Summer Plans

The days slide by so quickly right now!  I struggle to find time to sit at the computer and actually write anything, because my work at home is so demanding. 

It is good work and I'm grateful for it.

Finn and Annie are continuing to work on math.  (I just switched Finn to a new curriculum, in preparation for transitioning into high school math). He's on his 11th day of it so far and I am amazed at how much we like it!  Annie should finish on July 3rd, if she's diligent, and Finn will work steadily on math through July 31st.  We are taking about 5 weeks off from everything after that!

Annie just had her last violin lesson, and Finn's last piano lesson is next Tuesday.  

Summer is here!  Of course, summer isn't quite as normal as it used to be.  Our pool is closed, for instance (at least for now).  But we have some experience in changing our expectations, so the changes this virus has caused in our lives haven't bothered us all that much.  

We just returned from a trip to North Carolina, where my husband got a good report at UNC.  He continues to be cancer-free!  We are so thankful.

I've been thinking about how to make this summer full of little joys, learning experiences, and memory-making.  Finn turned 13 earlier this month, and it's never far from my mind how quickly my children are growing. I genuinely want to enjoy them before they are all grown up and on their own!!

One thing I am doing *NOW* and am almost done doing is all of my planning for the upcoming school year. My goal is to get it all done ASAP so that I have absolutely none to do when I'm "off" this summer.

So I'm compiling a summer list:

*listening to Anne of Green Gables on Audible (we have started it...and got a lot of listening done a couple of weeks ago when we pitted a lot of sour cherries!)

*doing a couple of dissection kits that I bought last year

*running through the sprinkler/doing outside play

*making a few journal entries into our nature notebook featuring birds (we are enjoying the company of a pair of house finches whom Annie has named Lily and James) and some of the flowers we have blooming in our garden

*berry-picking.  We've already picked strawberries, and some black raspberries.  Blueberries are next!

*Reading books.  We are finishing The Golden Goblet as a family right now.  The children and I are reading Little Women. I will probably draw from this list for more books this summer. 

*Harvesting and drying our own food. I bought a dehydrator and made myself ill on kale chips (kind of worth it, though--they were so good).  I've dehydrated all sorts of things, but I'm eagerly awaiting the cherry tomatoes.  I planted a lot of cherry tomatoes this year, mostly by accident--it's a long story--and look forward to a lot of dried tomatoes for my omelets all year long!

*Basketball together in the driveway!

*Badminton together in the front yard!

My children are fairly independent and do not require me to organize their days for them.  This is a blessing, but sometimes I have to remind myself to check in with them, sit down and read, and just spend time together.  They have their own agendas to accomplish most days, and I don't want to cramp those agendas, but I also want them to know that I'm here for them!  

When they are doing their own things, I'm painting dining room furniture.  One chair down, one chair almost done, and only 4 chairs and a table left to go.  (ha!)  Then I also may paint my coffee table.  

My own project list for this summer could be excessive.  I'm trying to keep it manageable! 

*painting furniture

*weeding and mulching my flower beds (and staying on top of the vegetable garden)

*re-organizing our schoolroom a little bit

*cleaning out our mechanical room (it always needs attention)

*organizing my laundry/sewing room 

I would love to paint our main room and our kitchen cabinets.  The walls were last painted 15 years ago, and the cabinet were painted 11 years ago.  They all need it.  I haven't decided whether I should tackle these huge projects yet, or wait until next year.

And, on a final note, today my sister purchased her first home!!  I am so excited for her.  I traveled to her city several times in April and May to housenhunt with her, and we finally found a home in her budget that had a full basement, 2 bathrooms, and was move-in ready, which all seemed like a total impossibility when we began.  She called me after the closing and was very happy!  My husband and I are giving her a lot of furniture from our home, so we are moving all that down in a couple of weeks: our dining buffet, my beloved barrister's bookcase (family heirloom), our downstairs sofa, chair and ottoman (we plan to replace our downstairs furniture with a sectional so that we all have a place to sit on movie nights), some paintings, and a bunch of stuff from my grandparents' home--a bed, a desk, a dresser, and a nightstand!  I hope to spend a couple of days this summer at her new house, helping her unpack, organize, and arrange.  After years and years of living in rental apartments, the fact that she finally has her own place is just wonderful. I am excited to help her with her settling in!

Happy Summering!