiet and serene just knowing that there is so much freedom in the air with us.  I can tell her anything and vice versa.  We lived every moment of that day like it was our last, moaning about the perfect weather we had gotten.

Anyone who reads my blog knows what a gift it was for me to travel to North Carolina and record my album with my fantastic collaborators and friends.  I spent quality time with my friends and with their help, did something I had always dreamed about, creating a new outlet of creativity and carving out a new genre to tap into. It was liberating and heartwarming.  No sun involved, just fun with kids and friends and music.  Nothing better.

Mark and I got to escape to LBI for a weekend with my mom, aunt, uncle, 3 cousins, their 2 husbands, and 2 babies.  It was a full house but it felt very much like the show, warm and happy with all of us together.  I cannot remember the last time I got to spend such quality time with these people who i have such history with.  Our lives are all so damn complicated and these moments are ones I cherish as I watch my cousins and their babies grow up.  I only hope that as our families grow, we all keep growing closer together. I love visiting my old stomping ground of LBI and appreciating it as an adult and not a 21 year old stupid kid. 🙂

I just got back from a mini-beach-break with the best girlfriend from above and our other best girlfriend.  I mean, again, the freedom to be yourself every second of the day with them is incredible.  Who cares if you feel chubby in your bathing suit and you want to eat a juicy burger at dinner? Live it and eat another chip. They love you for you, they lift you up when you feel less than, and they help you figure out life. Sitting on the beach with them from morning until night was such a gift.  We stayed at a shitty beach motel, sand all over the floor and we even brought our own sheets.  We went to bed before 11pm to get up and go. We packed considering each other. It was perfect.  It always is when I’m with them. It’s real and sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky to find two people like them.

And then Europe… Three weeks away with my amazing husband who I love more than anything, celebrating our second wedding anniversary.  He’s my best friend and I get to spend three solid weeks of cheeses, pastas, piazzas, beautiful Mediterranean waters,  family, and unchartered territory with him. Italy. Greece. You couldn’t ask for better.

So why am I bragging about my epic summer?  Why am I detailing all of my trips to you?

Because I so often forget to live in the moment, the in the now, in the right fucking now. Because right now is great. I love looking at old pictures and remembering things.  That’s cool as long as you’re not living in it.  I live in the future so much of the time. I’m a planner. Mostly Type A. I’m goal oriented. I’m results driven.  Shit, I’m a worrier, but right now is too good not to enjoy.  I feel like this summer I really let myself be present.  And damn, it was fun.

We don’t have kids and we really hope someday soon we might.  If I don’t take advantage of all of this freedom now, won’t I regret it later?

So without even knowing it, I’m following what the internet says to do to live in the present. Enjoy yourself more. Focus on the little things. Take a hot sec to just do nothing. Focus on you. If you don’t love your job, find the positive in it, not the negative. Be open to change. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Do things you want to do, not what you think you should do. Be nice for no reason. I like all of those suggestions and I’m going to keep it up.

My heart and mind are open to this next epic trip, living, breathing and taking it all in. I revel in the fabulousness of this summer’s adventures too, how great they were and how alive I felt for all of them. That’s it, really. I felt alive, there, present, and invested. And when you have great friends to enjoy it with, that’s worth a billion dollars……