Excited, Against the Odds…

Daily Writing Prompt: What are you most excited about for the future?

You know what? I’ve been thinking about this one. And it’s funny, because the other day I was asked what I’m most worried about, and the list was long enough to circle the block twice. But excitement? That feels different. That’s something quieter, but stubborn. The kind of thing that lives in your gut even when the world looks like it’s gone mad.

I’m excited about the people I haven’t met yet, the ones who’ll make me laugh so hard my stomach hurts, or say something that cracks my heart open in the best possible way. I’m excited about conversations on porches, by firesides, on long walks under a sky so big it makes your problems feel small.

I’m excited about the fact that no matter how many times life has knocked me on my backside, I’ve always gotten up. A little battered, maybe, but still standing. And if I’ve made it this far, there’s got to be more good stuff ahead. Call it stubbornness, call it grace, call it whatever you like, but it’s there.

I’m excited about those tiny, perfect moments. The ones you don’t see coming. My dog wagging his tail at you on a rough day. A stranger holding a door open. That moment of stillness when the world feels, just for a second, like it might be okay after all.

And you know what else? I’m excited about right now. Because when you strip it all back, this is the only bit of time I’ve actually got. Not yesterday, not next year, this exact moment. The way the light’s hitting the wall. The sound of a bird outside. The feel of the cup in my hands. That quiet ache in my back (that’s still there!) reminds me I’m still breathing, still here.

I think the secret’s in realizing that we spend so much time chasing the future or replaying the past that we miss the only place anything real actually happens, right here, right now. The present moment is where life lives. And every time I remember to land in it, I find a tiny kind of peace.

So yeah, I’m excited. Not because the future’s guaranteed to be easy or kind, but because I’m still here. Still kicking. And in this moment, I’ve got everything I need. And there’s a kind of magic in that, too.