What I didn’t get done this summer…

Why do I always think I will have more time in the summer after school is over? Time to read books, visit friends I only see on Facebook, time to figure out how to hang all those framed pieces of art hiding behind the furniture, time to write the next book in a series, time to query agents and publishers, time to research and write Alzheimer’s articles. I forget about the extra jobs that replace my teaching time: the garden, swimming, and house cleaning.

And then life throws a rock that intercepts all best-laid plans and places a monkey wrench in my grand illusions.

This week, the rock and monkey wrench punched me in the gut. My daughter faced a life-threatening infection and surgery. Thousands of prayers, God’s healing touch, and many skilled doctors pulled her through the four-hour surgery with the promise of a long and not-so-easy recovery period that will require all the energy I can muster and many deaths to my ambitious summer plans.

I didn’t get the second Alzheimer’s newsletter fully researched, written, and sent to you.

I didn’t keep my walking step goal, my daily strenuous exercise routine, or my summer swimming schedule.

I didn’t tend to my flowers or pick the sugar peas.

I didn’t read a single book.

I didn’t follow up on a promising publisher.

I didn’t organize my story idea notes.

I didn’t update my Instagram or make another week’s worth of cutesy posts.

I didn’t say “Happy Birthday” to all my Facebook friends.

I didn’t clear away the clutter from my desk.

I didn’t put on make-up, floss my teeth, or take most of my vitamins. Some nights, I didn’t even eat supper.

I didn’t write a single story paragraph.

I didn’t meet with my good and faithful friends who keep hearing me say, “I’ll have more time to get together when school’s over…”

I didn’t talk to older people and collect their amazing life stories.

I didn’t thin out my bookshelves to make room for the stacks piled in front of the shelved books.

I didn’t clean out the refrigerator.

I didn’t plan this week’s Sunday School lesson…and thanks to a sweet young woman named Kiersta, I didn’t have to.

I didn’t sew on the button that’s been riding in my coat pocket for two years or take the coats to the dry cleaners.

I won’t make the writer’s conference this year.

I didn’t tackle the stack of church library books that need to be entered into the system.

I didn’t get much of anything done this week…

And except for the friends I bailed on…

I don’t really care.

I still have my wonderful little family. They are my world right now.

There’s still July and half of August, but I know how quickly they get gobbled up in other tasks. I may never get done all I had planned. Maybe I’ll send you that second Alzheimer’s article next summer. 

By the way, you may notice another Alzheimer’s article below this one. I had planned to make it article number 3…At least I got something done.