A Workable Summer Routine

Summer is tricky; you have to strike the balance between productivity and having a relaxed, laid-back schedule.  On the one hand: the garden!  On the other hand: the pool!

I've hit upon a morning routine that may endure:

* get up very early--it's so bright anyhow!--and drink tea, write and read for about an hour

*start on housework and laundering while my children sleep

*breakfast, dress children, supervise their chores

*finish my daily cleaning jobs

By 10:00 or so I go outside.  The goal is half an hour in the flower bed and half an hour in the vegetable garden.  It's great if this can be broken up by a square of 90% cocoa chocolate and some (iced) tea--that 10:30 snack break helps my blood sugar stay stable, and the chocolate feels more luxurious than, say, a cheese stick. 

After lunch I do a bit of work and then we hit the pool, ideally for about 3 hours.  During the 15-minute breaks when the children are required to sit out, my children eat a snack in their big floppy hats and I swim laps.  

Then we're home in time to cook supper, eat popsicles on the front porch, snap green beans on the back porch, catch fireflies......

And fall into bed by 11!

(And I'm counting on some rainy afternoons when I can squeeze in some sewing!)