A Mid(ish) Summer Check-In

“What’s a week?”

This was the question Brooks posed to me on Monday when I informed him there were only 4 weeks of summer left before school starts again.

“Well, a week is seven days. Do you remember from school? Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday?” I responded.

“So school starts in four days?” He questioned. 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

I love how his little kindergarten mind works but we’re not going to keep talking about kindergarten because he’s my last and I’m kind of an emotional trainwreck about it, thankyouverymuch.

Anyway...

It’s been an interesting(??) summer over here so far. The kids are at an age where they don’t need me all the time, and yet working from home has been a learning curve for all of us. I’ve had moments of inspiration this summer, and moments when we were so busy I wasn’t sure I could mentally sustain the pace. I’ve also had to dig into the constant practice of giving myself grace.

I meant to write a post back at the end of June to include a mid-summer update over here, but this is proving to be later than I had expected. Which is actually a really great place to start…

“Later than expected” has Unintentionally been the theme of the summer.

I’ve learned so far this summer that things just take more time than I think they will.

And I mean all the things.

All the things have taken longer than I thought they would.

I’ve had to get better at extending writing deadlines, be ok with letting my own personal blog posts go for a season, and not feel the need to drop the kids off at their summer program at 8 am sharp the two mornings a week they go.

To illustrate a few examples, here are things that have been later than expected so far this summer:

• The kids’ bedtime (🥴)
• Blog posts/emails
• How much screen time the kids are getting
• A.M. wakeup calls
• When we finally show up at the pool (even though I told the kids it’d be an hour earlier…)
• Phone calls/texts to check in on people
• Meeting people at the agreed-upon time for coffee dates, dinners, etc… (though this could just be a normal thing for me🤷‍♀️😆)

Having said all this, I feel like the term “later than expected” appears to have a negative connotation. However, I actually feel like this little saying has been a positive for us over the summer. Yes, some things have been unexpected (aren’t they always, though?) and yes, I’ve had to adjust our schedules almost constantly.

But I actually feel like it’s been a privilege to have the flexibility we’ve had this season. We’ve had the freedom and margin to sleep in and take breaks from projects and schoolwork. And while the lack of routine is driving my type-A brain crazy, I’m ultimately grateful we’ve been able to adjust schedules and relax at times.

I’ve had room to rethink + be inspired by my blog again.

“Be the blog you want to see in the world.”

This was advice I read from someone else (can’t remember who) a few years ago. In a world where things have to be strategic and keyworded and loud and constantly promoting, I just want to be a place of soft inspiration. A light. A blog that delights in the sparks and joy of average day-to-day life, because that’s what I want to see in the world.

I have spent some time in the last month perusing other blogs and you know what I found? Every single one of them is different. They each have their own style, their own method of writing, their own posting schedule, and their own unique content. Yes, there are some overlapping themes, but overall, the blogs I love the most are those of other people who are simply being themselves and sharing their life online.

So that’s what I intend to shift to here.

Too much time online can cause a person to play the comparison game, even if it’s unintentional. And I think that’s where I’ve been the past few months. Taking July off of all the online things and just allowing myself to let my mind wander has been the best. What do I want to do? Where do I see my blog going? What kind of goodness do I want to put out into the world?

One of my favorite things is seeing a person give themselves total freedom to own and lean into who they fully are. I hope this summer has given me time to let myself do the same.

The Need for fun never goes away.

One of the hardest parts of working from home has been getting my kids to understand that I’m actually working and can’t just pick up and leave at a moment’s notice.

I know. Shocking.

However, working from home has also given us time to do some fun things! Every summer, I’m abundantly reminded that these 3 months are too short and too lovely a season to go to waste.

It was tough to do anything extra during the month of June since we basically lived at a ball field (IYKYK), but this second half of summer, I’ve been implementing “adventure day.” Yes, this is a made-up thing. Yes, I coined the phrase on a whim. I don’t know.

Anyway, once a week, we’re trying to get out of the house to go do something fun. Sometimes it’s simply the pool at a neighboring town, sometimes we visit family, and sometimes we do something bigger like visit a trampoline park. The only requirement is that it has to be fun, and it has to be out of these 4 walls where the kids spend a lot of time bickering.😬

I’ve Had to keep practicing giving myself grace.

I wish I could say that I just woke up one morning and had perfectly mastered how to give myself grace, but that would be a lie.

Sometimes I think I have! And then life and seasons change and I’m swiftly reminded that giving myself grace is simply a life-long practice. I don’t know that there’s a finish line.

In some ways, I saw our summer going differently. I saw myself baking with the kids and doing more projects and spending more time doing all the fun things. But then I remembered I decided to start my own business and there are these things like writing deadlines and invoices to send.

At one point, I was a little down and disappointed. While lamenting to a friend, she reminded me that this is the first summer I’d ever worked from home.

Who the heck knows what they’re doing the first time they try something?

Certainly not me. I was reminded that maybe I’m actually doing ok. The kids have enjoyed more time at home (without even knowing about the extra expectations that were on my mind). We’ve all had more time together, and overall, it’s been a pretty great summer!

I’ve learned some things this summer that I can use to tweak and change for next year. But right now, I’m still in a new phase. And new phases require a lot of grace as we muddle through.

Grace is a practice. And I’ll probably finish up the summer attempting to dish it out as much as I can.

Wrapping Up.

I’m not sure what the next season looks like. I have some ideas, hopes, and goals, but honestly, right now, I’m just trying to fully focus on the one I’m in. We only have a few short weeks of summer left and I want to do whatever I can to savor it.

What’s your summer been like? What are you up to and how have you been savoring the season?