When I woke up on Monday morning, I cannot tell you the emazing relief and peace that I felt knowing that I had the summer to recharge and rejuvenate. Teaching was a gift, but so is this break, and I mean to take full advantage of it.

Although we have things going on this summer, a few small trips, my continued chemo and other treatments, we really are keeping it simple. This is the first time ever where Arthur (or his siblings before him) doesn’t have a single camp or other thing going on. With as busy as he was with ALL the things during the school year, we are taking a break from it all and just letting him be. He has goals for the summer – don’t get me wrong, but they are more self driven. And yes, one of them is a “30 Book Challenge” from me 😉.

Monday was also a day when I could sit down with my schedule, figure out a bunch of important things I needed to get taken care of, and go to town getting them on the calendar, like getting an echocardiogram I needed to have done before next week. Once I had those things in place, then I could throw in things like my eye and dentist appointments, and so many other things that I had to hold off on until we had my gamma knife procedure firmly on the schedule. I may have spent most of the day on the phone, but wow, I got a lot done.

Monday was also my parent’s 64th wedding anniversary!! So amazing, and even though my daddy passed away back in 2020, I am so grateful for their eternal marriage and the gift that it is in my life.

Another special thing that I have time for with the summer, is actually getting outside to walk most mornings. Being out in nature and getting exercise are both boons to my soul. (Even if I still have to go very slowly depending on how I am feeling that day.) Monday I had the special treat of going out on my walk with Meagan, and it was so wonderful to have TIME to catch up.

On Thursday, as I walked, I stopped to take pictures of all the little wildflowers along the sides of the path. Seeing these flowers always give me such great joy. They’re so varied in different, and so beautiful in their uniqueness, just like each of us. Some have spikes, some have thorns, some have very delicate petals that have to hide in the shade, but each one is special.

At home, when I have not been going to the many appointments I had scheduled, I have also been happy about being able to take it slow in the mornings. Right now, because of the swelling in my brain, I am on steroids that make it impossible to sleep past 2-3am, and so many days I feel like a zombie. When I am a little bit more awake and together, I have been trying to tackle small little jobs all over the house – things that have been neglected and that have been driving me crazy, but it often means that my ADHD brain is all over the place 😂. Oh well. Like this meme I sent to my friend, “Me on my way to do the dishes, but saw a basket of laundry so I vacuumed the living room and now I’m baking banana bread.” Ha ha!

With Arthur’s lowkey summer, I am also trying to make sure he doesn’t go crazy with boredom, and so we had his friend, Jesse, over the other morning. They had the best time playing with Legos and then Lily got the swimspa ready so they could play in there as well. It was the perfect activity and the highlight of Arthur’s day.

Speaking of friends, on Thursday night, Kevin and I had a game night with a few couples and it was the best! We played this hilarious trivia game that Penny brought, and Kevin and I won, but really it was because the Fishers kept inadvertently uncovering easy choices for us when it was our turn. One of the best parts though, was that I was able to eat Sharon’s warm chocolate chip cookies! You guys, it had been over a month sine I could eat something like that, and it was pure heaven.

Friday was a special day on the calendar – National Donut Day! I loaded all the kids in the car, and then we went to Krispy Kreme for free donuts. We also went to Shipley, but they weren’t quite as generous, and so we bought donuts from there. The best part of it, was that we were blasting and singing along to favorite country songs, and for the first time in months, it didn’t hurt for me to sing. (The constant muscle spasms and burned esophagus made it so painful.) It was this super fun tender mercy.

This week I was also able to take some time to reconnect with good friends. On Tuesday, my dear friend Lisa and I went to brunch and talked for hours. Oh, how I love her! And on Friday, I “kidnapped” Jamie and we had lunch. Two hours of amazing conversation and catching up on all the life things. It was the first time in a year where we were able to get together and talk, and it was fantastic. (She was the angel who stopped her whole life in the fall to take on my class and teach while I was out for treatment. I already loved her, but that kind of sacrifice brings with it a special kind of love and appreciation.)

On Friday afternoon, we had a very special family trip to the San Antonio Temple for a baptism session. Lily pointed out that it was the first time since January of 2025 that our entire family went to the temple together, which made it even more special. What a gift to have times like these with my family.

Friday was also my mother’s 84th birthday, and although we couldn’t celebrate with her in person, we were able to sing to her on the phone, and luckily my siblings took good care of her. My Aunt Marcy is even visiting her right now, so she has company, which is awesome.

Saturday was a day to get things things done first thing, and then to relax and enjoy time as a family. I had the kids help me a with a few cleaning things, Kevin was awesome and changed out drains on three bathroom sinks, and then we crashed. That evening though, we got Texas Roadhouse take-out as a special end of the school year celebration for the family, and then watched a movie together. These are the summer moments that I truly love.