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Ms. Q's 2024 Summer Take Aways

How I spent my time...

In the last week of June, I took a short trip with my partner up to visit my Sister's family in Washington.  We camped, kayaked, went to botanical gardens, and had lots of fun playing with my adorable and sassy niece.  At both ends of the trip we stayed at unique bed and breakfasts.  The first one was on a horse farm, so I got to pet and feed a couple of the horses, and the second one was on the most beatiful property on Cottage Lake (I'll definitely be returning there)!  While at the lake property, I was even able to do some plein air painting of the gorgeous scenery!

After returning home to California, I vowed to spend the remainder of my summer relaxing, enjoying the sunshine, my bare feet on the earth, gardening, cooking, making art, using my SD Zoo membership, and spending some quality time with my friends, my partner, and my two kitties.  And I did!
 

Upon my return, my vegetable garden was teeming with tomatoes and more cucumbers than I knew what to do with.  My native garden was in full bloom and my milkweed was loaded with Monarch Caterpillars.  So I donned my gardening gear and got to work.  There are so many small wonders to behold in my garden, as there are throughout our world should we take the time to be still and witness them.
 

A friend was also kind enough give away a bunch of their ceramic and talavera pots and some plants, so I added even more pretty to my garden.  

What I learned and how I'm going to apply it this year...

This summer, I reminded myself just how important it is to invest in my emotional and physical well-being.  Summer break affords me the time to take the best care of myself, and I've always struggled to carry that into the school year.  What if I could do more to balance my work year so I don't feel so burnt out by the time summer arrives?

While I don't have all of the answers yet, I will be working with great intention this year to stop working at a reasonable time, so I have energy to go home and make healthy meals, exercise, rest, and return to work with a fresh mind and body.
 

I will be more discerning of which work deserves a later work day, and which work can wait until the next day.  And I will also be leaning on my student leaders to help with some of the load.

 

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