Summer vacation?

I'm hearing mention of summer vacation all over the place, and while for the first time in a LONG time, we don't really have any pressing deadlines (and believe me, I do feel lost without them!), we don't have any plans either. For the first time ever, we're finding ourselves trying to figure out what to DO with the summer! Of course, we know that it may well be figured out for us, with Pete starting a new job, Jon coming home on R&R in late summer rather than late fall, and the possibility of Pete starting his overseas travel with his new job...but for right now, there's nothing--except a huge void on the calendar! Weird...

I'm kidding myself if I am even beginning to think that I will have the summer "off". It does not happen. Even now, I'm doing mental checklisting of things I need to accomplish before we officially start school--starting with getting out the calendar and actually planning our next school year! In years past, we've always started the week after Labor Day and ended within a couple of weeks of Memorial Day, but this year, I don't really have much reason to wait that long. It doesn't truly feel as if we need that big a "break".

For now, I'm doing a little summer "school" for me--I'm reading some new (and some not-so-new, but new to me) books on home education, familiarizing myself with elementary school curriculum again, and switching gears from algebra and chemistry back down to phonics and basic math facts. I'm determined to enjoy this more the second time around; with Jon and Kelsey, we began homeschooling more out of necessity than anything else, and I was doing just way too much flying by the seat of my pants to truly "enjoy" it. This time....well, this time I'm ready. I'm prepared. And I'm ready to have FUN with this! Ooh--I even bought a butterfly bungalow and I need to decide when to mail off the certificate for our caterpillars....I think our butterflies will be a summer project, rather than waiting till we study insects later on in the school year. I guess it's time to get that butterfly bush picked out and planted, huh?

My mind is a bit scattered right now, and for that reason, I'm glad I've got the summer to get myself organized and focused. I'm just thinking in too many different directions all at once. I had way too much "hit" me at the same time, and my thought process is frazzled. Jobs, renovations, graduation, gardening, teaching reading, world history, transcript preparation, Afghanistan, potential weddings, rebellion issues, and oh, how the list goes on...not to mention I've been studying pretty hefty issues in my own personal Bible study time. Simplification? I NEED IT!