I’ve walked so far today that one of my calf muscles won’t stop twitching.  This certainly didn’t help…

Somehow, I let my daughter talk me into climbing all 219 stairs to get to the top of the Saint Augustine Lighthouse.  Man I love that girl…

Once up at the top, I even managed to let go of the railing.  Ok, so it was only for like 10 seconds, but it was 10 seconds longer than the last time I was there… Granted it was hard to enjoy the view on account of the heart attack I was having.  Although I’m honestly not sure if that was from climbing all those stairs or from the fact that I was standing on a balcony a few hundred feet in the air…

Once I could beathe again, the view was stunning.

It was probably a good thing we walked so far on account of all the bakeries we visited today.  And I sure as heck didn’t just look in their windows.  It started with a perfectly made croissant here…

And ended with a light and flaky Napoleon here…

It’s this awesome combination of walking and sugar which explains why I’m currently lying here facing the ugly truth that I’m not as young as I once was.  It makes me feel slightly better that my pre-teen is also lying here looking like she just finished a marathon.  I’m not sure what that says about me that I find joy in that.  At the rate we’re going, I’m going to need a vacation to recover from my vacation!

I’m off to bed – I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to involve more walking and lots of chocolate…

It’s Friday morning – my company has gone home, the kids are all back in school, and my TO DO list is completely out of control.  As such, I’ve placed an insane amount of pressure on myself to get it all done.  At this point, I don’t even know where to begin.

I’ve always found the best thing to do when I reach this place, is just to put everything on the shelf for awhile and just walk away.

So instead of worrying about whether or not I can pull off my final Baking project in two hours or any of the other junk on my list, I’m sitting here at the park by the waterfront with a cup of tea, looking at this…

The water is calm and still, the fishermen have already headed out for the day, and the birds are twittering happily away.  Life continues on in the quiet rhythm of a small town.  I find so much peace and comfort in this.

My favorite boat in the harbor has just pulled up to the dock to refuel and take on water.  It’s SO beautiful.  It’s truly amazing what a man can achieve with nothing more than a dream and some determination.

I guess I just feel like it’s time to refocus.  It’s time for me to take this stress and turn it into something positive, to allow it to be a driving force to help me accomplish my goals rather than hinder them.

I’ve spent so long letting myself be ruled by my fears and self-doubt.  I’ve let these last few weeks knock me off course and threaten my dream of the future.  But if I let this sway me and deter me from my dream, then I can’t have wanted it badly enough.  When that thought first occurred to me, I let it take hold of me in a way that almost convinced me that I didn’t want it badly enough.  But now, the fighter in me is waking up.  And this is not my dream...

When I get to this place of internal calm, I can see everything so clearly, and I know exactly what I want.  I know too that I’ll fight tooth and nail to get it.  I will find a way to build my dream.

And now, with a content heart, I can go home and tackle my mountainous TO DO list, with a good attitude and a strong determination to achieve what I desire.