Taking a deep breath...

 Photo Credit:  Owen Duncan
It's August....The corn is high, and I drive by it countless times a day going here and there, back and forth, filling our last days of summer with fun and family. I'm savoring every minute; we all are. None of us want to make any plans as it's our last few hours together before Sunshine -- nick name for our oldest daughter -- goes off to Europe for a study abroad. Frozen yogurt, iced coffee trips and games of Scrabble are all we can think about. It's all about family right now; at least that's what I wish. I wish I could ignore the chores and the back-to-school errands like you do when you are on vacation and filling your days with board games and food and sleeping in. And honestly, for the most part, I am straining to do just that. I am amazed at how my kids are content with the best parts of life. Eating food together, sharing stories, teasing and spending time. It didn't used to be like this. I spent MANY summers driving 6 kids to different camps, swim lessons, days at the pool, and never ending outings. What has changed? We seem to all be getting more boring. I worry: am I doing enough? Are they doing enough? Everyone around us is in a scurry. But we are sitting out on a porch swing in a tree. Talking. Teenagers. Hanging out together as a blended family, and that's how I know we are blessed. It's not always this slow, but I get to savor these lazy, hazy, long days for now, and I'm seeing that we are finding time for more of these with each passing year, learning to invest in what makes us the most happy -- being together. In fact, this fall, the kids are participating in fewer after school activities than in any year to date. It's also the first fall ever that I'm not having an anxiety attack managing my calendar. We are choosing less, signing up for less, but we feel like we have SO much more. I take a deep breath, and then another, not because I'm stressed, but because I'm savoring the simple and the beautiful. I'm feeling like life is balancing itself, my value chart is adjusting in all areas, and I am feeling peace.
Photo Credit Below: Owen Duncan