Taking Control of My Summer

“I woke up to the sound of birds singing!” Ryley said excitedly as she crawled into bed with us early this morning. “I love sleeping with my window open!”

I’ve been getting excited about this summer because, for once, I am determined to make the most of it. I know it’s trite to say that life is passing us by, but that’s just about right sometimes.

For several weeks now I have been making a list of things I would like to work on with Ryley…things that I have tended to gloss over during the busyness of the school year – like multiplication tables, organizational skills(!), scripture memory, and learning to control our emotions. There are also tangible things I want to complete – like organizing our garage, planting flowers, and “doing more” in our great city.

Too often we let our Saturday hours pass us by without eeking out any fun or productivity. We find ourselves watching too many episodes of Little House on the Prairie and then cleaning our house, over and over and over again. But maybe if we weren’t in our house so much, we wouldn’t mess it up and need to clean it as much! When I’m driving to the grocery store on Saturdays, I pass so many cars of people out and about, heading towards the city. I often wonder where  they’re headed, and I think to myself, “Look at these families out having fun! I want to do it too!”

All around, I want to be more heedful of what Ryley’s up to -- more present in her life. I want to really listen to her when she talks incessantly. I want to make sure I’m dealing with the issues that need to be dealt with and enjoying her personality at this delightful age. I want to help her grow.

(This is what Ryan came across on our computer tonight… We had NO idea our daughter was getting married! Ha! And to Bob Barbber, son of Vixen and Lina! YES! Can you tell she reads our framed wedding invitation a LOT??? :-) )

I want to be more mindful of where things are within our house, what comes in and what goes out. I want to know what’s in our fridge on a daily basis instead of wondering what’s growing there in the dish of three-week-old pasta.

I want to be a better person…a more productive and fulfilled person.

We should eat outside more.

We should play more board games.

We should go camping more.

We should go to the mountains more.

We should do more “new” things and go “new” places.

So as a result, I’ve taken control of my calendar. In general, if something is on my to-do list, it gets done. So I have crafted my to-do lists for the next few months, laying out our specific goals and planning activities for our family on the many “free days” that Denver offers. Ryley has a 36-page math packet to complete before school starts, so I’ve mapped out a way to get it done in a timely and Ryley-friendly manner. I may have overbooked us on some days, but only time will tell. We don’t have to do these things I’ve planned; but at least now we won’t forget they’re available! Like the hot air balloon festival, for instance…Every year Ryan and I kick ourselves for not being “in the know” enough to go!

Two weekends ago we started cleaning our garage. It felt so good, and we are still kind of riding on the high from that experience. We are excited to finish it so we can finally get a repairman in there to fix the garage door springs. We have not been able to open the garage door for four years. It turns out that half of the “junk” in our garage was just our collection of boxes. We keep the boxes for everything, and when going through it all, we found boxes for things we don’t even have anymore. How crazy is that?? We are box hoarders! We also look forward to having a garage sale sometime this month.

Before:

Progress: (with garage sale items to the right!)

You can see the floor! Haha!

Anyhow, so I injured my lower leg during the garage cleaning day, and I limped around for a week, thinking it was broken. X-rays proved it was not broken, but just a torn muscle (just a torn muscle!). But it feels so much better every day. Thank you, Jesus! It is not fun to be less than 100 percent, especially when your mind is whirling with all the things you want to do! :-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryley’s grandpa bought her a telescope as an early birthday present, and being the science nerds we are, we are really enjoying it! Ryan loves it as much as Ryley does. I think it makes us look smarter than we really are, having it sit in the corner of our living room. :-)

The only problem is that Ryley’s bedtime occurs before it gets very dark, and the moon has been out in the mornings rather than in the evenings. But it is such a great gift, and we look forward to using it for years and years.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryley has been at work with me this week (daycare doesn’t open until next week), and my co-workers get a kick out of how much she makes herself at home:

You can’t read it very well, but the white paper “gate” she’s constructed says “Keep Out.” She’s created a little fort for herself where she can eat trail mix, watch Netflix, and read Nancy Drew all day long. She’s been having a blast.

Ah, summer days are here again. :-)