My Summer Vacation

Did you ever have a back-to-school assignment where you were asked to describe how you spent your summer?

Mine is a lot different from my school years, primarily because the word "boring" is no longer in my vocabulary. I can't remember what it is like to have idle time.

I'd sum up my summer season with one word......canning. Followed by, goats, foul, feeding pen cleaning, child care (referee), cook, clean, laundry and support staff (to a husband who hit the rodeo trail.)

If I were grading this paper, I'd get a big red F for excitement , a B for productivity and an A for stress! I'm not sure it is actually a paper I'd want to grade; it could, however, be used to induce sleep!

I've been feeling a bit frustrated that I hadn't gotten much accomplished this summer. There was no completion in the basement, the big blue storage unit didn't move one bit. I didn't get the backyard landscaped and we barely got the lawn mowed! I didn't lay in the hammock one time, or sip a glass of wine on my garden bench.

So where did my time go? I canned. I started in June and I'm still going....We have an entire shelf full of green beans. It's deep enough back that I cannot reach. We have bread and butter and kosher dill pickles, dill beans, green beans, tomato soup, chili base, pasta sauce, hot, medium and mild salsa and strawberry jalapeno jelly. I had to completely rearrange my storage room. That's a good thing! I have no idea what the exact jar count.....I'd say a lot!

I tend to be harder on myself than I probably should. I don't know that there is any changing that, I'm pretty set in my ways. I feel better, think better and relax more easily when I know that I've met my goal for the day. In fact, I've started keeping a journal of my activities to help me remember what I've done each day. This is becoming a nice "nightly reflection" ritual.

I have one room left to claim and then I will be writing about something lovely and wonderful....and different than cleaning, canning and organizing. I'm really looking forward to that! And if I have faithful blog readers, then it's likely you are ready too!

If you tend to be an uber-perfectionist, like someone I know, give yourself a little break! It is likely not a question of talent, you've definitely got what it takes. It may simply be a question of timing. I've been repeating this often "Do what you can, with what you have, when you have it and enjoy the rest!!!" Don't forget to......B R E A T H E!