22 Jul MID-SUMMER LIFE CRISIS!

We’re already smack into the middle of summer.   My book has been out for over 2 months now.  We’ve been away and returned from vacation.  And right now, I’m trying to gauge what’s actually happened…??  Did we already take vacation?  It’s back-to-work time?  Soccer camps?  Where’s the pause button?  It’s like a mid-summer-life crisis!  I guess I didn’t really have time to plan out much once we made it to summer(and our early summer vacation).  As per the usual, it snuck up on us and it definitely seems to be going TOO FAST!

I think our problem is there’s too many things going on during the school year, so we hope to cram in all the fun during the summer.  But of course… we can’t!   And by “fun”, I don’t just mean “fun” – I also mean those dentist appointments, physicals, appointments, planning, organizing, scheduling, fixing, re-organizing, and of course… relaxing, that we never could get to while school was going on.

I believe this became more apparent on our vacation, when I realized how many fun things we were doing – then was surprised at how tired out I was.  (gasp!)  Tired out??  Oh yeah, looks like we may have neglected the relaxing part.  For the record, things do get easier with the kids on those summer vacations.  BUT filling the back seat of your car with Cheez-it crumbs seems to be a main-stay that may actually last until they go to college!  Seriously.  The back seat of our rental car was filled with Cheez-it crumbs(among other messes).  Did it drive me nuts?  Yes!  Did it bother the boys?  Not a bit.  (so there you go)

What’s happening with the book?  I’m not actually sure.  After all the book signings and stuff, I took a break.  I guess it’s just kinda rolling along.  That’s somewhere on my long list of things to check on.  So, if you’re reading this… the book is out!!!  Please pick it up at any book store near you, and tell all your friends, and then… if you have time – PLEASE right a review on Amazon or Goodreads! (or both!!)  It’s definitely not easy to get noticed in the crowded entertainment space.  In fact, I must admit – it’s pretty damn hard.  And I’ve been really trying to get the word out.  But back to my mis-summer-life crisis…

I think the truth of the matter is there’s supposed to be a bit of a let down in the summer, and I’m not really feeling it.  And then, I looked at this picture, and I realized how fast my kids were growing up.  The boys are in middle school!  I don’t have many summers left with them.  So I gotta make ’em count.  That’s a lot of pressure.  I’m feeling like we should just be hanging and enjoying life, but then – we have a ton of stuff we need to deal with before the fall. (which is just around the corner!)  Of course, there’s also work.. can’t forget work.  Somehow I’ve added a lot of stress to summer that probably doesn’t need to be there.  Sadly, I’ve discovered that’s kinda how I operate.

Anyway, I’m planning to compensate by taking the kids fishing on Saturday.  My hope is that we can re-establish “chill mode”.  Then hopefully we can share a few lazy days of summer… even knowing… how few days there are.  (Sigh.)  I love this picture though.  And if you’re asking – yes, vacation was a lot of fun.