Update for #GetGoodSummer

A few weeks back I joined in with Claire at Clarina’s Contemplations link-up for #GetGoodSummer, she asked us all to set some goals for this summer to make sure that the time did not whizz past before we noticed and realised our time had been wasted.

I set my goals and knew that I would not really start this challenge until August when I arrived in my new house but I forgot to mention this to anyone so the other joiners probably just think I have been a flake and have bailed out – not so!

Here is a recap of my five goals and an update on how things have been going –

1) Spend time with God every day – I did really well with this on my holiday and made sure I had some private study time each day but then last weekend and this week have flown by with the house move – to be expected I suppose. I was pleased to get back on track last Saturday with an early morning prayer walk. Something I have been doing each day and I intend to keep up.... forever!

One of the reminders as I take my morning walk

2) Prioritise the kids above my house – Well it is early days with this one as we have only been here a short while and obviously there is a certain amount of time I had to dedicate to unpacking and sorting the house but it is now in a liveable condition and I am making sure I do something with the kids every day and JJ is being great at making sure we all have family time together – be it a meal, walk round the lake or game of basketball.

3) Get moving – I have been trying to move more. There is so much land here that it would be hard not to, JJ is pestering me to kick the ball around with him, the basketball net in the staff garden is tempting and I’ve already mentioned my daily morning walk which I intend to keep up. I have been sent a FitBit flex wristband to review and it will be good to challenge myself and see how many steps I am managing to do in a day. So far so good and my best day is just over 23,000 steps.

View of my daily lakeside walk

4) Eat mindfully – this is the one I need to work on. I've not really made any conscious effort on this one yet but I've had a parcel arrive from Diet Chef and I'm going to try their programme out for a month. I'm praying that will be a good kick start to healthy eating ongoing. I need to shrink my stomach, remind myself of portion sizes and eat slowly.

5) Tell dh I love him every day - I forgot this one! How bad is that, but now I have remembered that is the good news and I need to get on to it!

So that us me and my brief update, I'll be back in a week or so to report back in again.

What about you? How is your summer going? Did you set any goals?

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If you want a different result then things need to change...

I was down in the dumps yesterday. I think the high of moving house had worn off. We went to Bexhill-on-sea on Thursday and found a lovely park, the kids had fun playing and I sat and read my book - all good it sounds. But then I started to look around and hear the chitter chatter of all the other Mums with their friends and I realised I need to go through that again and make new friends here. Sad moment number one.

Friday morning I awoke and went to have breakfast and then like a bat it whacked me, sad moment number two. I felt completely overwhelmed, it seemed as if there was so much to do - boxes to unpack, seven stone to shift, kids to parent through tricky behaviours and trials, friends to make, work to establish, blogging to be done etc etc. I really felt the weight of the world on my shoulders and could easily of had a good cry. Thankfully some great friends talked me though it and a trip out with the kids gave me back some perspective. Yes there is lots to be done but no time pressures. This is not a race I have to win in one week, I'm here for the rest of my life and things will take however long they take.

We have made a big move and I need to acknowledge that. Things will be different and at times difficult. This is the first time I have ever moved and not had to go to work, so where I make my friends will have to take a different angle. I had not realised I would be alone with the kids so much, I need to get my head around that. It is new.....  and yes exciting too. Dh has a whole different set of challenges to me, he has a very big job and needs to plan all the changes he will work with his team to implement, so his place of work becomes even better. Efficiencies he will drive and people he will nurture and develop, those are his talents but they take up a lot of head space and I need to remember that.

I went to a service last night run by the volunteers and that was the first moment I felt things click. I know it is right to be here but I have to be patient as I wait for God to reveal his plans for us, or me specifically. But as I sat amongst the 40 or so people in that room and listened to them singing together in harmony with the voices of about 30 different nations I knew I was supposed to be there. It was beautiful. We all lifted our voices in praise and thanked the Lord for what He had done for us and praised His holy name. As I listened to a young volunteer talk about how we all expect far too much happiness nowadays I knew he was right and I was taken back to that morning when I had felt so sad. The reminder that I am here to serve God and not the other way round was a poignant one.

The decision was made during that service that I need to plan and push myself and make the changes that need to happen. I want different results and thus I need to change what I do. 7am this morning saw me up and dressed, heading out the door for a walk/ slow jog round the nearest lake and it felt good. I found myself a lovely bench to be able to sit on and pray and muse and this will be my daily me time.

Feeling so much better than I did this time yesterday and getting ready to make more changes, all for the better....

Catch you soon, Mich x

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Summer plans #GetGoodSummer

You'll know (because I have been constantly boring you) that my family are moving to the countryside at the end of July and this means we have the whole month of August to enjoy before the kids formally start at their new school. What will we do with our time I start to wonder to myself?

I keep seeing posts about the plans people are making for their summer holidays and then the lovely Clare at Clarinas Contemplations tweeted me to see if I might like to join in with #GetGoodSummer, the idea being that you don't waste your summer and you set yourself five goals to achieve over the summer period. I read her post and thought it was a lovely idea and I understand that for some summer may pass by in a haze of days achieving nothing. But for me this year I want to have the whole of the month of August doing not a lot!

For at least the last twenty years I have spent most every day working to plan, living by to-do lists and knowing exactly what I will do and where I am going, so what I really need is to do nothing much. I will set myself five goals for the summer and join in with #GetGoodSummer but it will be all about the chill time.

I saw that Jen at the Madhouse is having a free range summer and inviting other bloggers to link up with her each week over the summer.  This sounds perfect for my family, one of the main pulls of moving to the countryside is that our children will be able to be free-range kids learning the boundaries and growing in responsibility as they are allowed to go out and explore and enjoy the 220 acres of countryside that we will be living in. I love the idea that kids should be allowed to get bored, it is in those times that they find their real creativity and start to really enjoy themselves.

So what are my five goals over the summer months?

1. Be more absorbed in my kids than my house. It would be so easy to move in at the end of July and then to spend the next month getting my house straight, buying all those last things we need, unpacking every box, finding a home for all our belongings but then I'd wake up one morning and be ready to play with the kids and realise it was September and they were at school.  They can't happen, the house can wait.

2.  Spend time every single day with God.  Just me and Him, in silence, in prayer, in meditation, in singing - in whatever suits that moment but it must happen every day as I need to start as I mean to go along and not allow anything to get in the way of the most important relationship in my life.

3.  Tell dh I love him every day. I have missed my husband so much in these last couple of weeks of being separate that I need to remind him how much he means to me. Becoming complacent in a relationship is not OK and we need to start our date night again and both make more effort.

4.  Be mindful of my overeating. I'm not actually sure what is the right way forward with my food. I know I am eating too much and the wrong things. I need to loose weight but I don't know how to do it. So for now I commit to being mindful of what I am eating, I will plan my meals and adhere to my meal plans.

5.  To get moving.  Like the goal above I have no real idea what to do exercise wise, I mentioned about walking the lakes and that is fine. But realistically for August I'll have the kids in tow all month, so I need to find things to do with them - basketball, catch, swimming and just generally running around. I need to catch the exercise bug and as long as I end the summer fitter and enjoying getting moving more than when I start, I'll be happy.

So there we go, 5 things to keep me focused over the next couple of months.

Do you fancy joining in with either of these summer linkies?  Head over and see the hosts and find out more....

Catch you soon, Mich x

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