I am happiest when I am acting spontaneously – when I am doing things in the moment solely because I want to do them. Typically, if I have something upcoming planned, I cancel it most of the time because by the time it comes around, I’m either too tired or socially exhausted to commit to it, or it feels more like an obligation.

As I referenced in my previous post, I need a change in my life. The first step towards that was putting myself out into the universe a little bit more so I can be more open to opportunity. I started off with grabbing an impromptu breakfast at my favorite breakfast spot with a friend.

Then, I decided to finally book that wax appointment I’ve rescheduled twice now and actually commit to it after breakfast. Afterwards, I squeezed in a trip to the pet store with my cats in tow. This was the first time I brought them out of the house together for leisure. Oreo usually loves car rides, but this would be the first time Biscotti would be out for fun. Of course, getting them into their harnesses and carriers was a mission, but once they got in the cat and in the pet store, they were perfectly calm and seemed to be happy. I normally let Oreo out of his carrier in the car because he loves looking out the window, but I decided against it this time since I also had Biscotti.

The biggest leap today was that I booked a horse trail ride for the first time. I have been wanting to go horseback riding for a long time. My love for nature and animals has never ceased, and I finally did that for myself today. I am so happy that I did that for myself because I definitely don’t regret it – I loved the trail ride. My horse, Bubbles, was very gentle and always responded to me. At the same time, I kind of felt bad for the horses, having to go on these trails multiple times a day under the baking sun.

The horse trail ride left me dusty, sore, and sweaty. If you have never ridden on a horse before, you are sitting straight up on your sit bones the entire ride and your legs are bent at an awkward angle, with the heels pushed down and toes up to remain balanced. My sit bones are sore and I left with my knee a little uncomfortable, but after resting my knee for a few hours, my knee felt better. My sit bones are still a bit sore… The top part of my foot is also a bit sore due to the prolonged position of my feet in the stirrups.

Last but not least, one more spontaneous adventure for the day: good company, a beautiful view, and dessert. My friend notified me that he’d be available after 9:30 PM, but he wanted something more lowkey to do. So I did what I do best – car drives at night with a view. I opted for “Skyline” (a nickname for this place in our town) because I also thought of inviting another friend to come along in that area. I ended up inviting a third friend, who invited their friend also. Despite feeling so comfortable in bed and a bit sore, I forced myself to get up, eat something, and go out.

I left my home around 9:45 PM, picked up both of my friends, and met the two others at Skyline. It was three of their first times there and they loved the view. I find that one thing I enjoy doing is connecting people or bringing people new experiences. We got to Skyline at around 10:45 – 11:00 PM and the park technically closes at 10:00 PM, but when I used to go up there, I never saw that curfew being enforced. First time for everything though, I guess. Several police officers came to kick us and the other park patrons out at around 11:20 PM, so we ended up going to a restaurant to continue the conversations. Fast forward and I make it home at ~1:45 AM.

While I can say that I had an eventful day, I’m concerned about whether I can sustain this amount of activity each weekend. I was able to overcome the desire to stay in bed because I wanted to be out due to this morning’s mental breakdown. I want to develop habits to prevent myself from falling back into my episodes, which is what I was testing the waters with today – trying to figure out what I enjoy doing. Everything was enjoyable today, particularly the time spent with friends and the horse trail ride. The horse trail ride also allowed me to reconnect with nature, which I feel I really needed, but as with any hobby, it costs money and the current economy is particularly rough.

At least I can say I had fun today, and I enjoyed my day – something I haven’t been really able to appreciate lately. And I still get to come home to my cats and snuggle up with them.