free

I feel free today, in that way that you feel free when a great source of stress has suddenly gone away. It's almost better to have the stress and then feel it go away than it would have been never to have it in the first place.

After the stress went away, I took a book and a journal over to my usual coffee shop for lunch, and I sat outside thinking how very happy I am just now. 

It helps when the sun is shining - oh, how it helps - but it is more than that. Summer is coming, and I foresee lots of hikes and outdoor happy hours and little weekend trips and just general being. Life is so great now that I have learned to enjoy just being. 

I mean, not all the time, obviously (cough, winter in Universe City, cough). I am learning to let myself live the unpleasant feelings, too. 

But I love that I can now just enjoy standing on top of a mountain, or sitting drinking chai, without always wishing for something more than would make it better. Those moments are already full. They need nothing more. My lunch break today was such a moment.