Spring Intentions
Things I'm planning for and not
The sun is shining bright on my face as I walk on a Saturday morning. Birds are chirping in the trees, and the ground is a bit soft after the foot of snow we got three days ago, but aside from that clue you would never guess at the swing from winter back to spring.
Birds are chirping and the breeze sways new buds on the aspen trees as I sit on a bench outside our library and eat a banana. The library opens in a few minutes, and I intend to claim the best table and set up with my laptop and homemade iced coffee.
My husband left the house with the kids this morning. He was out of town all week, and when he arrived home and I burst into tears, he recognized I was falling apart and needed some recovery time. I cried this morning when they left for a hike, feeling left out, but it only took me thirty minutes to remember that this is just what I needed. A day to recover, not just from this week, but from the whole school year. According to my husband, I get like this a little bit at the end of every homeschool year. I pour myself out all year long until there is nothing left. Time is needed to find my footing again.
Writing for my blog is my whole intention for this library visit, but I look at my drafts folder and realize I need to just write, not struggle through editing a rough draft or try to piece together a half-written post into something worthwhile. There will be time for that later, but today, we’re just going to see where this post takes us.
Spring Intention #1: Take time for recovery. Summer is coming, and I want it to be full of fun and memories, and for that I need to build my energy back up. And the only way to do that is to rest. My rules for this unexpected day to myself are:
Do not clean anything.
Spend time in the sun.
No listening to podcasts.
Enjoy the quiet.
Try to move my body a little bit.
Consume (books) and produce (a blog post, maybe a watercolor)
We had our last day of homeschool co-op yesterday, which was a field day. I was in charge of organizing the races, and I think they went quite well! We had potato (grain) sack races, three-legged races, egg-and-spoon races, water balloon toss, back-to-back races, and a blindfold race. The three groups were K-4th, 5th-8th, and high school. I think 5th-8th grade are ideal ages for this kind of thing, at least in this group of sweet, un-self-conscious homeschool kids; the younger group struggled with some of the races but had a grand time anyway, and the high schoolers were a mix of competitive and silly, and hard to organize because they were having too good a time together. But the middle schoolers took the races seriously, organized themselves promptly, and laughed whether they won or lost. I was exhausted by the end of the day, but it was still fun.
This year I was invited to join the board of our co-op, so this spring has been a flurry of interviews and planning meetings. I have become a pretty organized person over the last several years as my kids have gotten older with homeschooling, but trying to figure out what needs to happen with the co-op, and especially what we need to organize before the fall, has been a challenge. I’m already seeing glimmers of a lesson brewing: being organized is good, but I can’t control everything. Sometimes it’s good to just sit back and see how things shake out.
Spring Intention #2: Let some things go. Do what is required of you, but trust other people to do what needs to be done too. It’s best not to put everything on my own plate, which I am sometimes apt to do. This can lead to a crash-and-burn, and I know that from experience, but it’s easy to forget sometimes. For me this will look like:
Remembering that it’s okay for the house to be messy.
Saying no to some things.
Dropping some of our last lingering homeschool subjects. We’re on the home stretch.
Finishing a little homeschool planning (including a conference in June) - but then putting all thoughts of homeschooling and co-op on hold for a couple months. It’ll keep.
This spring has been rather bizarre when it comes to weather. In March we had multiple weeks of 70+ degree days, which is unheard of in the mountains. April was also quite warm, but then in the last two weeks we have had rain and snow multiple times. I am not sorry at all, because I will take some snow days over a bad wildfire season!
In April we walked around a lake in summer-like weather and got nearly eaten by mosquitos. But it was so nice to be outside and get some sunshine.
Snow in May will be just fine, because it will green up all our grass (which is already looking quite long for this early in the year). But I am so looking forward to more warm days.
Spring Intention #3: Get outside. I have been struggling with some health things this spring, and my energy levels have been non-existent, but whether I’m walking or just sitting, fresh air is invigorating. In the next few weeks before spring blooms into summer, I’d like to:
Take a walk every day.
Read on my porch.
Take the kids to a park.
Throw out some fresh grass and wildflower seeds.
Go on a picnic lunch.
Start some sort of nature journaling.
Buy some bird seed and a new feeder.
Spring is usually a high-energy time of cleaning things out and planning for the summer. I’m shushing that voice that is whispering that I’m getting behind, because it’s okay for spring to not be filled with tasks. This year spring needs to be restful, and quiet, and restorative. So that’s what I’m going to try to make it - before the pools open!
I enjoyed reading this! I feel the same way at the end of the homeschool year.