Summer 2023 is Here
I haven’t posted in far too long. I put writing off more than anything else - it drops to the bottom of the priority list. It is one of the things that brings me the most peace and joy, so I resist it. Sheer will and determination don’t seem to be helping, neither does habit stacking. Human nature is a strange thing.
Admittedly, we have had a lot going on. Hockey season was long. My dear friend Trish’s battle with heart failure was sudden. My mold detox is far more intense than I anticipated or even want to admit. Death has been swirling around me and I have lost 9 dear friends since I last wrote. Add all of this to being a mom, a wife and running a business and well, here we are. Summer is upon us!
Today is the first official day the kids have off from school. My level of stress for the summer is the lowest it has ever been and I am proud of this feat. Last summer was a complete blur as I was far sicker than I realized back then and not having a permanent home was a real time suck. While I am still working through the mold detox (half way done!) and still battling the autoimmune disease, things are improving overall with my health and energy. I also have a really supportive team in my business, and I have a Chief Energy Officer who helps me to manage my energy. More on that in another post soon to come.
This summer I am being intentional by setting a few goals.
Less is more.
Declutter and create sacred spaces in our new home
Be intentional about my work and self-care non-negotiables (boundaries)
Delegate like a queen
I already know that summer will be over before we know it, so even these four goals are a bit flexible (as opposed to overwhelming). These four goals are simply our guiding lights that will help us design our days.
Dominic’s main goals are to start a poop scooping neighborhood business and to get stronger and gain five pounds before football season. He is working out at an amazing gym called Illete here in Durango and trainer Aaron Coates is designing workouts and coaching him with some nutrition tips. He is listening to Aaron far more than he does to me about nutrition. I am happy to report that he is finally feeling hunger pain, which he has never experienced in his life!
Less is More
For our less is more goal, Dominic requested to be home more and at camp less. This feels equally liberating and terrifying, as I truly enjoy the work that I do. I also LOVE my gym time. I do not want him to have excess screen time just so I can do these things, so I need to be clear with my expectations and boundaries. I plan to set a schedule each week and share it with him so that we can both incorporate what we want to accomplish and honor each other’s needs. I am okay with him having some screen time when I work out, but not all day while I am working. During this time, he can work on typing skills, his business, reading, keeping up his math skills, working out, or playing with friends.
Dominic’s main goals are to start a poop scooping neighborhood business and to get stronger and gain five pounds before football season. He is working out at an amazing gym called Illete here in Durango and trainer Aaron Coates is designing workouts and coaching him with some nutrition tips. He is listening to Aaron far more than he does to me about nutrition. I am happy to report that he is finally feeling hunger pain, which he has never experienced in his life!
Declutter and Create Sacred Spaces
For me, I want to work on creating a relaxing outdoor space at our new home. I want to do yoga on our patio a few mornings a week and also be able to sit and read outside! This one has been a desire of my heart my entire life that I have never stepped into. If you have any ideas, please send them my way! I also want to get my drawers, closet and bathroom organized and decluttered. This effort is mostly about buying the containers I need and decluttering what we haven’t used in awhile. It’s amazing how much resistance I have to buying things to make our home more cozy.
Bigger with this effort will be starting to create a fun game room in our basement. This will include the efforts of our incredible and talented designer Jackie Shaw Voigt. Stay posted for before and after pictures!
Finally, I want to transform Dominic’s room from a boy space to a tween space, with a functional closet. Right now, it’s a bit of a disaster and doesn’t feel cozy the way I envision. I will need Jackie’s help here, too. Right now, it has lots going on that needs to be tied together and be more functional going forward.
Be intentional about my work and self-care non-negotiables (boundaries)
For work, I plan to set a few simple goals and schedule out the entire summer this week. While this will take a little bit of time, and editing each week to stay flexible and honor current needs, this will help us not lose track of time and help prioritize the goals that we are chipping away at.
I could spend days on this simple scheduling effort, so I will set a timer for thirty minutes for specific goal setting for my business, and then another timer for one hour to schedule out each week. This will help me to chip away at larger projects and be able to involve my team.
Another small thing I will do is to share my daily schedule with Dominic in advance so that we can brainstorm fun things for him at the same time. Sometimes this will mean I work from the driving range while he hits balls, other times he can tackle chores and sometimes he can have some screen time.
Delegate Like a Queen
This is the magic sauce: delegating as much as I can. This includes delegating to my team and to the kids. We have been using the GreenLight app, which is great mostly but doesn’t work well for blended families because it limits the number of adults who can be on each child’s profile: a nightmare for our blended family. Super frustrating, but it is working well for Dom since he is with us full-time.
I have been challenging myself each day to try to think of small tasks that the kids can do that I do not have to do. They truly add up over time like compound interest, but this compound energy saving. For example, Dom now has a chore reminder on Thursday’s each week to re-fill the napkins. The kids also have a specific chart of who does what in the kitchen before and after every meal. This was my boundary after they fought every night about who did what and who did what the night before. It’s crazy these small things make me feel both supported and freer to do other things.
What I love:
I can add chores and have them reoccur on specific dates.
It teaches him how to invest, save, and donate.
I can add special projects that pay separate from his normal chores.
What I dislike:
I can’t add his dad and Shane.
If Shane is added to Sawyer’s account, he cannot also be on Dominic’s.
Check out my Instagram and I will share some of our chore charts there!
Finally, I plan to write more often this summer. More imperfect posts coming so keep your eyes out and subscribe it you don’t want to miss anything!
