Carolina in my mind.

Today was a great day. I woke up and I said to myself - Jenny. SNAP OUT OF IT.  Okay - let's be honest. I did that after hitting my alarm clock's snooze button violently three or four times, missing my date with the gym altogether and cursing the sun for rising. It was a low point. And then when there was no more snoozing to be had, I sat up and made a conscious decision. Today would be a good day. And it was.

Let's go back to perhaps why the start of the week was a little rough. I went home to NC this weekend for my mom's birthday and had an absolute blast. It was probably one of my most favorite visits in a long time because we were all just happy, celebrating mom and enjoying being home.

The whole weekend was full of incredible food, wine, and laughs (all paid for by the parents - gotta love it!). It was just a wonderful weekend at home. No place like it. Some highlights - We made a trip to Pinehurst, NC  - a very quaint golf town (aka - old people everywhere) and walked around to enjoy the beautiful NC weather. While this was a fun "pleasantville" like experience, it was not quite worth the hour drive - and certainly was not fitting for my four inch heeled black boots (I looked like the town hooker amongst the crowd of Nantucket clad old folks) so we went back home for an AMAZING dinner at a local resturant, and then took mama out dancing. And let me tell you - I realized this weekend that I must have learned all of my skills from her. While her moves may be slightly dated, she channels her inner Beyonce and makes me proud all the same. She even made an appearance ON STAGE. I know what you are thinking - the apple doesn't fall far.

We also took some time to go through our attic and do some spring cleaning. Throughout my life my mom has encouraged us girls to save memorabilia from our childhood. Well, being the sentimental girls we are, that advice manifested itself in quite the accumulation of crap over the past 22 years. So we decided to FINALLY sort through it and throw out the "not so memorable" items - ie. a chocolate bar wrapped up in a plastic bag from like... 1992. Yeah. Gross. Minus the run-in with outdated baked-goods and crumbled corsages, it was such an incredible walk down memory lane. To re-read old diaries, cards and notes from friends and to reconnect with the girl I used to be was a great mirror for how far I have come and a reality check of how much I am yet to learn. I think the funniest moment was when I read in a diary that I thought I was adopted. Hah. Oh, poor, sad, baby Jenny.

My family, my dog, my neighborhood, my home, my bed, my mom's new foster kittens (don't ask), wine and cheese. What could be a better weekend?

So leaving all of that at the butt crack of dawn on Monday to be slammed into another work week was like jumping into a freezing cold pond after sitting in a sauna. No thank you. The polar bear plunge start to my week was a little more abrupt than I wanted and work has been super busy.

But all that being said, I realized this morning that I have the power to be happy. Not the weather. Not my exhaustion. ME. And if I can't find a way to be happy when I am single, employed, have an awesome family and friends living in the city of my dreams then what the heck am I going to do when I have real problems? Exactly. So no more pity party.

If the rain pours down, I have decided to dance in it.