Happy Fourth of July!

I want to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July! I love this holiday-well, I have a love/hate relationship with it. I love it because it is a ton of fun-I love fireworks and 4th of July get togethers, Patriotism, going to the Southlake Town Center fireworks with my parents, and having fun with all my "boys".

But, I am also always a little sad for 4th of July to get here because it means that summer is dwindling away. Not that I don't love my job, because I do, but I also love the freedom and carefree-ness of summer. I love no schedules and not having to get up at 5:30 every morning. I love not making sack lunches and not worrying about homework. I love the reflection time that summer affords- personal and spiritual. I love getting to read books I've wanted to read. I love the time with my family-the quality time that often alludes us during the busy school year. And it is always hard to let it go every year in mid August.

One thing I'm thinking about this 4th of July is that I am not happy with how I have "done" this summer so far. I don't feel like I have made the most of my days so far. For the first few weeks, I spent a lot of time in thought about the future of my job. Not very relaxing. Now, however, I can relax where that is concerned (thank goodness). I have been staying up waaaay too late every night and sleeping too late in the morning. I want to embrace each day more and make each day more special. My sweet boys are getting older, and soon they won't want to do as much family stuff as they do now. I want to live life to its fullest-and live it abundantly- the way that God intended life to be!

I warned that not all of my blogs would be "happy" and "perfect". Here's an example: for the past few months I have noticed some "changes". I turned 40 in November, so I guess I should have expected things to start changing somewhat. The biggest thing is that I can't seem to go a night without waking up in a sweat. And I mean, REALLY sweaty, friends! I'm sorry if that's TMI. It is not pleasant-trust me if you haven't experienced this yet. My cycle has been a little messed up at times, and I have had some really fun  mood swings. I asked my dr. about all of this last week, and now I am on a low dose of estrogen to help out (hopefully). It just all seems surreal to me, and let me tell you-it's REALLY weird to leave your dr.'s office with a pamphlet about menopause. What???? Crazy!

All of this relates to the 4th of July and the reflection that I have done the last couple of days in that it further points out to me that nothing on this earth is permanent. Time is fleeting, change happens, and we (I) need to make the most of it (life)! This is something I always struggle with- living in the moment. I pray that God will help me relax and live the abundant life He has for me!

And, I have the entire month of July ahead of me to practice! :-)