The lazy days of summer ~~

Ahw....Summer...where the air is still and pace of life slows down for just a little bit. The lazy, hazy days of this hottest of seasons will soon be closing down and life, which has been at a slowed down pace for these few short months, will be kicking back into full gear again. So, take the time now, if you can, to enjoy the laziness of summer while you still have them around.

Just for a little while longer, vacations will be enjoyed, pool and beach days are big events, and the shopping malls are full of energized teenagers and middle schoolers, checking out all the latest fashions, looking around for back to school wear, going to the movies or just being "seen" at the mall. There are camps for all the kids: youth camps, sports camps, art and theatre and educational camps, horse camps, etc., all in the effort of keeping school age children occupied while their parents continue to work during the summer.

I remember those days well. When my sons were still in school and my husband and I were both working and juggling our work and home schedules around their various camps, vacations, etc. It was a handful, but it was also alot of fun too, and I look back on those day with much fondness. Those precious few years go by too fast and before you know it, POOF, they are grown up and gone. Take it from me! I have one son, 26, whose getting married next month, and another one 22. Seems like were just my little ones and now they are all grown up!

                  

                               Sons, Eric (Biff) and Jordy with their Dad, Steve, in a friends pool in 1992

Even though it is hotter than usual up here in Waynesville this year, I am still enjoying the beauty of the mountains and the refreshingly cool evenings. I love being able to go out on the deck and listen to the crickets and watch the lightening bugs dance around the yard at night. I miss lightening bugs. That's something I remember from my childhood in Virginia, that we don't have in Florida. And even though I don't love summer because of the intense heat, I do love summer for the wonderful and numerous opportunities it gives us to re-connect with our loved ones. I think it's actually the heat that forces us to slow down. And, even though we may not be able to go out during the hot summer days and evenings and do anything very productive, we can slow down and participate in things like watch movies with our kids, play games, talking and just spend much needed time with them. So, take a deep breath and relax. That's what summer is all about.

                         View from our deck - A beautiful summer evening in the Blue Ridge Mountains!

                                             

Before you know it, fall will be here, all the kids will be deeply entrenched in school work and their busy schedules with school activities, sports and all the extra curricular stuff that goes along with it. Football will take over the television and the minds of many of the husbands and kids. Thanksgiving and then Christmas will be upon us before we know it and another year will have passed us by. Seems like they are going by faster and faster for me. Is that a sign of getting old?

I have to admit I miss those extra busy days when the kids and their friends were still around, but my husband and I have reached a "kid-free"stage in our life now, and that is something I am also looking forward to with excitement and anticipation.

I miss my hubby. Right now, he's in Florida working and re-doing our house with alot of enthusiasm. He says I won't know the place when I return home, after it cools off down there. He's sending me paint chips with suggested colors to repaint the kitchen, cleaning and throwing things out like crazy, and thoroughly enjoying the fact that there is no one there to stop him. After all, it's hard for me to say no to someone who's cleaning and straightening up our entire house! I've asked for pictures. He says no, he wants it to be a surprise. Oh boy, the anticipation is killing me, but I'm gonna have to be patient and wait and trust, like I have with everything else in my life.

Admittedly, I'm scared to death at what I'm gonna find when I return, but it's kind of an adventure we're having together, even though we're apart right now. After all, we're in the empty nest stage of life now and have to find new and exciting things to occupy our minds! We've always loved re-painting and re-arranging and re-decorating (that's me) so I guess it's only natural that we would return to it once the kids move on. Just another phase in the circle of life, and I am very thankful that I can enter it feeling better than I have in many years thanks to CCSVI! Praise the Lord for that.

                                                 

          

For now, I'm gonna kick back, have a pina colada                         and relax and enjoy this limited time I have with my youngest before he moves on with his life too. So, in conclusion, my advice for the day is to take off those flipflops, run into that ocean (if you have one near you) or jump into that pool. Grill out or have a picnic with your family. Enjoy those precious moments with your family and friends, that none of us can ever get back.

Life is short, you gotta grab it with everything you've got and hold on tight. Every day is a blessing. Don't waste it a minute of it.

My verse for day is from the book of Psalms 18:24

"This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it."

My prayer for today:

Thank you Lord for this beautiful day and for the blessings of this day. Thank you for my family; my wonderful husband and my grown up young men. Watch over them all and bless them and keep them safe in your arms. Thank you that I can take the time to enjoy my family, help me to remember that they are a gift from you, not to be taken for granted.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen