Because I'm Happy

My current view: my front yard where my dog is rolling around in the grass to get relief, an old man taking a leisurely walk around town with his cane to boot, my coffee mug that says "Good Things Happen Over Coffee", my 14,000 Things to be Happy About book, one of my littles sitting next to me with his car mat, silently running his matchbox cars over the carpeted roads, and I'm feeling happy. So very happy to be alive.

Every year as the school year draws to a close, I spend a great deal of time getting excited about summer: writing bucket lists, making plans with friends, going on pinterest to find fun ideas, and in all reality, setting really high expectations. I know that the fun in planning summer is truly just the excitement I get from all the potential that three months of summer holds, and that more often than not, a lot of my big "plans" don't ever happen.

I've reflected a lot this week on how fast the summer has gone, what we've done, and wondered if I've wasted a lot of time doing "nothing". This morning was a pretty perfect morning. This is the first time I've resisted waking up early to enjoy the stillness of morning this summer, and that makes me a little sad. My house is also a lot less clean than it is during the school year, and virtually no project I intended to get done has been done. So there's that. However, since I've had time this morning to ponder, I've come to the conclusion that nothing is a waste of time as long as you enjoy doing it. I rarely get to sleep in during the year, so I make up for it in the summer, and my house is just going to get messy a few hours after I clean it, so why not enjoy other things instead. The work will always be there.

We've done a lot more than I give myself credit for. We've spent a lot of time at the pool, at ball games, playing at the park, having picnics, going to the library, meeting up with friends for coffee, spending a quick getaway to Wisconsin, boating with family and friends, going to a concert, going to the lake, shooting fireworks, going out for frozen yogurt, going to the movies, riding our bikes, and the list goes on.

Friday the calendar will change again. Another clean slate of potential and possibilities, and also the transition back to school. I'm in a limbo of feelings right now. I always get this way as summer winds down. Right now, I'm feeling a lot of things: sad that summer is drawing to a close, anxious to see whether or not my room will be ready to move into before school starts, excited to see my colleagues and friends that I don't get to see often during the summer, a little mixed about my youngest little going to Kindergarten knowing it's the end of the "baby years". But with that, I still have roughly 3.5 weeks to suck the marrow out of summer and possibly still feel productive. We're going to make it good.

And just because it makes me feel excited and gives me things to look forward to, I'm going to jot down a list of all the fun stuff we plan to do before we go back to school. :)

*Annual school shopping date with Jaedyn and my mom
*Make the most of pool days
*Take the boat out a few more times
* Wake up early enough to have coffee on the front porch in the morning
*Go for more walks/runs
*Purge clothes from our closets
*Blog more
*Read more blogs
*Find fun ideas for my classroom
*Read magazines
*Spend quality time with people I love
*Calico Skies

I'm sure there are so many more things we will do in the ebb and flow of our days, but I'm excited to see where August takes us. :) Happy Hump Day!!