And it's cool-ish and overcast and making me crave fall. Hoodies, candles, fires, boots. Yes, please!
It's been such a good season of summer. Really, this is the first summer I've had "off" since sometime in college. Every year I've taught before, I've spent my summers nursing. But not this one.
Aside from calling in for jury duty every week, it was stress free and a wonderful season of rest, of creating, and reconnecting. In short, bliss.
June was "to do list" month ...
I redid bathroom floors, kitchen counters, and kitchen floors (that kind of got pushed to August). I am loving house projects and cannot believe how much the house has changed over the past year!
I did lots of crafting.
I read lots of books! About 25, actually ... and most of them were just for fun!!
My favorites included: Charles Martin's Thunder and Rain
and Sandra Brown's Low Pressure
also loved John Green's The Fault in Our Stars
and the #1 pick - Shauna Niequist's Bread and Wine
One of the best parts of the summer was reconnecting with people who matter. Ironically, mom and I were just talking about how it seemed that no one would ever want to come to AR, but I've had more visitors in a year here than in the last five in GA (helps to have free weekends!)
July was the month of people!!
I finally got to catch up to these cool kids ...
These favorites came here. We had so much fun ... tubing, hiking, swimming ... and gambling ;-)
And I spent a few days in GA ...
And then LA ...
And then spent 10 days in Washington with the fam!!
... and APSummer Institute ... a four day/40 hour class I took for work. Yuck!
I loved gardening and am still getting tons of goodies from my little plot.
I learned to can and have made tons of homemade salsa this summer!
I am loving fresh zinnias on my table every day!
This summer was good for my soul, leaving marks of rest and restoration every bit as vibrant as the chaco tanlines on my feet!!
And, now, we are a week back into "work" ... and a few hours from welcoming a new 180 students! I'm NOT ready for 5:30 am mornings ... for long days ... for making copies (I HATE making copies!!). I am ready to see the BFFs I am blessed to work with! I am ready for a new year of relationships. I am soooo much less stressed to have my "first year" back behind me. There will be challenges. And I will be tired. I know it's coming. Those, fall asleep at 6 pm because you are too tired to make it any longer days. But, I am ready to invest in come new kiddos.
There is a book I just downloaded to my kindle about Teach for America and it's called Work Hard. Be Kind. That's my goal for my kids and for me. I want to be a teacher who leaves a mark on the lives of her students because I believed in them, listened to them, cared for them, expected good stuff from them. I want to be remembered for kindness more than content. I want to make a difference.
I have much to be thankful for. Praying that I will remember that in the midst of challenges and find JOY in the every day.
My friend Kitti wrote this in her blog this week and it's now posted on my wall ... at the end of the year, THIS will be my measure of success:
"My job in the life is to simply be to others
what God has been to me."
Here we go: 180 kiddos, 180 days. 180 gifts.
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