We got home from Chicago last night and I crashed. Hard. Last week I was home one and a half days out of seven. Crazy, but my only busy part of the summer. The days leading to that week found me working on my Scholastic presentation, purchasing books to give away, and then just the ordinary daily turmoil of being a mom to teens, trying to get caught up.
And now? The next forty-eight (yep, I counted them) days stretch out before me. Yes, I will still have to run kids to practices or games. Yes, I still need to figure out how to tear out some lilac bushes, how to fence in the yard for two pups, etc., etc. But...no conferences, no vacations, no travel.
I'd be lying to say I wasn't a little bit excited about that. Or maybe a lot.
The last five summers have seen me attending at least two conferences a summer. Sometimes as many as five. I found myself rejuvenated in some ways - seeing friends inspires me. I also found myself completely exhausted when school began. I was jealous of friends who looked relaxed. I wondered what I was doing wrong. This summer I decided to flip that.
My friend Colby calls this his summer of saying no. Without knowing that, I was doing the same. No to many worthwhile conferences I wanted to go to. No to extra trips or vacations with family and/or friends when it would make my schedule too crazy. No, no, no.
You know what? It feels good.
I do have some #FOMO (fear of missing out) when looking at ILA, NerdCamp, ALA, All Write, etc. I really do love learning. But, I need some time off. I need to walk my dogs, swim laps, read books, and *maybe* write something that's in my head. Quite frankly, I need to breathe.
So, I have forty-eight days left. The end is coming closer and closer each day. I'm going to soak up this time for all its worth and then face the new school year ready to begin. I cannot wait.
