Summer Bucket List

Berry picking
Swim at the Pond
Watch the metorites while camping
Fishing
Build a pirate ship
Trail Ride horses
Sleep overs with friends

Go to Adventureland
Zoo
Mushroom hunt
Be in a play
...or two
 Eat ice cream at a park
learn to doggie paddle (Holly)
Go down the water slide at the local chlorinated pool
4th of July parade
see bunnies
....go to bear country (um, maybe)

Go to Dolphin country (seriously kids?)
.....but I really want to do this, so maybe. I miss my aunt. I like adventures.

Take the kids bike riding on trails (need to gather bikes, I gave mine away years ago).


I think this is all reasonable. I will add my own:

Book plane tickets to Europe. For September. I have no idea where the money will come from, but this is a priority for me.

Keep submitting work.
Keep writing new work.
Keep revising new work and old work.
Get my camera cleaned and get it in a to go bag so I actually reach for it.
Print and hang at least 5 photos from my recent collection. Hang on wall.
Add new tab  to blog
Write at least 3 blog posts every week, and publish at least 2 of pictures (5 total).
Start cooking again. Something other than pasta and jarred sauce.

(Chad can edit to add his own here, but it is probably permaculture oriented)

A Week in Pictures

We had friends visit the farm, camped at the pond, Lily bridged to Juniors in girl scouts, library trains, last ballet practice for Holly before recital, Lily taught Isaac how to climb trees, and lots of unplugged time just connecting with each other.

Spring at the Farm in Pictures

 Nice thorns on this one!!!

 Spring Cleaning. Conditioning the wood stairs.

 First snake caught and cuddled.

 Duckling hatch!

And Dandelions and violets and buttercups and green, green grass. Hello Spring, we missed you.

Holly's Ballet

This weekend was super jammed packed with all the things I wanted to do.....and Holly's ballet pictures. The reality was that I could not go to a writing workshop in Perry, DemiCon, the ballet pictures, Sample Sunday, book club, and Youth Sunday at church.

My friend Diana sent me a lovely letter a few months back, to sum up, it said......choose her. Choose your girl. Choose your child. They won't be a child long. It was longer and more lovely than that summary, but that is what came into my head while trying to make the logistics of the weekend work.

Holly's ONLY chosen activity is ballet. She trains all year, practises at home all week, it is her chosen identity. The pictures matter to her, a LOT. Last year I had her grandma take her while I did DemiCon. She had fun, but was squirrely which is Holly's outward sign that she is emotionally stressed.

So this year, I chose Holly.

No workshop. No DemiCon cosplay. No dinner out with friends. Just Holly. Grandma watched Lily and Isaac and I took just Holly so I could really focus on her.

Saturday night the girls said they were super sad I would miss church and I told them I planned on going and skipping Sample Sunday as a vendor, because they matter to me and I know they worked hard on the songs. They jumped into my arms and hugged me long and hard. Holly had tears in her eyes.

I chose them.

Sunday I stayed for the children's choir and bell performance at church, left late and just visited Sample Sunday, then on to Book Club, home by bedtime for tucking in and story reading.

I have no regrets about slowing down and just being with them. I choose them while they still want me to, while it is still an option. If I don't? That will affect our relationship exponentially as the years go on. What is the saying? Listen to them now, every little thing. Later they will come to you with the big stuff. Why? The little things now ARE big to THEM.

I choose them. I choose to stop and listen. I choose to be with them, mindfully, when I am with them. It may seem silly, it is just pictures, right? I could take them myself after all. That's not the point. Picture day is part of ballet culture and I chose wisely when I picked this studio for the principle of modesty and the training that allows them to actually and safely train children in ballet technique.

Holly was not squirrely this time. Maybe it was another year of maturity, maybe that I paid attention to sugar intake that morning, or maybe it had to do with her feeling emotionally grounded, secure, loved, and heard. Her big grin every time she looked for me and met my eyes, not seeing me staring at my phone, but seeing me see her....that's how I know in my heart that this made a difference.

I chose right.