35 Days to Launch | Finding Joy in the Small Moments

Thirty-five days to go, and here's something I haven't done in many years - I'm actually working Thanksgiving week. Funny how things hit you differently when you know that "plenty of time off" is right around the corner. I enjoyed three wonderfully quiet days wrapping up the annual budget (probably my last big corporate project) and it felt just right. Who knew budgeting could feel nostalgic?

Thanksgiving week we visited with family but, Thanksgiving Day, we celebrated our way - metal detecting at gloriously empty playgrounds, followed by Bryan's favorite mashed potatoes and stuffing and watching "Planes, Trains and Automobiles." Some traditions you just don't mess with. While everyone else hit the stores on Black Friday, we treated our pets to their annual "deals" - vet check-ups and shots. Not exactly the doorbusters they were hoping for!

But Saturday? That's when the real fun began with our favorite holiday tradition: Operation Pumpkin Rescue. For a few years now, we've played pumpkin patrol after Thanksgiving, asking neighbors if we could save their decorative gourds from landfill fate and deliver them to local animal sanctuaries. This year we hit the jackpot - four completely stuffed carloads split between Shutt'er Down Ranch and Rescue and The Zend: Final Farm and Sanctuary. We were still getting "we've got pumpkins" texts on Sunday!

Picture this: you drive up to the sanctuary and suddenly it's like an animal version of Black Friday. Goats, pigs, cows, horses, dogs, donkeys, and one very bossy goose come running. While we're breaking pumpkins on the ground, this clever miniature horse decides to skip the line and create his own personal buffet right out of the back of my car. Talk about curbside pickup!

Free advice that I learned the hard way: when unloading a trunk full of pumpkins, maybe don't try to catch the rolling ones one-handed. I suspect that my bicep will remind me about that brilliant move for several more days.

Sunday turned into car cleaning day (thanks, Mom and Dad, for passing down that "clean car = happy life" gene). Scrubbing away mud and gravel dust (and grated pumpkin from the miniature horse) while daydreaming about next year's adventures is a welcome form of meditation. Just think how many more pumpkins we can haul in that new truck!

TRANSITION UPDATES:
Corporate Exit:
The quiet holiday week provided perfect focus time for wrapping up the annual budget, cleaning out emails and planning for the remaining weeks in the year.

Virtual Business:
Balancing year-end client work with 2025 planning. While we support them in other ways too, there's something special about helping our sanctuary client during pumpkin delivery season!

Travel/Truck/Camper Plans:
We're anxiously waiting to receive an update on the truck - which should include a VIN number - making it another step closer to real. Meanwhile, we're diving into RV and camping YouTube videos and dreaming up future routes. We've decided the first trip will be to the Texas coast for metal detecting, since we'll need somewhere warm. The Jeep and CR-V enjoyed their last great pumpkin season with us before the big switch to one vehicle.

What we're learning:
• Joy shows up in muddy car trunks
• Sometimes a one-time event turns into an annual tradition
• Bringing animals joy brings us great joy
• Community builds one pumpkin at a time

Next week, we'll talk about navigating the gap between saying goodbye to one life and hello to another made even clearer after seeing a quote by Confucius that someone posted on social media:

"We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one."

It perfectly sums up our next chapter of making the most of the present through greater awareness, a deeper sense of gratitude and the desire to live with purpose.

What holiday traditions are you seeing differently this year?