So What Did You Do For Your Summer Vacation?

Here's a run-down of what I've done on my summer vacation ...

• Made a chore schedule
• Failed to follow aforementioned chore schedule ... ahhhh ... tomorrow is a new day.
• Started walking 3 miles every. single. day.
• I haven't lost one single pound from all that walking, but I've made walking a habit so yay for me.
• Have become flumaxed as to why no weight loss.
• Pitched a BUNCH of stuff from my storage closet in my classroom.
• Walked the full length of the storage closet ... several times ... just because I could.  That is a feat, for those that are not easily impressed.
• Read three books ... four if you count the one I sorta speed read ...
• Watched a lot of senseless TV on certain days.
• Cultivated some new friendships.
• Discovered the joys of DUCK DYNASTY.
• Set my alarm for 6 a.m. every single day.
• Did A LOT of laundering of workout clothes.
• Planted a bunch of flowers and plants.
• Witnessed aforementioned flowers and plants wilt and practically die -- in the case of my hens and chicks, only one survivor so far.
• Mowed my lawn like a beast th0se last weeks of school.
• Parked the mower in the garage for the beginning of the summer while I watched the grass burn to a crisp.
• Cleaned out closets -- not as thoroughly as I should have.
• Spent a lot of time on my own and enjoying the quiet.
• Got my nasty old apple tree cut down.
• Paid for paint that I've not been able to use because it's too humid most days, and I'm unmotivated the other non-humid days.
• Made lots of plans.
• Watched none of the plans take shape.
• Traveled to Michigan ... with my sister.
• Managed to survive the trip to Michigan ... with my sister.
• Learned I needed new tires.
• Successfully ignored dry-rotting tires ... for the time being.
• Ate a scoop of Kilwin's Toasted Coconut Ice Cream in Saugautuk, Michigan
• Sweat buckets at the mere exercise of breathing in and out in Saugautuk, Michigan
• Walked the Pier at South Haven, Michigan.
• Breathed in the sandy, wet air of Lake Michigan.
• Allowed my heart to skip a beat ... or two ... at the mere fact that I was in the presence of my Creator at this most perfect spot.
• Walked in the wet sand.
• Danced in the water.
• Listened to the sea gulls.
• Laughed at the children building sand castles.
• Visited, talked, and ... 
• Relaxed

That last one has been the most important one.  I needed to do nothing ... to be present in my own life and just relax.  

I am a person that craves being near people, but I also crave my own time, and lately, I've really needed it.  I can't explain it, and I doubt very many people understand it, but I have NEEDED to be alone.  I've needed to not talk on the phone.  I've needed to not have something to do every single day of the week.  I've needed to remind myself of who I am.  

I know! It all sounds so heady and weird and New Agey, doesn't it?  

It's really not.  Much like musicians desire to do this, sometimes, I just need to unplug, and this was the summer to do so.

Oh I never intended it to be that way.  I intended on adventure, and by adventure, I DO NOT mean zip lining between mountain peaks or scaling a shear rock cliff.  No, my adventure is a little tamer ... going to explore an out of the way flea mall or exploring a little town out in the middle of know where, just because it is there to be explored.  Most people don't like my kind of adventure.  That would be why most didn't take me up on any of it this summer. 

That's okay.

Because in the end, I did what I needed to do, which was to just be present and in the moment, and for that, I will be heading back on August 1st, with a quieter soul ... a healed soul ... a more relaxed outlook ... a renewed sense of what my next adventures should be.

So, that's my summer vacation ... in a nutshell ... give or take a shell or two.