Summer lessons

It’s been a long summer.  We started May 23 (Tobin’s last day of school) and we still have over 4 weeks left until school resumes. 

It’s been a summer of cleaning out, simplifying, starting over.  I look back at my posts about wanting to live a more simple life and wonder what the heck I was thinking.  It is hard to take what was your life and make it different, especially with three kids who have very definite opinions about the stuff they like.

I’ve learned a few lessons so far.

Lesson 1:  Think twice, and then one more time, before I buy anything.  Do I want to pack it, store it and move it at any time?  If not, it goes back on the shelf.

Lesson 2:  A simple life is an intentional life.  It’s not complicated but it requires discipline.  I am learning to be more intentional about where I grocery shop, what I cook, what we watch (or don’t watch) on tv, play time with the kids.  Without a lot of “stuff”, I have to be more creative.

Lesson 3:  I used to think I was so creative.  I’ve since realized that I’ve relied on modern technology to be a babysitter for me.  Putting the tv on is much easier than playing Monopoly with a 5 year old who insists his rules are right and a one year old busy eating all the pieces in the process.

Lesson 4:  The pain of simplifying far outweighs the strain of stuff.  I feel a tremendous load off my shoulders now that I have less to clean, to keep track of and to worry about.