July Sunshine

It is a beautiful early July day. The sun is gleaming gold through the window and I am finishing off some really good water melon. I hope we get some more melon and organic grapes this weekend.

I finally got some good sleep last night. It's been kind of a busy week with adding, attending, and then ultimately dropping a class I was going to take this summer. I finally looked back at these past two years of non-stop grad-school and work and decided to just take the summer off. I am already doing plenty between my two part-time jobs and volunteer work with kids. I seriously need some time to read, and write what I want to. Plus, hubby and I want to set up a writing night where we strictly work on our own fiction. I have this idea that keeps haunting my tired brain and it's time to work the damned thing out without the looming weight of academic deadlines stealing every ounce of strength.

I am going hiking with a friend tomorrow. This will be our third time out since the days started getting warmer and longer. Last time, we did an urban hike, which turned out to be a lot more fun than I expected. Lots of interesting shapes, colors, and textures appeared on that adventure. Tomorrow, however, we plan to hit the mountains and do something quasi-challenging. I don't think either one of us is feeling in great physical shape. I have to admit grad-school ruined most of my fitness program and I feel quite decrepit. I actually did hit the gym a couple times this week. Hubby is on a new summer fitness and diet plan, so this is a good time to make changes together.

I talked to my best friend from childhood on the phone yesterday. That was so awesome. Although our lives are quite different in many ways, I see some parallels. I really cherished our conversation and hearing her perspective on things. I told her about how I have been making some changes in my education/career path and have had some uncertainties this past year. She said some things that shed light on things and how some of my recent decisions might actually help me achieve future goals. That meant a lot coming from someone who I care about like family. I also know she has enough life experience and perspective to know what the heck she is talking about.

I know I started school with certain expectations and ideas. But over time I've weeded out some stuff that isn't working and find myself narrowing my goals a little bit. It is easier to to accomplish something when you focus your energy on what seems most important. Of course that will vary from person to person. For me, I want to focus on family, being healthy,my writing, and "the good enough job", that allows for all my ever-changing hobbies.