So it is August… I have a love-hate relationship with this month. It is a tug-of-war between summer and fall and all that entails. Maybe it is true for you as well? The days are hot and the boys’ summer activities have concluded for the summer… well sort of. Football starts now that baseball is over. Still we have some time to relax and enjoy some lemonade on the porch if we allow ourselves to do so.

I always love summer. I always love fall. School supplies—yay! School supplies—ugh! Perhaps I have a split-personality. (No comments from you, Wendy! 🙂 ) I love my job, and love the people! What’s not to love? So why the “ugh” feeling I wonder….

What I don’t love is the “in between” seasons feeling when I attempt to cram everything from the last season into a matter of a week or two with hopes of being fully organized and able to enjoy the next season. I start summer with a long “teacher” list of items to accomplish such as teach a few summer classes, research, write a few papers (with attempts to publish), write at least one of my books, catch up on photo albums, deep clean the house, teach the boys how to swim, scrapbook the boys’ school year and lives from the past year, and the list goes on and on. Does any of this list happen? Yes and no… it doesn’t happen the first week of the summer like I think it should—every year! Some of it happens early or throughout the summer. The fun stuff like helping the boys learn to swim. The “not-as-much-fun” stuff happens when the calendar changes to August, and I feel the push to get the list accomplished before the school year begins.

I recently discovered what I really struggle with is not so much my list or the lack of accomplishment of the list, but instead it is life flying by. “I can’t wait for…” is a phrase that I knew well growing up. My kids know it now and say it often. That phrase scares me now. I am a planner and look to the future to plan for the now. As we turn the calendar to another school year, I see time flying by…faster than the year before. Life is rushing by. The phrase and song by Alabama ring true…“I’m in a hurry and don’t know why.”
What can I do to change it and face my fear head on? How do I slow down Father Time?
Embrace now instead of waiting for tomorrow. Stop the “I can’t wait” attitude and enjoy today. A quote on my wall at home is “Cherish yesterday. Dream tomorrow. Live today.” That’s what I need to do. So instead of worrying about my syllabi (at least for today) and fretting over the unfinished backyard project or the unfinished photo albums, I am going to just breath and be…and maybe read for fun. Yes, that’s what I’ll do.

Have you enjoyed a good book lately? Or are you waiting for tomorrow? If you started reading this blog because of the image at the top, sorry that we don’t list 50 fun things, but reading for fun is definitely in the top 10! 🙂

My summer reading list is one of the fun summer to-dos that I do love! My list always starts in a linear, orderly fashion. I read, checking off my list until I discover a detour and read away from my list and onto a new path. Such is the case with my recent read, If I Stay, by Gayle Forman. It didn’t start out on my list. A good friend recommended it to me while sitting at baseball watching our boys play. It is about life and death…and making decisions. It is a great read. It is a horrible read. It is similar to The Fault in Our Stars in that the main characters are teenagers dealing with more than the “normal” teenager stressors in life like everyday peer pressure. You need to read it…and soon. It comes to theaters on August 22^nd. In case you aren’t buying what I am selling, two other votes to read it:
“Both brutal and beautiful, this thought-provoking story will stay with readers long after the last page is turned.” ~School Library Journal
“This is an achingly beautiful story.” ~NPR’s The Roundtable
Now you decide.

Live in the present. Take a breath. Let tomorrow be tomorrow. …and don’t worry about the fact that this blog post is not research driven or well organized. It is just the way it is. Enjoy. It’s only the beginning of August after all.
~SV

Stay Calm & Lead On!
Profs Dr. C. & Dr. V.