breathe

I feel like I can breathe this week.  I’m so happy last week is over. I know that sounds horrible, but honestly, wow.  So much for the carefree days of summer I was drooling over before that last school bell released us from the grip of a schedule. …Because now we’re smack-dab in the middle of the summer schedule I somehow got us mixed up in which is actually more crazy than the school day one.  At least that’s what it seems like for now as we are in the midst of some serious deadlines on this house-building mumbo-jumbo. Oh, I know there are carefree summer days on the horizon…at least a handful of them.  But building a house doesn’t lead to any type of “carefreeness” (although it sure is fun most of the time).  Nor does all the other stuff we’ve found ourselves involved in: I got Lucy into swim team (after an emotional saga that maybe I will go into some day…she needs it SO badly and was glowing after she got her “super swimmer” award last week), then I realized Claire needed to be in there too since she’s never done it and doesn’t know the strokes (you MUST know strokes when you live in the desert), Max is working on site at our new house construction zone (I ADORE how hard he is working and how much I know he is learning from it all), and also has five hours of volleyball practice every day.  Elle is in summer school from 7:30 to 3:15, and Grace has been in volleyball camp.  Everyone is up and gone by 7:15 aside from Lu who doesn’t start until 8:50.  Summer goals including reading and swimming laps and practicing are in progress.  …and I have had non-stop meetings in our crazy house every. single. day. It is a full time job.  Dave has been the main head-honcho over there and he left town with Max for a church super activity hiking in the mountains so I took over. And it wasn’t pretty.  Because I didn’t sleep much and I’m not so good these days trying to run on very little sleep. Dave has actually been out of town 20 of the last 25 days and boy howdy we’re both done with that.  Any spare moments I put toward preparing a talk I had to give at a convention this last Saturday (which all turned out great…loved those women I got to be with…especially since my mom and sister were here with me for Grace’s dance concert and I had them help me out…they are the best), but it was a lot of stress in the back of my mind during all the other craziness going on. This has been intermixed with Max’s birthday that I was so worried about celebrating well to make up for the fact that I’ve been so distracted lately with all this other stuff going on that I overcompensated a little bit (he doesn’t like surprises and we did two of them…but he still sure had a great birthday including a DRIVERS LICENSE…so much more on that soon). Needless to say, summer has started off with a bang.  Good stuff and crazy stuff intermixed together. And I’m so happy to try to get into a regular routine this week and soak up my summer time with this family of mine. And to breathe a little easier. On to fill up our empty kitchen with something to eat around here and wash our car still filled with dust from Dave and Max’s camping trip. …and do the loads of laundry I haven’t done for a week (I walked around with tomato juice on my shirt all day the other day and none of my girls have any underwear)… …and to get a tetanus shot for the nail I stepped on over at the house the other day.