Yes, I am home and it feels good to be back. It is ultimately where I belong, with my delicious kids, feeling warm and cozy (or cooled off from the 100 degree heat and cozy), appreciating the quiet and comfort when and where I choose it, reconnecting to my friends and my clients who took a summer hiatus. Yet, I love that I get to fulfill so many of my less visited passions for two months a year~especially creating and learning many forms of art and teaching kids. Camp is my learning lab, a place I first learned to be a ceramicist, and I used that skill ten years ago to start a ceramics program at my kids' private day school, bartering for tuition. Camp is where I get to leave my parenting responsibilities to some extent while I get to be fed three times a day instead of planning three meals a day for my family.
So, I am back to cooking and cleaning, dealing with the everyday banter of teens, the big and little issues that come up hour to hour. I am already shopping for back-to-school clothes for the kids, helping my son prepare for his gap year abroad, and readying my oldest for the move to her first apartment. I am immersed in bill paying, cleaning, devoting time to my clients and making future plans for my business. And it's all good. I do enjoy the balance, it feels natural to me.
How do I make the transition easier?
1) I have a vision for what I am going towards when I leave the comfort of one thing and transition to the next.
2) I set goals towards making that vision a reality.
3) I set a daily intention to set the tone for the day and make sure I am accountable. Blogging helps me!
As immersed as I was in the crazy pace of the summer, running a really busy art department and overseeing so many wonderful projects, including the dragon for banquet (see below), it is just as easy and fulfilling to do a 180 degree turn and slip back into the life I have created back home.
I feel like a horse entering the race track after the starter gun has been fired. I have hit the ground running and the adrenaline is pumping. I love the excitement that change brings, and I can't wait to see what I create as the week unfolds.
What's one thing that helps you deal with change?
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Welcome back to "real life". What helps me to get back into the flow after being on vacation for a long period of time is just taking one thing at a time. And standing back occasionally to be grateful for all the chaos. I wish I knew that when my kids were at home, but it works now too. Such wonderful memories you made at camp. Now for some new ones at home. Son going abroad? Daughter moving out? Sounds like a lot of change. Enjoy the transitions.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Pat, for the warm welcome home and for pointing out the magnitude of all the changes I am dealing with.
ReplyDeleteYou sound like you have some great ways to deal with change. Stepping back and changing perspective is always helpful to me, too. And one step at a time is so important. We can only predict what is happening now, and even that is fleeting!
Welcome back from your vacation, too.