This moment - of the summer blowtorch variety

Is this really necessary I ask you?

Push-Pull

It's a battle I always feel that I am involved in...the old push-pull. Take this vest for instance, although the dog days of summer are upon us I am finishing up a piece of wool clothing for Hazel to wear come the cooler climes of autumn.
My best effort towards living in the moment always seem to be upended in varying degrees by thinking of future days....
Is this a battle that can ever be "won"?

A thousand words

I am finding it tricky to come up with words to go along with this picture. The toothless smile says more to me than any words could. Summer is here. The days stretch on. And each morning the reminder is put out there..."nope, no school today". Or for any day in the foreseeable future. My feet are firmly entrenched in the now that is our summer. My mind wandering forward to the fall, when our days will still be our own. And school will not interrupt my education again, at least not for Grade one.
And wow, does it ever feel right.

What I did on my summer holiday

Today is the final day of my summer holiday...I mean MY summer holiday. As in, 3 days of time for me, while working during the day, but having the evenings to spend in whatever manner I wish.
Here is a brief summary-
Saturday morning, drop Michael and Hazel off at the airport for the bouncy journey to Northern Ontario for a visit with his family. They are driving home as we speak.
Saturday and Sunday, gather all things necessary to the two teenagers who left for France with my parents for 28 days of touring, shopping, eating what I imagine is some pretty awesome food and enjoying all the France and the Czech Republic have to offer.
Then, on Monday as if by magic they were gone.
And I had a plan. I spent days previous working on a plan. Wow, I am a planner, and yet not even I have planned like this before. Here is what I did:
built a platform on the ground in our backyard so we can sit outside and eat our dinners
made strawberry jam
cast-on for a vest for Hazel
subscribed to "a latte a day"
gardened to my heart's content
went through the bedroom closets and unloaded stuff
ate cereal for dinner
And wow, I feel rested. I feel energized and ready for the days and weeks ahead. Funny on so many levels how the idea of downtime changes when you become a mama.
Coming to you from a good headspace.
Happy Wednesday.
Oh yeah, the camera went to Sault Ste. Marie so I have no visual proof of how I spent my time. Which was both nice and annoying I must admit.

On this day

which incidentally is five days into the first heatwave of this summer, you will find me in my kitchen. I will be stirring away in front of my stove, upping the temperature inside the house, making our first batch of strawberry jam. And during the cold winter months I will remember it every morning I put the jam on our toast. And I will be so thankful I did.