Graduations, Holidays, and Weddings . . . Oh My!

Not to mention plays, dinners, parties, lunches out, the grands’ games, and annual doctors’ appointments. (How did that happen?) The June calendar is so jammed that I’m exhausted just looking at it! I’ve even started thinking, One event at a time. Sure, there are blocks of time here and there, but the black ink is beginning to pulsate.

How about you? Are you crazy busy this time of year? If so, I’m sure you realize that just because your time is scheduled up to your eyeballs, all of life’s have-to items are not put on hold. You know, things like laundry, grocery shopping, taking care of your bills . . . And you who have canines know they are in a have-to class of their own. In our house, there is one dog duty that is critical no matter what: the daily walk—that is, if you want a peaceful night. 

Have-to items are not confined to inside. The apricot tree obviously does not care that our calendar is full. For months I have been waiting for developing fruit to ripen, and finally, the time has arrived. With apricots, it seems to be feast or famine. We have given bags of this delicate, fragrant stone fruit away. Unfortunately, apricots have a shelf life of about a nanosecond. I have stuffed myself with our bountiful harvest and, just maybe, some juice has run down my chin as I savored the delicate sweetness with just a soupçon of tart.  But even I have my limits. So now it’s John’s turn to make apricot jam. He can add that to his calendar, which looks a lot like mine.

In all of this activity, which may be too much of a good thing, there is one activity I need to do to maintain my sanity—and it may be hereditary. My granddaughter Rhyse and I were talking, and we agree: we both need downtime. Rhyse calls it “me time.” I call it “survival time.” If I don’t get it, I become withdrawn and (I know you will find this hard to believe) surly and irritable. In thinking about it, I realize all my children are the same to varying degrees. But I believe most of us need time to just let our minds wander or think about whatever.

So I have a plan on how to survive all this activity. I’m going to take those chunks of time to just sit and be. To feel the warm sun on my sunblock-coated limbs and stare at the garden and mountains. Today I noticed that June gloom is starting to dissipate earlier in the day.  As the fog regresses, there is a whiff of salt air in the sea breeze. The beach calls, and I can’t think of a better place for a bit of me time.