The Cause of Summer Success

This has been a sweet summer for all of us.

Past summers, I have really struggled. (Because of the heat, it feels like you can't be outside & do summer like it's meant to be done.) And this summer, no outside changes have taken place to make it a good summer. We still live next to the desert in the same house, same jobs, have the same friends, same church...

What I think has changed is us. I think we know ourselves way better... as people, as parents, as a family. We have learned, proactive thinking and planning makes all the difference. 

I plan and am proactive, not because I am automatically a fun mom, but because I struggle to be one. When there is nothing urgent or important, my instinct is to be a bum. But at the end of the day, I feel unfulfilled and the kids are stir crazy. I learned that I need to work against this instinct. 

When I plan, when I fill my cup with ideas and resources, when I give myself margin, that's when we succeed. I so so so love planning and thinking ahead. It's one of my greatest allies. 

Nearly always when I get into a day, I just want to do "what i feel like." And that usually has me being a bum! But when I have a purpose (when I've been proactive and thought ahead to what we need), I keep moving forward.

Anyways, that's why I think this summer has been so sweet. We thought ahead and have Our Summer Bucket List going-- and some other big fun things as well. And we just keep attacking, keep adventuring. And when we have a purpose in what we do, it's easy to keep our joy... because we've accomplished what we've set out to do.