Summer Milestones

Happy Monday, friends!

I’m sorry for taking last week off; however, I was just not in the mental capacity to write a new post. A heartfelt thank you for your understanding and support. I’m excited to be back in full force this week!

I don’t know about you; however, I don’t think it felt like the Fourth of July at all this past week. Anyone? Anyone? Am I alone on this feeling? For me, it kind of felt like “just another day.” In fact, none of the holidays that have been celebrated this year have really felt the same to me. I just can’t put my finger on it. Maybe it’s because I’m becoming old.

The dogs days of Summer have certainly been no stranger to us these past few weeks. I hope everyone is staying hydrated and giving their air conditioning a workout. Get ready for that high electric bill!

Anyhoo, I digress. Let’s get on to the topic at hand for this week’s post…

And that topic is…Summer milestones!

With society telling us that Summer is already half over, I’m excited to share with you three of my greatest milestones thus far since June 21st–the actual official day that Summer started.

1. Becoming debt free with student loans

I’m one of those people that feel like I’ve been paying off student loans since birth. Raise your hand and say “Hey!” if you agree! The constant monthly payments that have always seemed to creep up on me twice a month since graduating college in 2010…well, I’m glad to finally say that they are GONE and out of my life FOREVER. That’s right…debt free from those pesky things that we call student loans. (Insert happy dance for days here). It feels liberating.

Getting these loans to the magic number of 0 over the years has been quite the task. How did I accomplish it? Well, with some hard work at a full-time job and several part time jobs, a payment plan, and a rigid concept of determination in my mind…not to sound cliche, but that’s basically how it worked. Making payments when I found myself having extra funds during a particular month was also beneficial.

And seriously…for those of you out there who are working on getting down to that magic number of 0–don’t give up. Get set up on a payment plan if you aren’t already and budget out times during the year based on your income and finances where you can make an extra payment or two to get ahead. It will work wonders. Believe me.

What will I do now with the extra money I’ll save per month? Probably buy some more ice cream for the freezer. KIDDING. Well, kind of. I mean…I will always be buying ice cream, but I might enjoy an extra half gallon…or two…or five. Shhh…don’t tell anyone!

2. Becoming an uncle

On June 24th, the Welliver family became a bit larger as my brother, Will and his wife, Mindy welcomed baby Mackenzie Marion into the world! She brought with her a full head of hair. I’m so thankful to God and everyone in my life for their support, love, and prayers toward Mindy and Will as they made their way through this pregnancy. They had some rough patches leading up to this moment and I couldn’t be more grateful that all turned out well.

She is incredibly adorable and cute and all I want to do is hold her constantly! There is just something so special and calming about snuggling a baby in your arms…and that new baby smell. It is something that can’t be described–it has to be experienced. And I can honestly say that I’ve enjoyed the moments I’ve already got to spend holding Mackenzie SO much and I’m SO looking forward to many more in the future.

I’m excited to watch her grow up and hopefully share some sunshine as she makes her way in this world.

I hope that I can do her justice as an Uncle. Only time will tell!

3, Reaching the halfway month in my 1K For 10K running journey for pediatric cancer research

On June 21st–the first official day of Summer–I hit the 500th mile in my 1K for 10K journey. Say what?! The halfway point to 1000 miles has officially been recorded! In addition to this milestone, I’m just about $400 away from hitting the $9000 total funds raised mark, which is literally insane. July kicks off Month 7 in this journey and being so close to the $10,000 total goal with 5 months still to go makes me speechless. It looks like I’ll be increasing that goal by a few thousand before end of year.

As of the writing of this post at 11:21pm Sunday night, I’ve clocked over 170 runs, more than 550 miles, and have raised an official $8625 total from the generosity of more than 100 donors. It is incredible to see the amount of love, support, and hope from individuals all over who have shared their passion and stories with me as I continue pounding miles to find a cure.

For those who are interested, this month if you donate $15.00 or more, I will play a song of your choice on the piano. That’s right. Any song at all…the choice is yours. So, that means head over to 1KFOR10K.COM to make a donation and help me join the fight to bring hope for a cure to these kids and their families.

We are and WE WILL CRUSH these goals together while finding a cure.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for you this week! We are halfway through the Summer and have halfway left to go! I look forward to even more milestones in the coming weeks as we continue to full speed ahead to the hottest dog days of weather.

So, grab your sun tan lotion, set your air conditioning to the temperature that keeps you cool to prevent those hot flashes, and bring out the flip flops because the second half of sweet Summer time is ready to kick our butts into full gear!

Sprinkle sunshine always,

JP!