Countdown to Fun

My trip to the East Coast is coming up fast. When I booked the trip in early February, it seemed that June was a long time coming! Now, as the first of May is just around the corner, I know that the trip will be here before I know it. And I have said this before, but part of the fun in things like this is the anticipation in waiting!

Every step that I take in preparation is another step of excitement. When we made the flight arrangements, I was excited. When I called and secured the beach house, I was excited. When I arranged to pick up my daughter's best friend, I was excited. As I have planned the get together with friends, I get excited. And even when I reserved the rental car, I was excited.

Over the weekend, I did a good deal of shopping. While I was shopping, the friend I was with kept saying, "OH! That will be great to take with you to Virginia!" And that was exciting too!

Last night when talking to my son, we made plans for he and his girlfriend to come to the beach on the weekend. He was very excited and so is his girlfriend. Now I am even more excited.

Our friends in Atlanta might be able to come to see us while we are there. Even though we see them every now and then, the kids want to make a trip to Busch Gardens, one of the things we did with them regularly when we all lived near one another. Yet another thing to look forward to and get excited about. Our kids have been friends since preschool and we have kept a close friendship for over ten years now.

I have waited nearly three years to make this trip. I had some things that I needed to work through before I was able to go. It is not exactly like I thought it would be. Some of the people that I thought I would spend time with won't even know that I am coming. That is now OK. I am not staying with the friend that I always imagined I would stay with. That is now OK. Things change. Sometimes the change is sad but for the better. I needed to be in the frame of mind to go to Virginia, for fun and for vacation, not to see certain people. If I only spend time with my family, it will still be a wonderful trip. Since God has helped me adjust my attitude, everything and everyone who I see in addition to family is an additional blessing. I can now look at the people he has put in my life ... the one's who have walked in when other's walked out ... are the real friends and the one's who are worth the investment of our time. God has a beautiful way of correcting priorities. And everytime I talk to the good friend that I talk to almost daily, I say, "I can't wait to be there!"

I am so excited that I can barely work. I am ready to start packing now. I think about the sound of the ocean, rubbing my feet in the warm sand, and watching my daughter boogie board on the waves that she grew up on. I can't wait to see the neighborhood where I raised my family and how it has changed. I want to go to the movie theater that my son worked at from the first day they opened. I am excited to eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant in their new and improved location. I can't wait to wrap my arms around the friends who have walked with me through some of the toughest times in my life, to look into their eyes and know that the love we share is the love of Jesus Christ. I can't wait for my daughter to visit the place that she considers home as she figures out - in her 14 year old mind - how to put closure to some things of her own. I look forward to the healing, the joy, and the fun that will be in this trip.

Counting down! I can't wait.