At least here on this side of the planet, we just said goodbye to summer (perhaps not officially for a few more weeks, but most consider the end of summer to be Labor Day).
I’ve sent one daughter off to college. I’m ordering the books for my other daughter whom I homeschool. My boys will be on the bus headed to their first day this morning. That’s it, the end.
And part of me is super jealous that a bunch of my friends are going to St. Louis to meet for the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) Conference. I haven’t been to one since 2017 and would love to go. Perhaps next year is my year. But, alas, I can’t this year.
However, I was able to do a lot of wonderful things with the time I had.
I saw my first child graduate high school and along with that, had the first big party in our new house (and finally planted grass).
We put a garden in for the first time in four years. My gracious that was a lot of work all summer and now as we head into the fall. I have more zucchini in my freezer than I know what to do with and it’s a very good thing we go through about a jar of pickles a day.
Summer was full of shopping trips to outfit my daughter with everything she would need for her first year away from home, and making sure we did memorable things as a family. We even visited the World’s Largest Ball of Twine (I live within an hour of it).
It was also my twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. So, after dropping my daughter off, the Hero and I bopped on over to Duluth where we spent a few precious hours on Canal Street and wading in the Great Gitche Gumee. I also got to eat at Grandma’s for the very first time (the namesake of the marathon). I also spoke last month about the writing retreat in July that was so refreshing. I plan to do that next year as well, and may be an ongoing thing.
As I list what I’ve done, I know that I’m forgetting things, because I’m trying to look forward. What have I got coming up? Deadlines? Jobs? Conferences? Interestingly, I’m one of those people who forever think, ‘in this next season of my life, I’ll have more time,’ and I’m always wrong. Something always crops up and I have just as much time (or less) to do what I’ve always done.
But each and every day is a blessing.
For a chance to win an ebook copy of Battle For Her Heart, my most recent release, tell me one fun thing you did this summer.