The new season

Well, it has been a busy summer. I really have to say that I enjoyed myself this summer, took some much needed time off from really everything..... Was not what I had originally planned but so it was. I took time off to spend with my family, ponder, read (boy did I read!) I haven't read that much in years! It was definitely a nice break and very relaxing. We definitely took the phrase "The lazy days of summer" literally! But all in all, it was what this family of mine needed.

So, now back to the routine of things. School, homework, after-school activities. I do like the routine again so to speak, I believe we were ready. I always feel like September is a time to start anew. New school year, new school supplies, get the new calendars ready for the upcoming new year. This is when I purchase my new calendars, start marking them up already with school days off and activities already planned into the new year.

The kids bought some new school supplies and I myself bought some new calendars and a new journal. Just the perfect time I think. Well, I hope everyone had a wonderful summer and is excited about the new season approaching. I am ready.....

Loving this time of year! Busy as it is with school coming to an end, activities finishing up, end of year concerts and plays, championship games and end of year parties. Now I am looking forward to the lazy days of summer! Maybe not so lazy but definitely less scheduled as during the school year. We have a vacation coming up soon and my am I so looking forward to that. A time to relax with family.  My family is so excited for this upcoming vacation. And I as well......

My garden is starting to really come to life out there. We have had much rain here the past few days which is apparently just what this garden of mine needed. Looking forward to the first harvest! And how I love just sitting outside on the deck and looking at my honeysuckle grow, it took some time but it seems to like its new spot :)
Hope you all are enjoying the beginning of the summer!

If you can dream it, you can make it so!

I don't know who quoted that but I need to place that on my computer so that I can look at that everyday and realize that Yes, I can do it! It is so hard sometimes to realize that YOU CAN accomplish your goals and dreams. Especially when being a mother. We are so consumed with our motherly role that sometimes our dreams fall to the wayside.

We fall into a life of self-sacrifice as we enter the stage of motherhood. Our children come first which is the way it should be. But we also need to reclaim that strong sense of our own self, our needs, and our dreams.

We must learn to find that balance between self-sacrifice and self-care. It is a hard balance to find, how do you find that balance?

"Refuse to waste energy in worrying and you will have strength to spare."
                                                                               ~Anonymous

.....my what a fitting quote right now.

 I was working at a great hospital years ago in the Short Procedure Unit. Many people came through that area daily, some with little worry, coming in for a minor procedure but many others not so. A major surgery scheduled, some waiting for answers that will only be determined after surgery. I  remember the concern and uncertainty on the faces of these people, the worry and fear of what is to come. I would calmly reassure them of what to expect, hold their hand, answer their questions to the best of my knowledge.

But one of the things I remember so vividly was a huge poster hanging on the wall of the unit. On it was a very large picture of a rocking chair, an old wood rocking  chair and next to it were the words, " Worrying is like a rocking chair, you just keep rocking and rocking but not getting anywhere"....I wish I knew who said that quote. I think of that quote often and how fitting it was for that area where I worked at the time. All these many people worrying about their surgeries, the outcomes,  their recovery times , etc.

I only hoped that that quote and the reassurance that I tried to bestow upon them brought them some reprieve from their worrying.  I always reminded them to look at that poster. I wish I had a copy of that poster today......

Did you ever feel so "unbalanced", that things in life were just "too full" at the moment? That you need to find that even keel to get things back on track?  How do you find balance again in your life? Is it through inspiring quotes, time spent with family, organizing the things in life that are in disarray? Sometimes things in life do just get too full, too much going on at once. You can feel it within your whole family.  Sometimes you just need to take a step back and reevaluate your surroundings, take a good look at what is around you and try and put things back in order to create that balance that we all so deserve and need in our lives. Take a look at the kids schedules, your schedule and revamp that in a way that is doable and enjoyable so life just doesn't keep on passing by.
Keep "being present", my motto for 2012 .....I need to "be present" in all things to keep my life in balance! Now on to fix that scale of mine....

Life is so full at the moment....busy planning, working, entertaining, relaxing with friends and family...just being! Here it is the second week of April. My does the time go so fast anymore....

Well, it is back to reality here. Temperatures back in the 50's. But its all good. It is still March by the way. I can see the green popping through still, the hostas coming up, the buds on the trees. The new season is upon us and I'm embracing it.

I did so enjoy those days of summer last week. The kids outside soaking up that sun, staying out until the darkness of night. Just trying to enjoy every last bit of warmth. It was a nice taste of what is to come.

So right now I will still enjoy warm cups of tea, sweatshirts, maybe a fire at night, but I think its finally time to maybe put those fleece sheets away back in storage....maybe just keep the flannel ones on for a bit longer.....:)