Used to be that summers were a time to slow down and relax; the pace was definitely more leisurely than during the school year. The last two summers however, have found me scrambling to keep up and get everything done. We cram as much as possible into our days which start even earlier than in the fall/winter. We get up at 6 a.m. and hit the ground running. Grace must be at swim team practice at 7 a.m. Because of the heat and biting insects, I get the barn cleaned and ride by 8:30 a.m. Then I pick up Grace at 9, come home and exercise or do whatever outdoor chores I need to finish. Sometime before lunch, I drag Cameron out of bed and make sure he gets to work washing cars or mowing lawns. Now that he is 16, he needs money for gas. He has trap shooting practice at least two days a week at 5 p.m.
The weekends really get interesting. Usually one parent goes to one sporting event with one child while the other parent heads in another direction with the other. Then there are the camps; Grace has already been to swim camp in Austin, Tx while Cameron is at band camp this week in Conway, Ar. It is so much easier when they just go to school and stay all day. All this hectic activity means I get more creative with my writing time but I still sometimes have to skip it. There is not enough of me to cover all the bases and hit a home run. My husband got a tiny taste of my work when I went to Texas to pick up the girls from swim camp. He told me it was really hard to get everything done and he didn't even do 1/4 of the things I do.
My new girl, Roxie
One thing I don't do is to compromise on the food we eat nor do I skip exercise. I really couldn't do all the things I do if I didn't eat right and exercise most of the time. That's the only way I have the strength to keep up this pace. I have two great excuses to exercise right now: 1. I have a new horse and am back riding after 2 years; 2. I can swim, maybe not like my daughter but I do several times a week. The food we eat gets lighter and more simple. I try to use as much fresh produce as possible to take advantage of all that flavor and variety. We eat alot of salsa, fish, salads, sandwiches and vegetable meals. I put my husband to work with the grill. If you make a salad with lots of fresh fruit or vegetables and add a great sandwich, you have a quick, healthy meal. Tomorrow I will post a couple of sandwich recipes to try.
This weekend, introduce your kids to triathalons in a family friendly environment. Stearns Race Timing LLC is sponsoring the Kids Tri-Lemonade on Saturday, June 19 at Craighead Forest Park. There will be 5 age groups between the ages of 5 and 14, with each group swimming, biking and running an age appropriate distance. Every participant will get a t-shirt and winners in each category will get medals. For more information go to trifind.com/re_13581/KidsTriLemonade.html. You can still register even as late as Saturday morning with the first race starting at 8 a.m.
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