don't waste this

This morning I took milk and juice to a PTC hosted breakfast for the teachers at my sons school, then I went for a run, and followed that up with making eggs for breakfast for my daughter.  These may seem like small things, but to me they are huge.

You see I quit my job about  2.5 months ago, but today is the first day that I have felt the realization that I'm not working.

Today would have been my first day back at work after summer break.

As I was running this morning I was thinking about it.  I thought about my fellow teachers at the school where I taught.  I could guess what they were thinking...the mixed thoughts of excitement, apprehension, and wishes for just one more cup of coffee on what felt like a very early morning.  I know the feeling well, the nerves about meeting a new set of preschoolers, and knowing that the first few days with a class full of three year olds is always crazy.

Being out there, running in the morning sunshine, rather than at work, was a bit of an epiphany.  I just kept thinking:

"Don't waste this."

I don't really know what the future holds.  Right now I'm running down a crazy path, seeing if I can create a successful(ish) small business making handmade jewelry (oh, on that note check out my instagram: copperandoakjewelry).  I read somewhere recently that success isn't knowing what you want to do, but rather being willing to pick a path and follow it.  It may not be exactly what you had hoped for, but you can always go back to the beginning and start over.  True failure only occurs when you aren't willing to begin the journey.

I'll never know unless I try.

So I'm off to tackle my to-do list, call friends to make plans, clean my house, spend the last couple days with my kids before they start school, volunteer with the PTA, help out friends when I can, make jewelry and sell it...

Just don't waste this time.