Time Out - Take Time to Relax

Summer is finally in full swing at my house.  My daughter started her first camp today, golf camp, and we both have started our summer reading lists.  You would think that we would be just exhausted from the school year and wanting to just lay low and recoup, but it seems like Summer is "Having Fun - At Break Neck Speed."  We need a "Time Out."

We went to the Oregon Coast over the weekend to visit a friend who recently retired and moved in to her beach cottage.  Just about the time I'd sit down and get comfy in a chair with a book, my daughter would come along and say "Come on Mom, let's go to the beach, or Let's throw the football."  Yikes.  I finally put my foot down and said "Enough! Relax kiddo!"  One of the reasons I love going to Gearheart is that I don't have to worry about jumping up and cleaning something, or running an errand or being Mom's taxi service.  I think we often fill every minute with something instead of filling downtime like weekends with nothing.  

This summer I'm letting my daughter go to a couple of different camps, but I'm also making her take a week off in between each one in the hope that she will let herself relax and enjoy her summer by going to the pool and relaxing with a book or a picnic in the park.  She loves to go, go, go, but I want her to learn to stop, just every now and then, so that when school starts again in the fall she doesn't wonder what happened to her summer.  

Our family is going on vacation in August for two weeks.  One of the two weeks I'm going to the beach EVERY SINGLE DAY - period.  I'm taking the beach umbrella, a cooler and my beloved beach chair.  The only activity for those days will be an early morning walk and moving my beach chair to suit the sun and the tide.  I'm going to read and just enjoy being home.  The second week, we are planning a trip to Washington DC and some other fun stuff.  I don't want to come back to Oregon and wonder what I did on my vacation.  

This weekend, 4th of July, is all about Jam and sitting by the pool and cooking out.  I'm going to take at least one "time out" every day to just enjoy being off.  Isn't that the point of a long weekend? Listen up kids... YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO, GO, GO  ALL SUMMER LONG!  It will be over before you know it - 104 days is all.  Enjoy it, because before you can blink an eye, you will be out of school and going to work EVERYDAY and you will miss those 104 days A LOT.  It gets pared down to 2 weeks. That's not a lot.  I know I miss summer vacation and some day I'm going to find a job that will allow me to have those 104 days back.... Hey I can dream, right?!  :)  Have a good summer.