My friend, how about we sit down for coffee? A pumpkin spice latte with oat milk for me, of course. What will you be sipping on?

Once we’re done with the awkward small talk that happens while we wait for our drinks (you know the part I mean), we’re ready to really get into the “tea” (that’s what the kids are saying these days for gossip, in case you were wondering) …

Let’s have a September 2022 coffee date catch-up

First of all, how was your weekend? Mine was fun! I went to a surprise birthday dinner and a birthday brunch for a friend, and I went to a tennis clinic. It was nice to be in town after two weekends in a row away. Now, let’s get to chatting …

Planning festive activities far in advance

Okay, this is a first for me, but I’ve already purchased and planned three holiday activities for us for December, as well as a festive fall activity for September and one for October too. I always want to go to shows, festivals and events, but I often don’t hear about them until it’s too late. And then we missed a couple years of fun stuff due to COVID, and of course, there weren’t quite as many family friendly fun things near us in the Bay Area as there are here in Charlotte.

Lucky for me, some of my sweet girlfriends in my neighborhood (and one who lives outside the neighborhood, but I consider her to be a neighborhood friend), are big into planning this type of stuff. One day, one of them told me about a special train ride for kids about an hour away, and that started the discussion of all the upcoming events we could attend throughout the year. All of sudden, I found myself booking tickets far in advance for all sorts of stuff. In one weekend, I purchased four sets of tickets for things.

Right now, I have tickets for apple picking in September, Disney on Ice in October, a Polar Express ride in December, a lights festival in December and a holiday Cirque show in December. And that doesn’t even cover the actual holiday parties we’ll likely attend. I know I’ve mentioned that I love to have things to look forward to, so buying all these tickets is good for my soul!

Next up, I want to add a concert to the line-up. Do you have any upcoming events on the calendar, friend? If not, you should book one! And tell me what it is, in case I want to go too. 

But it doesn’t end there, in addition to these festive events, we’re also hosting a big fifth birthday party for Brady in a few weeks, we’re going to Dave’s sister’s wedding in Florida in October, and we’re going to a birthday party weekend for some friends in Orlando in November. Lots of good stuff on tap to keep us busy.

Sometimes I get overbooked and overwhelmed with our schedule, but then I also sign myself up for all these extra things, and I’m okay with that. Life is meant to be lived, and by nature, I like to be go-go-go. Are you with me?

Looking back at summer 2022

I know that the official start to fall/autumn hasn’t happened yet, but summer is over, if you ask me. It may not look or feel like fall, but the season has changed in my world.

When I look back at summer 2022, I have some very mixed feelings. It was an incredibly fun summer in some respects, and I caught up with and spent time with so many people important to me.

My Nashville girls’ weekend with my long-time Florida friends was so incredible. We also had a joint family trip to Pigeon Forge with our best friends, where many memories were made (then we visited these same friends in Columbus just last weekend for more fun). My mom visited twice. I went to IDEA World Fitness Convention in Las Vegas for my first solo trip away in three years, and I learned a ton and saw some fitness friends. And then of course … I was pregnant for 10 weeks of summer, which changed much of my experiences.

During the pregnancy, while I didn’t feel great physically, I was looking forward to a different future than I’m looking forward to now, and that’s a constant in my mind these days. I’m doing what I can to take my life one day at a time, but when I look back even just a month or so, I do get sad. I’m not trying to bring this up and harp on it, because sometimes you need to move on. But it’s important for me to put it out there — that life is not always perfect — and sometimes you don’t have a perfect plan. Sometimes you have doubts and questions and grief. I’m hopeful that a change in season will bring some clarity for me, but we shall see.

And if you ever feel this way about circumstances in your life too, know that you’re not alone. I’m trying my best to not fixate on the unknown, and instead embrace what’s right here in my life at this moment. Much easier said than done. And that’s all I’ll say about that. Let’s move on to something way more positive …

A very exciting addition to our lives coming soon

I’ve been waiting to tell you this, and I’ve got some big, big news. My mom is officially moving to Charlotte! Yes, that’s right! She found a place and she moves up at the end of September. She’ll be living about 10 minutes from us, and we’re really excited about it. 

I haven’t lived in the same town as my mom since I was in high school. Although we’ve remained very close throughout all the distance in our lives, we were never sure if we’d live in the same city again — which was really sad. But then, once we moved to Charlotte, and my mom started visiting us, it started to seem like maybe it was possible we could get her here full time.

My mom loves Charlotte, in fact, she went to Queens College here in Charlotte many years ago (it’s now called Queens University, but it used to be a college just for women).

Over the last year-and-a-half of our visits, I was slowly able to convince her, until it became very clear it was the right move for her and for us. Yes, she’ll miss her long-time friends in Florida and she’ll miss her routine that she loves. But, it’s time for her to be closer to us, time for her to be closer to my brother and his wife (who are in Atlanta), and it’s time for her to be an everyday fixture in our lives, instead of just a visitor.

She’ll get more time with Brady, more time with us, and she’ll get to live outside of Florida for the first time in like 40 years. We’re so grateful she’s making the move, and we hope she loves it here like we do. That’s the news! And that’s the coffee date. 🙂 

(In this photo, which we actually took this morning before my class/preschool drop-off, I’m wearing my favorite sneakers (which are on sale right now), my favorite leggings, my favorite workout top and my favorite sunglasses all in one outfit. And this is an outfit I wear at least once a week.)

Thanks for joining me for our September 2022 coffee chat, my friend. Now let’s get out there and enjoy our day and our week! Come say hi to me on Instagram too!

Other posts you may like …

• A look at our kitchen refresh
• Common habits shared by fit and healthy people
• Reader questions answered spring 2022
• Join me for an almost-spring 2022 coffee date

Questions of the day for YOU …

What’s one thing you want to tell me during our coffee date?

What drink are you sipping on right now?