Sticking To A Plan on a Beautiful Fall Day

This summer has played havoc with my life. Now that I'm home and life is returning to normal, I've discovered I can't find the old rhythm I enjoyed last winter. I may not be the most organized person, (believe me when I say I know some people who were incredibly organized!), but I am pretty organized in how I approach things. I actually have a little notebook that sits on my counter with my daily plan written in it. I call it my LPJ. (Life Plan Journal) After we moved here last summer, it took a while to find the new order of things, but last fall, I finally found a schedule that worked for me. I had a pattern of doing things. There was time to write. The house got cleaned when it needed it. Some tasks were assigned a day to be done. Activities were tucked into the daily plan. I was even good about keeping a food diary and getting some type of workout on a regular basis. In fact, I lost several pounds! Life was smoooooth.

Spring came and trips began. All was well. I was gone a week, home a few days, prepped for the next trip; you get the picture. There were curves in the road, but all in all, the ride wasn't too bumpy. Then summer hit.

Suddenly, we were gone. A LOT! While I managed to get in a good long walk a few days a week, a daily routine was useless. Most of the time our days revolved around other people. We ate out every day. Lunches, dinners, occasionally even a breakfast. My food diary went out the window. I mean, what was the point? It was there to help me stay aware of the food going in. Oh, believe me, I was aware, with every sugar, fat, or salt laden restaurant dish that sat on the placemat in front of me! Who knew exactly what all was stuffed into even the smaller portions, or lighter fare?

Well, I'm home now, so it's back to normal, right? You would think so. But old habits break easily. ( I know. The saying goes "old habits die hard". Not for me. ) The simplest thing would be to start up with the LPJ. The days are the same as they used to be. Just plan the next week and fill in the old routine. Except I forget to do it. And when I do remember to write out my daily plan, I forget to check it.

I've also discovered any workout plan I had before is too hard now as evidenced by the new aches and pains. I've been away from it for so long, I'm back to square one. Retraining. Taking it slow. Instead of my daily walk with our steep hill, I've had to change it up to include the steep hill only a couple of times a week. My workouts at Curves are suddenly harder now than they used to be.

The other problem is I have plenty to do without looking at my old LPJ to see what's next on the agenda. I came back with bags of family photographs from my husband's childhood home, and boxes of stuff that need to find a new place in an already full house. I have fall projects. But it's fall. The yard is calling. I'd rather be outside!

There Is So Much To Do!

And therein lies the rub. I've found it really difficult to find time to write. Mornings? Busy. Afternoons? It's September! The weather is so gorgeous. Evenings? That has often been one of my best times to write, but by then, I'm beat. And ready to kick back. After all, that's what I've been doing in the evenings for the last four months...Kicking back, chillin' down. Like I said, Old habits break easily.

It will take some time, but I will get my old routine back. The one where things go pretty smoothly. It will happen by winter. But for now, Fall is calling and I must go.

It's September! Where Have You Been?

I'm back! Where did I go? Well, it was summer so the short answer is "Plenty of Places." But it's been an unusual summer too. And as it all unfolded I found I was unable to find the quiet time I needed to sort through my thoughts in order to share them.

The last time I posted anything was about our fantastic trip to Alaska in May. But on that trip, we received news that my mother-in-law had suffered a stroke. Within 24 hours of returning from Alaska we were on the road to Pennsylvania. The following weeks included multiple trips to PA, saying our final goodbyes, packing up an old family homestead and preparing to 'move on' if there is such a thing. Our minds were full. Our hearts were full. Our days were full. It was a time to experience, and savor, but not to share publicly.

In between trips we had a few days here and there to try and catch up with life at home. Perhaps the best analogy of what summer meant around here came from my flowers. I planted them in mid June when I had a few days. We left for a couple of weeks only to come back and find they were gone. The wildlife had moved in and removed all of them. Yep. For awhile, that's what summer meant to me. The Best of Plan(t)s--annihilated.

There were times when I felt summer was getting away from me. I tried to make myself recognize the signs: long days, sunshine, HEAT, Green leaves!  But the constant upheaval of things we had planned made us all feel like we were missing out on something.

We had originally planned one prolonged RV trip in July and August to visit our daughter in Iowa and then do some traveling. Our other daughter was going to be in Iowa too, so we would have a family gathering for a few days. THAT trip came off as planned and it was wonderful! We had actually seen both families a couple of times already as they were able to make pilgrimages to see their grandmother, and again to be at her funeral. But this time in Iowa was just us with no distractions. One of my favorite memories was Jen, Jan and I walking the gravel road at sunset. Just a nice quiet time for the three of us.

After Iowa we went to Wisconsin, Illinois, Indianapolis, and Tennessee. One night we stopped at a campsite that had a pool. I took my towel, sunglasses and magazine and sat by the pool. I swam for a bit and then just sat and soaked in the sun and the quiet by the water. A peace descended over me and I realized, I had finally found Summer. Summer can mean lots of things. It can be symbolized in various ways. But just then, it became real in a quiet moment, sitting by the pool. They say there is an ionization of the molecules above water that soothes our souls and that is why we are drawn to water. (More factually speaking, the amount of negative ions found near moving water and in the mountains have the effect of boosting our serotonin levels making us feel better.)  All I know, is as I sat by the pool, I relaxed and breathed in Summer.

I also began to catalog what summer had been for us.
1) Time with Family--Incredible time. We have spent time with both of my sisters, both of our daughter's and their families, and all of Larry's extended family. It's been wonderful.
2) Time to Travel.
3) Time to reconnect with friends--In Alaska I met a new friend face to face that I've known online, and I ran into an old friend from a church we used to attend in Florida! Since April, I've spent time with friends from my childhood, from our old neighborhood in PA and from our old haunts in Florida as well has spending several days with new friends in an RV club.
4) Time to relax.
5) Time to share memories from the past and time to soak in the present.

It took me awhile to find summer, but when it was all said and done, I realized it's been a pretty good one. Friends, Family, Travel, Long Days, Swimming Pools...
That's what summer is all about.