You’re probably tired of hearing about Marco Island after the last few Daily Notes and the Weekly Note (depending on when you read this). But, Marco Island continues to highlight great lessons while I’m here.

Last year, our trip was filled with sun, clear skies, warm mornings, and hot days. This year the weather is a little different, still plenty of sun, a few more clouds, cool mornings, and warm days; by no means is this year’s weather “bad”, but had I held on to what we experienced last year, I could easily have seen this trip as ruined.

Too cold to get in the ocean.

Too cool to soak in the sun and maximize the Vitamin D because I’m wearing a shirt.

Spending less time outside in the morning and evenings.

And the list could go on…

Thankfully, that’s not my predisposition, although I’ve heard plenty of complaining around the hotel by other patrons.

Instead, our first few days here have been a blast. We’ve been able to enjoy the beach without being too hot. Leo’s been skimboarding all day despite the cooler water temperatures. We’ve been playing paddleball, throwing the football, and going on family walks. The cooler weather has actually made it a little more comfortable once the sun comes out for the day.

Our trip hasn’t suffered in the least bit because we’ve focused on all of the positives, which far outweigh any negatives we could think of.

The point of our trip was to get away, be somewhere warmer than home, enjoy each other, be outside in nature, and refresh from another busy year.

Whether we had 80-degree weather or low 70-degree weather, we would be able to accomplish our goals as long as we didn’t find reasons to complain about this year’s reality vs. last year’s memories.

It’s not bad to have expectations of what you want in life. Don’t cling too closely to them though, because things don’t always happen how we expect or want them to. That doesn’t mean these experiences can’t still be impactful and enjoyable–the only way that happens is if you cause it with thoughts and energy.

Sidenote: Today marks 1 year of Daily Notes . I wanted to write a big post about it but decided against it because I’m not done–I’ll celebrate the Daily Notes when it is time to move on to something else. But I did want to acknowledge the milestone and thank you for playing an important role in the notes! Let’s keep pursuing!

See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,

JC