Okay, okay, so I have not been the most disciplined Web master since school has ended... and now here we are one week away from pre-planning and I am finally getting around to updating our blog. It's not like Phineas and Ferb around here (there are one hundred and four days of summer vacation...), we only have seven weeks of freedom and to say that it passes quickly would be a major understatement. We've had fun! I have to admit that the first weeks of June were kind of tough for me, though. As many of you know, work was particularly overwhelming and discouraging last year. I love my job and I work very hard to be an excellent teacher without sacrificing my family roles (that's the balancing act every working mom strives to master). I had been having a really hard time sleeping, dealt with a lot of job-related anxiety and stress, and with grad school tossed in for good measure, my emotional and physical health had taken a nosedive. So, the month of June is kind of a blur - I crashed out for a while - and I mean crashed! I am not ashamed to say that this happened - it was kind of bound to considering everything that I had stacked on my plate. I know that it's not just me - and I am glad to have a job, but I need to do become more vigilant in dealing with my stress and schedule and learn to relax and only do what I can do. I'm feeling much better thanks to my awesome doctor -
Dr. Kimberly McIntosh of Women's Health Specialists - who completely understood what I had going on and has been a wonderful resource for me and my family. So, if you are reading this and are feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, overstressed, and you are worried - don't despair! It's all good! You can feel better and you will feel better! This world is just too busy and crazy and we all expect too much from ourselves. Take a moment to breathe, say a prayer for serenity, and count those blessings! There are so many for which to be thankful! My biggest blessings are my wonderful family - everyone pulled together to care for me and help me to rest and get better. Travis is the most wonderful man in the world and he's the only one for me - my girls are pure sunshine - my mom and sister are the best and I love them and my in-law family is always there for me and supportive of everything that I do. Thank you, everyone, for standing by me, loving me, and showing me what family really is! Besides that, my friends - and you know who you are - have, yet again, proven themselves to be more valuable than gold and silver and pulled me through with love, laughter and patience.
So, back to our summer. Our first trip was to Tybee Island in early June. We went with Grandmama and Granddaddy and rented an
old Tybee cottage for a week. It was really beautiful and quaint and we had a great time kicking back and living on Tybee Time! Caroline and Madison boogie boarded, we sunned and ate great food and visited all of our favorite haunts. Emily really likes the beach and spent most of her time under the canopy snacking - could she be related to her Granddaddy? I think so! A highlight of the week was when Em and I went for a quick bath in the old clawfoot bathtub in the house. As we were getting into the water, the clawfeet slipped out from underneath the tub ripping out the water pipes from the wall and sending water spraying everywhere. Good times. It was lovely! Gotta love old houses!!!! Another funny story is that when we took the girls to Fort Pulaski, Caroline had an absolute fit about the "guns" - they were having a musket and cannon firing demonstration and she wouldn't go anywhere near them! So funny. I got a really cute picture of her pacing back and forth just waiting for those loud booms to be over!
"The friend in my adversity I shall always cherish most. I can better trust those
who helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours than those who are so ready
to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity."
- Ulysses S. Grant
