It’s now May and spring has officially begun, as the weather recently has been great and the winter tires are now off of my car. Of course, with the onset of spring comes a (seemingly) short summer period. June, July, and August…that’s pretty much it for summer. An extended winter season has delayed my summer planning, so I might as well try to get it all done now.

1. Get married. This one is at the top of my list. The wedding is tentatively scheduled for August 11th. Wait…no, I shouldn’t say “tentatively” because at this point, it’s cemented to be on that date. The only possible hitch is that my divorce won’t be finalized by then, but I sent the final documents yesterday…so it should only be a month (maybe five weeks) before it’s done. I hate that I’ve waited this long to get it taken care of and that I’m making Sunshine nervous about the timing of everything. Let me just say that I do NOT want to EVER get divorced again (the whole process is brutal) and I certainly WANT to get married in three months. This time is the last time. Period.

2. Lose 20lbs. I know that I’m healthier now than I was a few years ago. I know that I’m lighter now than I was just over a year ago. However, I’m 10lbs heavier now than when I first moved here to live with Sunshine. I honestly don’t know what the deal is, but I think it’s simply because I’m eating real food for the first time in years. I’m not pigging out every day, but I’m eating healthy amounts of real food…and I think my body simply isn’t used to it. At least that’s what I’m telling myself. But if I’m getting married again (for the LAST time), then I want to look my best for the big day. I’ve got three months to do it…this shouldn’t be an issue if I stay focused.

3. Buy a new BBQ. One of the things I stopped doing a couple of years ago was barbecue. I was living alone and just didn’t feel like taking the time to go out and throw something on the grill. Fast forward two years to me closing out my home recently. Sunshine and I took a look at my barbecue and realized that because I had left it outside uncovered for two years, it was rusted beyond repair. Now? Now I want a NICE barbecue. I’ve been looking at this gas barbecue as a possible option. 40,000 BTU’s? Yes, please! Mmmmm…I just want to taste some rib-eye fresh off the grill again.

4. Go to a GOOD drive-in movie. We actually got to see a couple of movies one night at a drive-in during the summer, but the only problems were (1) the movies weren’t any good and (2) the theatre was about two hours away from Sunshine’s house…meaning it was around 2am by the time we got home and we were DEAD tired.  There is a drive-in only 30 minutes away from my house, so hopefully we can schedule something over the summer.

5. Take a weekend trip with Sunshine. We tried to have a “stay-cation” last weekend but it wasn’t the same as actually getting out of the city and doing something. When we lived apart, we would sometimes do overnight trips in certain places just so it felt like a vacation. Where we haven’t been able to go anywhere so far in 2013, it’d be awesome if we could go somewhere…even if it’s an overnight trip…and just leave the city behind us. I know we’ve got a lot going on with the wedding and all, but I’m hoping we can still make this happen.

6. Walk a half-marathon. Yeah…this is really going to happen. I’m scheduled to walk a half-marathon on my birthday, September 14th. I’ve begun training and I’m averaging about 5km/hr right now. I’d like to get that a bit faster before September, but I think walking 26km is something I could totally do. Sunshine and I walked 8km a few weeks ago and did 9.5km last weekend, so by the time late summer arrives we should be doing 20km easily. I’m (surprisingly) looking forward to this.

7. Go to at least 5 restaurants that we have never been to before. We easily accomplished this last year and, quite honestly, I can’t wait to do it all over again. It’s one of those “small things in life” that we experience together and enjoy a lot. And now that I’m living in the city with her, we can take advantage of all that the city has to offer during the week…not just the weekends. I’m really looking forward to trying different restaurants this year.

8. Get a family portrait with ALL of our kids in one spot. With Rugrat tentatively sheduled to come visit the second week of August, that means both Sunshine and I will have that entire week off to spend together with all of our kids. It will definitely be hectic, but I think it’ll also be a blast.  BUt something I definitely want is to have a picture with all of us together…and one done professionally. Last summer my ex-wife took a picture of all of us together and it wasn’t quite the masterpiece I wanted, so hopefully we can get ‘er done this summer.

9. Enjoy life…especially the life I live and how I live it. One of the things I’ve been working on recently is trying to love myself. As difficult as that has been, it’s also helped me to remember how much I enjoy living life.  Is my life perfect? Not by any stretch. But it’s a good enough life that I don’t’ want to take it for granted. It’s funny…this past weekend I told Sunshine that sometimes I don’t feel like she “stops to smell the roses” and enjoy what’s around her.  It’s definitely advice that I need to consider for myself.

10. Smile every day. It’s easy. It’s fun. It can make someone else’s day without you even realizing it. There is ALWAYS a reason to smile at least once during the course of every single day. My task…heck, my personal mission…is to never forget that.