Happy Friday! It’s officially our last Friday of the summer – womp womp. HOW? We still have 2 weeks before school officially starts, but I have teacher orientation and a whole classroom to set up next week, and then a week to do any final prep work and then the kids are off to 6th, 3rd, 1st, 2s room and I’m heading into my 6th year teaching 1st grade and Theo is officially stepping into his first school year as Executive Director!
I think I’m going to unload all of my feelings toward this summer into a separate blog post, but I feel like it can mostly be summed up as: unmet expectations. It’s been hard, I’m not going to lie. There are layers and layers to this, but for now I’m going to post some of my FAVORITE things that have been saving my life this summer!
Thing 1: Bible Study
I joined a Bible study with some ladies from my church this summer, and it has been such a wonderful study. I have really enjoyed my morning devotions each morning as I work through the book we have been using. It really has been such a blessing to open God’s word and dive deeper- and be able to apply it to my life!
Thing 2: Our Pool
So, this pool has actually kind of been a struggle all summer long. We cannot seem to get the chemicals to balance correctly and it is….green. Honestly, we’ve kind of given up on having a blue/clear pool and just swim in the green water….for HOURS…every day. It has truly been the biggest lifesaver this summer!
Thing 3: Literary Lookbook and Summer Book Lists
I purchased this Literary Lookbook, and they compiled new releases for every week from May-October. I LOVE pulling up the lookbook each Tuesday (books always release on Tuesdays!) and then putting the ones that interest me on hold at the library. Of course, this means that I have like 70 books checked out of the library and read approximately 2 books each week, which creates a problem….but it’s a fun hobby anyways!
Thing 4: Morning Runs
I have been able to consistently go for runs in the morning this summer. I LOVE running in the morning when the sun has just risen over the horizon. I am not training for any races, so I typically just go 2-4 miles- whatever feels good or whatever I have time for!
Thing 5: Theo’s New Job
Listen. This job has been a TRANSITION. I am still processing, and likely will be for a little while. It’s a job that is pretty intense and Theo is carrying a lot of weight of responsibility on his shoulders. But…wow. He is really good at it. I don’t think that just anyone could do this job, and I am so proud of Theo that he is doing it. Even though he is head of the school and kind of the “face of the school”, so much of what he does goes unseen and unnoticed, and I just need people to know that he is working his tail off and is doing such a great job!!! I am also so thankful that he gets to work in a Christian environment and has such a great team working with him.
Thing 6: Family
We got to get together with both the DeValve family and the Hines family this summer! What a blast!
Thing 7: My Kids Getting Older
My kids are 10, 8, 6, and 2 this summer. I still have to do a lot for them- cooking, cleaning, driving them around, making sure they are going to bed and lots of teaching/training on how to get along…but overall, they are so fun to be around. Theo has had two trips this summer where he has been gone for a whole week and I’ve been able to manage ok without him. Of course, I’m exhausted and so eager for him to come back, but my point is that it is so much easier now that the kids are older than it was when they were all tiny! I’m also very proud of the four of us for managing the Ohio State Fair without Theo along to help us! Big kids are so fun, y’all!
And that is what has been saving my life this summer! I’ll try to be back next week with some more consistent blog posts, but we shall see! August is notorious for being a month with schedule shifts and transitions, so we shall see how it goes!
Fellow bloggers- stop back in tomorrow for a blog post just for you! I have been thinking for awhile of starting a blogging group that will help us all connect on a more personal level. I’ll post all about that and how you can connect with it – tomorrow!