SummerTIME.

Leave a comment

Summertime is the best time, isn’t it?  THE BEST.  My husband is a teacher, and my work hours are currently part-time (but growing enormously next week; stay tuned) so Summer for us is all about time.  Time together, time apart, time to explore, time to grow, time to learn.

A few years ago, I started making lists of our adventures (60 Adventures in 60 Days), both to use as a reference for myself at a later date and to share with others who might enjoy some of our finds.  This year’s list comes from our goal to have a “low key” Summer, following our busy Summer of 2015 when our move to a new house occupied much of our time.  A low-key Summer it was most definitely not, but an amazing Summer it was.

I hope you put some of these gems on your Summer 2017 list (and yes, many of them are food related.  No judgement.), and I’ve included links on most if you’re curious to learn more:

  1. Canada Day 5km and 1km races.
  2. A toy and lemonade sale to benefit the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation.
  3. The Farmer’s Market at Burlington Mall.
  4. My daughter’s weekly soccer game with the Burloak Soccer Club.
  5. Sleeping on a sailboat in the Picton Harbour.
  6. Sandbanks Provincial Park.
  7. Wild Waterworks.
  8. Strawberry/raspberry/pea picking.
  9. Blood donor appointments.
  10. BlueJay games.
  11. Way of the Woods Camp (Conservation Halton).
  12. Burlington Beach.
  13. Royal Botanical Gardens 1/2 day camp.
  14. Taco Tuesday at Maracaz.
  15. Overnight guests- friends and family from Alberta!
  16. Cupcakes at Kelly’s Bake Shoppe.
  17. The boat pond at Spencer Smith park.
  18. Sunday morning runs by the lake.
  19. Dundas Driving Park and splashpad.
  20. Finding Dory in 3D.
  21. Biggest Little Night festival.
  22. Camping at the Pinery.
  23. Centreville at Centre Island.
  24. Hosting friends and family for backyard BBQs.
  25. The City of Burlington’s SNAP camp.
  26. Doughnuts at the Sunshine Doughnut Company.
  27. House projects (painting deck, painting fences).
  28. A weekend at my sister-in-law’s cottage.
  29. Assumption Sports Camp.
  30. Family reunion for my mother-in-law’s side of the family.
  31. Sunripe kids triathlon.
  32. Making a batch of pickles using a many-generations-old recipe.
  33. Kid’s dentist appointments.
  34. Optometrist appointments (new prescriptions and glasses for both kids).
  35. Weekly Wednesday morning 3-generation golfing.
  36. CrossFit.  CrossFit.  CrossFit.
  37. My monthly book club meetings.
  38. Hosting hot tub parties.
  39. School uniform shopping.
  40. Fishing and feeding chipmunks at LaSalle park.
  41. Hot yoga.
  42. Pool time in family and friend’s backyards.
  43. Monthly massages.
  44. Watching my husband’s touch football games.
  45. Mountainside Pool.
  46. IV therapy for athletic recovery.
  47. Playdates for my kids and their school friends.
  48. Tragically Hip concert.
  49. Burlington’s Children’s festival.
  50. Stand up paddleboarding.
  51. Celebrating 10 years of marriage.
  52. Watching the Rio Olympics non-stop.
  53. Fishing at Robert Edmundson Park.
  54. Hiking at Mount Nemo.
  55. Lunchdates with girlfriends.
  56. My husband’s annual NFL Fantasy Football draft.
  57. Driving range and the mini putt course at Within Range.
  58. Ice cream at nearly every Burlington ice cream shop.
  59. Grandpa playing in the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship at the Grand Niagara Golf Club.
  60. Ribfest.

IMG_4184

Solitude

Leave a comment

I arrived to my hot yoga class forty-five minutes early yesterday morning.  I’d misread the holiday schedule, and showed up to find an empty parking lot and a locked studio door.  I probably could’ve gone back home, as it’s only a five minute drive each way, but I felt myself longing for some solitude.  So I stayed in my car, opened the doors, and wrote this post while wrapped in the bliss of fresh air, Summer sunshine, and a holiday Monday.

Solitude is not something I get a lot of; with a young family, busy job, and great friends, alone time is rare.  For many of you, I’m sure that’s also the case.  But, as I’m learning, solitude is something I absolutely need to be my best self.  I’d say I’m an extroverted introvert, if that’s even a thing, and what really refreshes and resets me is time alone.  I see this trait in my son as well, and cater to and protect his downtime daily.  For me, sometimes it’s just a few deep breaths and a brief moment with my thoughts before I feel regrouped and ready to tackle the next task.  Yesterday, it meant a 75-minute yoga class and a half hour in my quiet car.  I needed it yesterday.  I could feel it, I was craving it.

I’d met up with a dear friend of mine the night before, for a movie and then a walk, and we talked about exactly this: alone time and self-discovery and reflection.  She’s very good at self-improvement and introspection, and I always look to her lead in those areas.  Her recent discovery is that of a 24-hour solo retreat; that is, 24 hours away from home, alone.  No to-do lists or timelines or schedules or expectations.  This “solo retreat” is a foreign concept to me, something I hadn’t considered, and something I’ve never done in the 7.5 years that I’ve been a parent.  She certainly piqued my interest.

My husband and I had a similar conversation awhile ago, regarding my need for a daily dose of solitude.  “That’s one of the things I love about running,” I told him, “it gives me alone time to think.”  To think, and breathe, and dream.  My 24-hour retreat would involve lots of sleep, lots of writing, lots of food, and lots of running.

What would yours look like?

efjJ5i4

April, May, June

2 Comments

My youngest child is heading off to Junior Kindergarten (JK) in September.  In Ontario, children are registered in JK the year that they turn four.  Kindergarten is a two-year, play-based curriculum, and it became a full-day program across the province in 2014.  So, in just a few months, off she will go to join her brother in the everyday school world.

She’s ready.  I, on the other hand, most certainly am not.

When my son was born in 2009, I chose to take a huge step back from my career.  I had only been in practice for a few years at that point, and it soon became clear that I could not operate a clinic and be at home with my son as much as I wanted to be.  Something had to give, so I sold my clinic in 2010 and have worked as an Independent Contractor, running my business within a business, since then.  In 2013, after my daughter was born, I found my BSSC family and planted my practice roots.  Now here I am, for the first time in seven and a half years, preparing to go back to full-time hours. The chapter of my life with young children at home, a chapter that seemed to stretch endlessly before me, is in fact, coming to a close.

My husband and I have always altered our schedules to work opposite hours so that one of us can be at home with our kids.  For the first three years, that meant just my son and I had our mornings together, and for the last two years it’s been just my daughter and I.  But she and I only have three months left of our girls-only weekdays.  My husband is a teacher, so will be back at home starting in July, as will my son, who is finishing Grade 1.  Just April, May, June, and then the page turns.

They say that the days are long but the years are short.  And they’re right.

Here’s to twelve more weeks of what-shall-we-do-today mornings….