One of the jokes at work is that I don’t have a life outside of my job. And when I say “joke” I mean it’s pretty much completely true and I often ask if I can work late or come in on my off days – not necessarily because I don’t have anything else to do, but just because I like my job so much. I mean, why not work when you can work?

So logical, right? Except my bosses all keep reminding me that there’s this thing called rest and it’s kinda really important in life. So, although they sometimes let me stay late or come in for a few hours to work on my off days, more often than not they send me home.

This week I had two days off in a row – something that’s really rare and actually made me sad. It wasn’t going to work out for me to go visit my family back in Ohio, but then I realized that it might be the perfect opportunity to go to the zoo with one of my friends.

I met Susan about six years ago and we’ve been friends ever since. I remember after meeting her for the first time coming home and telling my family that she was pretty much the sweetest person I’d ever known, and that I was thrilled that she seemed to want to be my friend.

Every time that I came to Kentucky for the next five years I’d text her and tell her that I was going to be in town, and despite the fact that she was exceedingly busy with a growing family, she always worked it out to come hang out. (Check out this post from 2013!)

We’d walk in the gardens at the Creation Museum, or just hang out in the bookstore, and I always looked forward to our visits.

When I decided to move to Kentucky Susan was one of the first people I told. I was so excited that I had at least one friend in Kentucky. (Because yo, folks! It’s scary moving to a new place.)

Since moving to Kentucky I’ve really enjoyed getting to hang out with Susan more. She’s invited me over to her house, let me do laundry in her basement, took me out to eat for my birthday, and let me tag along to her church.

This summer we were talking about the zoo, and I told her that despite going all the time as a child, I hadn’t gone since my 17th birthday – which was over a decade ago. She promptly invited me to go sometime with her.

When I had these two days off in a row, I texted Susan to see if she had time free on either day. Despite being a really busy mom and getting late notice, she made it work out.

So, apparently, I do have a life outside of work after all. 😉

Yesterday was tons of fun, full of memory-making ventures, and reminded me of how much I like zoos. I’m so thankful for the people in my life and how God has blessed me with such great friends.

Have a blessed day, folks!