Community Involvement

Laundry was a big deal when I was growing up.  The wringer washer required the clothes to be agitated with soap, squeezed through rollers, rinsed in fresh water, then squeezed again.  My mom usually spent two mornings each week doing this, after which she’d lug the heavy baskets of wet clothes out to the clothesline to dry.

Automatic washers and dryers sure save a lot of time!  So do dishwashers, microwaves, blenders, bread makers, computers, and all kinds of other devices that most of us now own.

Many products are even advertised “…so you can spend time on the important things...”  I’d like to know what important things we’re spending our extra time on.  Facebook?

I hope family is number one, but I’d also like to see more volunteering in the community.  Many of us already do, but with all the time we’re saving these days with our helpful doodads, we should be seeing an increase in volunteers, not a decline.

Schools are a great place to start.  We need parents and grandparents to go on field trips, extra help with pizza and sports days, reading mentors, and people to weed our outdoor garden beds, to name a few.  Last year our pancake breakfast and hot dog days were cancelled due to a lack of volunteers.

Healthy schools are at the heart of healthy communities.  With all the time we’re saving now with our fancy gadgets, why not spend that extra time getting involved in something worthwhile?

An End and A Beginning

This is it:  The last week before school starts again.

About this time every year I look back on the summer and wonder where the time went.  Did we do everything we wanted to do?  Did we accomplish our summertime goals?

For me, the first goal of summer is to relax.  Sleeping in.  Hanging out.  Playing together.  Reading alone.  Preparing easy meals.  Not packing school lunches – yay!

Then I think about the things we need to do that are easier to accomplish during the summer, like swim lessons, painting with the windows open, and having garage sales.

The away vacations and leisure activities are bonuses – things to create family memories or write about the first day of school when the teacher assigns the inevitable “What Did You Do This Summer?” essay.

The last few weeks of August take on a life of their own as we prepare to go back to school.  This year I’m determined not to fall into the back to school shopping trap, though sometimes the school supply lists baffle me.  Since when are white-out and reinforcements necessary items?  At least I’m happy to see only twelve pencils listed instead of the sixty they asked for one year in Fort McMurray.  Sixty pencils?  That worked out to more than one a week!

In any case, as the end of summer arrives, another season quickly takes its place.  Funny how that works.

Now what do I want to accomplish this fall?

Lazy, Hazy, and Crazy

The lyrics of the popular 1963 song by Nat King Cole say that it’s time to “roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer”.

“Lazy” alright.  You’d think that being able to get outdoors would automatically mean more exercise but, unfortunately, lying on the beach, lounging on the back porch, and chilling in the basement don’t seem to burn many calories.

According to the song, we should be breaking out the “soda and pretzels and beer”.  For my family it would be more like burgers and ice-cream treats and tall glasses of lemonade, but they still don’t seem to keep the bathroom scales in balance.

I have more luck keeping off the pounds during the winter when I don’t need to think twice about turning on the oven to cook up a healthy, organic roast beef dinner, and when ice-cream is used as a garnish on homemade apple crisp or peach cobbler.

The good news is: my last year’s swimsuit is too big for me this summer.  The bad news is: I get to go shopping again for a cute and modest swimsuit – one that isn’t cut down to my navel or up to my waist and doesn’t float over my head when I jump into the water.  Ah, swimsuit shopping.  It definitely makes for a “crazy” day.

I’m not sure about the “hazy” part, but if I don’t eat those fresh garden veggies and ripe summer fruit, I may need to be “rolled out” by the end of the summer.

Vacation Recuperation

My husband hasn’t earned much vacation time yet, but he was allowed to take a Friday and Monday off so we could have an extended weekend away with the kids.

As usual, our vacation consisted of travelling south to see family and friends.  With careful planning, we managed to squeeze in lots of fun and worthwhile things.

We visited my parents (first time since my dad’s heart attack), spent time with my husband’s grandma (she’ll be 91 soon), and stayed and played with two of my sisters and their families. 

We spent a day at Calaway Park, had a picnic at a spray park, visited my Naturopath, played games,

enjoyed a barbecue with friends, walked around a picturesque lake, and attended an uplifting church service where my sister and niece spoke about the lessons they learned during their recent hair-raising canoe trip down the treacherous Milk River.

 

Amidst the fun, there were some unexpected surprises:  a drenching downpour at Calaway Park, a debilitating, day-long migraine for my daughter, and waking up in Calgary the second morning of our trip to find the left back window of our van smashed out. 

 

Now we’re home, it’s time to deal with four days’ worth of laundry, a dirty and broken van, and some coughs and colds.

My grandma used to say (about her grandkids):  “I love to see them come, but I love to see them go!”  I feel the same about vacations.  I love to get away, but I love to come home!

Let the recuperating begin.