"Taking step is easy.
Standing still is hard."
~Regina Spektor
The start of summer is always filled with anticipation and adrenaline.
The first month of summer is nonstop.
Monday night practice, Tuesday night 2 games, 2 different locations, Wednesday night work late, Thursday night 2 games, 2 different locations, Friday night and Saturday more games, more travel, more schedules to arrange and bags to pack and Monday it starts all over again. Week after week.
It's been 13-14 hours a day, between work and kids for a month.
I'm not sure if I'm running on adrenaline anymore.
I'm not sure what i'm running on...
Empty most likely. {insert tired mom laugh here}
Logically.
The funny thing is when we finally get a free night or a free weekend in midst of the chaos we don't know what to do. Hence the taking steps is easy. Standing still is hard, quote above.
That's one of, or more likely, my biggest motivation for writing down a summer bucket list.
I want us to be intentional...
and not get lost in the chaos.
As simple and easy as that sounds.
It's a hard task for me.
I get caught up in the chaos.
We had a completely unscheduled weekend.
No schedules to arrange.
No bags to pack.
The chaos that was calling was....
...the laundry
...the unmopped, for like a month, kitchen floor
..the piles of unpacked bags.
I can't put my finger on how but the weekend ended up jump starting our summer bucket list.
Friday night became a girls' night out and I laughed like I haven't laughed in a really long time.
Saturday night at the last, late minute, we ended up going to a street dance.
It wasn't until we paid to get in,
got the kids a pop,
watched the band walk on,
fire up the lights and fog machine,
did I realize...my kids have Never seen a band.
What!?
Wait.
That was a bucket list item, missed!
Kadence did some dancing in the street!
While,
Kadence did some dancing in the street!
While,
Benson could not stop staring.
He was fascinated.
I could not stop watching my kids,
watch a real live band.
I know I got some looks for having a 4yr old at a street dance,
but bring it on.
It was....
magic.
(Well the carrying a sleeping 4 yr old from the street dance because it was ridiculously late, to my sister's house part, wasn't so much magic. It was little more hips burning, back burning, arms burning because he was dead weight...so much dead weight that his cowboy boots fell off his feet, which required me to figure out how to pick them up and carry them too. That part was a little less magic and a little more brutal survival)
(Well the carrying a sleeping 4 yr old from the street dance because it was ridiculously late, to my sister's house part, wasn't so much magic. It was little more hips burning, back burning, arms burning because he was dead weight...so much dead weight that his cowboy boots fell off his feet, which required me to figure out how to pick them up and carry them too. That part was a little less magic and a little more brutal survival)
Sunday leads to...Monday and right back into the chaos we took a break from this weekend. I had planned on staying home,
knocking somethings off the to do list.
I had an item on the summer bucket list last year that we did not accomplish.
At lunch I decided...today was the day.
...because again,
Taking steps is easy.
Standing still is hard.
I needed to"stand still."
Just be.
At lunch we took off fairly on a whim for the Dark Island Trail south of Central City.
It was either going to be a hit or an epic fail.
It was a perfect day outside for it and we totally took in all it had to offer!
This wooden bridge was so long!
It's all free people!
That's the thing.
We had a beautiful day together..
and it was free!
Our kids don't always need "fancy"
We don't always need "Disney" level of events.
We feel pressured somehow, which is crazy, to give our kids these huge vacations and I'll admit I get jealous listening to other people's elaborate vacation/summer plans. I so do. Ugh.
In the end,
They need us.
That's it.
Sometimes we need to see all the things that are right in front of us!
..which today included a hidden, worn out, unofficial trail down to the river
that of course, the boys spotted with little effort.
This was
summer.
I could have chosen to stay with "taking steps is easy"
and finished the to do list and remained on auto pilot
but instead took a gamble on
"standing still is hard"
It takes a conscious effort to stand still in the middle of the chaotic world we live in,
..and man am I glad I did.
We, however, are right back to the chaos.
That's ok.
Bring it on.
I may need a reminder to stop treading water again soon.
Can you do that?
