The End of Summer

Summer is winding down. For many kids in my area, school begins this year on September 1. That gives us three weeks left of our looser structured days. I've learned over the years that summer works better for my family if we maintain some sort of structure. My daughter especially, gets a little too cranky when things are too loose. So again, it's the art of balance. How to provide enough structure to keep everyone balanced but loose enough that we can be spontaneous some days to take off and do whatever moves us. I'm a work in progress in the area of spontaneity. I tend to get focused on what "needs to be done" and think less about just taking off or flaking out for the day. I had a wonderful experience of this a few weeks ago. There's been a lack of posts in the last month due to the craziness of the remodeling going on at home. Every spare moment I've been running to various home centers to pick up needed supplies, or hurriedly getting my part of the project completed so as to keep the carpenters on schedule. So, one beautiful Sunday a few weeks ago I was just about to get started on some painting that needed to be done when the phone rang. It was some friends inviting us to spend the afternoon on their boat, swimming, tubing and hanging out on Pewaukee Lake. I looked outside at the amazing sunshine and immediately accepted their offer! The weather was perfect. We ended up joining some other families we know and had an afternoon of fun which ended with the whole group going out to dinner together. The kids were still tubing at 8:00 pm that evening! The painting was still there for me to complete the next day, but it was a lot easier to do when I'd had a day of sunshine, friends and relaxation in between.

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