no sudden movements

"Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language."

~Henry James

Today marks my second full week of life outside the classroom, and it has flown by. I returned from my hill country hiatus around midnight Monday, and spent Tuesday with 6 girls from school, Wednesday at doctor appointments and art lessons with Eugenia, and Thursday visiting teachers at school and hanging out with four other students from my third grade class.

While at the lake last week, I made a life-altering decision: I will make no big decisions until after Labor Day weekend. September is sure to be a big month!
Here’s the low-down, I’ll give it to you quick:

I leave for Wilderness Ranch tomorrow, going as a Memorial high school (my alma mater) young life leader. A week hiking, no showers or cell phones, just twinkling stars, stinky feet, and 360 degree views of proof there is a God. I cannot wait!

I’ll return June 25, my great-grandmother’s 95th birthday. Yep, she’s going to be 95!! We’re so blessed to have four generations on this earth. More on that later. I’ll be in Dallas til June 29ish, then off to the Lake for the 4th of July. I’ll float between the 713 and the hill country until July 21, when I’ll hightail it to Salt Lake City to see the doctor with crazy Lauren Simpson and Genie Thompson. I just really hope someone doesn’t get arrested, and that I don’t die from giggling too much. Seriously, sometimes there’s not enough oxygen through all the laughter when I’m around them and my life flashes before my eyes…

July 31 I’ll pack it off to Camp Longhorn for a glorious two weeks as a counselor. Last time I worked there was three summers ago, and though I know it won’t compare to camp days with Renza & crew, it’s still the greatest place on Earth. After Alumni Camp with all the old friends, I’ll head to Houston for some laundry, then off on a roadtrip to visit my great-grandparents for a night or two, then Santa Fe and Taos. Last summer, when I drove through Santa Fe, my mom insisted I would love the town and we planned an extra day to stay. It might have been my low expectations, but Santa Fe became my new favorite place and I could have spent the rest of my trip there. So, this summer, I’ll be back to wander the square and hit up all the things I missed on our drive through last summer.

It feels great to have this calendar of kickin’ back, and for a few days I was too guilty to even think about this much of a self-indulging event line up. But, I’m okay with it now. I don’t want to jump into the next job/career, there’s nothing out there right now that I’m dying to apply for, and I’m ready to just…be. To figure out what’s next. Everything thus far has been as clear as a freshly-windexed window, and I’ve learned to listen with my instincts pretty well. Not making any big decisions feels right. I’m excited to see what God will do for this next week in Colorado, and I feel immensely blessed to have the time off to be in Dallas with ones I love most for a few days, and then the lake, and then back to Camp Longhorn.

I’m not sure why I’m still rambling, because I should expect no one to really read about my summer schedule. But, if you’ve made it this far, dear reader, I’ll challenge you two things for your summer: 1) Wear sunscreen. Reapply often. 2) Take time to enjoy this life and not rush through it. Though most people financially are never able to take a few months off the way I am, we can still use time strategically to be with those we love, to give back, to look at the stars and say thank you, however you do it… take time to appreciate your walk on this earth. We all know it won’t last forever, and challenging as it may seem sometimes, it could always be worse. Life, the ability to breathe in and out, is a gift. Unwrap it.

Hit me up if you want to be friends in July. I’m clearly available. Love to all, even those strangers in Norway who read this…