We've got open house for Alexis's school this week where we'll get to meet her teacher and drop off school supplies. I talked to her teacher on the phone last week and got a clearer picture of what to expect. There will only be about a dozen kids in her class, which is even less than were in her Pre-K class last year, and a majority of the school supplies we bought will stay with her instead of going into a community bin, which I'm happy about. I'm still nervous about sending Alexis to school with so many people still getting sick, but she's really excited, and I think our district's plans are pretty solid. Of course, we've still got two weeks before our postponed first day, so there's still time for everything to be changed again.

There's still so much up in the air as we move closer to the fall. Our biggest area festival has been canceled, which isn't surprising considering the circumstances but still a pretty sobering blow. It's only been canceled in its entirety one other time, back during World War II. It'll be interesting to see how many other fall events follow suit, although most of the others are much smaller-scale. The end of the year has been my toughest sales season for the past two years, so I'm a little worried about what this year will look like, especially if there are no events to fall back on. Things have been looking better since June, the worst month we've had since launching two years ago, and I keep reminding myself that any progress is good. So I've been celebrating all my victories, even the little ones.

This week, I hope you can focus on the progress you've made -- at work, in a relationship, or toward a personal goal. It doesn't have to be something huge to be worth celebrating. It's amazing how much good you can find in life when you start looking for it.