Remember that one time I wrote about how I was always shocked by how much time had gone between my blog posts? Well, there is something to say about consistency, right? I have been "summering" around these parts.
"Summering" typically means, I wake up around 7, get workout clothes on and take the dog for an hour walk, then kids and I go and do some sort of adventure after I shower and eat breakfast, then we come home around lunch and then they immediately jet to their friend's house and then return around 4pm, then we eat dinner and then sleep, rinse and repeat.
Other times we were out of the state visiting with family and eating up the traveling moments.
And even other times, we are out of routine and just enjoying the summer.
I'm still in denial about going back to work next week. If I don't think about it, it won't happen, right?
Of course there are moments when I definitely feel ready to be back in routine and to not have to be the referee to my kiddos endless fighting.
I started this post yesterday and really have no clue where I was going with this post. I think it is definitely just a space to be random so here I am, Mrs. Random.
Today we went to a museum. It is the fifth museum we have visited this summer. It was the BYU Art Museum and it was a nice time. My favorite museum of the summer was The Peteeneet Museum in Payson, Utah. It had a room filled with dresses. Now, most of you know me and know that I really don't care too much for dresses but it was cool to see dresses lined up from oldest to newest and to see dresses worn by Shirley Temple and Doris Day. We have also visited the BYU Dinosaur Museum, the BYU Bean Museum and the BYU Museum of Peoples and Cultures. E is a huge museum fan and he learns all of it and then tells us more about it for months on end.
We had a daily theme including art and crafts, movies, museums, hikes, and splashpads/pools. The schedule was 99% for me and 1% for them. See, having something to do makes it so we do not just sit around and become bored and there is much less fighting. The added bonus of getting away from screens was also a big plus.
Wisconsin was glorious. We had an Air BNB a block away from my parents' house and it was magical to just walk over to visit. The favorite memory was going over there to fill gallon jugs with filtered water and my mom inviting me over to talk with her while she ate her lunch. That thirty minutes of just me and parent time was magical.
You all may or may not know this, but my mom has been diagnosed with dementia. She often asks revolving questions and can be very confused, but in those thirty minutes, we chatted like it was just me and her regular, remembering self. Magical. It has been very tough to see her disease progress and she actually was moved(with the help of my angel sister) to a memory care facility just days after we left Wisconsin. That angel sister mentioned how "it will never be the same" as we embraced in the driveway of my parents' condo just before we came back to Utah, and she is right. The grief of the loss of that part of our family space has hit me hard this summer. Grief is a silly thing, isn't it? It hits me at times and then other times I conveniently forget the situation. I wrote a poem about it, and it is called "Grief is a Bastard." I will post it here after the writing contest I entered it into this summer has picked it's winners. I don't think I am supposed to publish it before then. I will keep you posted on if I win or don't get chosen like every other year.
Wisconsin also included a Brewer Game with two fun uncles, Bay Beach adventures, Algoma beach day, fun fish fries with other family, a ten year celebration of Reuben and I being married, and a visit with some high school/softball friends. Wisconsin always tempts me to come back and live there, but that whole having a steady job that I love and not having to pack keeps me rooted here in Provo.
Summer always goes too fast. Words just can't describe how much I love my summers off and how much they are needed. Teachers don't have the easiest job and the past few years have only added teacher stress. I don't feel like I am ready to go back. In other words, the batteries don't feel recharged enough to face this next year, but as professionals do, I will go back and act like I am recharged.
I will now close this random piece of writing . I hope all fourteen of you that read this when I publish are doing well and that summer is treating you well.
