Chronicling Summer....messages for me.

Summer on Newark-Granville Road, my mind scurries with things I want to do:  farmer's market, pool time, golf time, walks, runs, exercise, blog posts, summer favorite meals, grill out, picnic, low key friend time, June Orientation, Family Philanthropy work, Denison things, trips, day trips, hikes, family visits, friend visits, road trips, berry picking, ice cream stops, lake swimming, ocean swimming, beach walking, beach yoga, sitting outside drinking tea, book reading, floating, tennis, summer movies, outdoor concerts, summer theater, as much time with kids as possible before they leave for camp, dog walks....

Summer is my favorite season because I LOVE all of these things, all of these things are options and I have so many fond memories of these things- from my childhood and recent and not so recent adult life, life on Newark-Granville Road.   Over the past week a message has been delivered in a few ways.  A message to stop the call of thinking about doing all these things and be in the moment.  I'm listening, I'm trying and it feels great. Thank you to the universe for the delivery and the delivery methods, and I'll chronicle it with you now.

Improv Wisdom, Don't Prepare, Just Show Up - book by Patricia Ryan Madson.  She reflects on her time at Denison by the way!  Fun quick read with a good message.  A message I read, found interesting and put on the shelf.

Then I was invited to learn improv techniques for our work in development from Denison Burpee Seedy students.  This session was on Friday- quite timely.  It was a great afternoon of laughter and reflection about our work. The messages I particularly liked were "assume positive intent"-interactions are positive- partners want success AND the  yes, and....not no, but! I had not thought much about this - I always saw improv as entertainment.  My colleague reflected on how nice it was to be taught by students and it was.

The Turquoise Table a book and concept by Kristin Schell about community building and hospitality was brought to my attention on Friday.  My dear friend and neighbor set to execute with her beautiful family and I was honored to assist and enjoy a gathering on Saturday am.  The book is filled with fantastic quotes, scripture, recipes and sentiments and I understand the draw Kim experienced. I'm grateful to see this in action.  I'm grateful for the message to be in the moment, take a break from busy to be in community. 

Yoga has been calling to me.  I made it to the mat for a great class but my ankle needs more.  When I broke my left ankle and plateaued a dear friend said Yoga would be great for strengthening and she was right.  I'm ready to return and am signed up for the 6 am class!  The message of being in the moment is important and mat time is the messenger.

On Saturday I wanted to be at the pool, I wanted to golf,  I had happy work commitment, I wanted to clean-up but the girls needs me and we embraced the indoor activity of shopping for camp. We gave ourselves the treat of ice cream and soaked up mother daughters time- I was in the moment.

Golf was planned for Sunday afternoon, a bit of pool time was squeezed into the day and we even watched the Belmont.  Sunday's work was productive, I was sorry to miss church thought, but embraced the moment to learn- understand more about the parents partnership with Denison and colleague's work.  Joe and I golfed- my first 9 holes, walking since I broke my ankle!  It felt tender and there was discomfort but I did it.  We won't talk about my playing.  I read and rested by the pool, enjoyed friend time and our family dinner of grilled steaks was delish!

I will admit to sleeping quite well recently.  Working until 10:30 pm, lots of fresh air may have something to do with it.  Being in the moment, breathing in all the good around me is the key and such a happy place to be on Newark-Granville Road in the summer.  Message received, lesson applied- beautiful moments with wonderful people are the focus.