I originally planned doing crayon resist watercolors today but the kids and I started, didn’t like how they were turning out, turned over our papers and just painted instead.

Which, when I stop to think about it, is a metaphor for this summer. I had great and intricate plans for this summer – activities with the kids (zoo, camping, days and days at the pool), a list of projects around the house (plant, grow, harvest a garden and attempt canning, re-landscape the beds in the backyard, figure out which room was really going to be the craft room/home office and then organize/decorate it), and a few jobs for Jesse and me to tackle.

Then I hurt my foot. And Jesse’s work schedule exploded. I got sick. He got sick. Our kids got sick. It sucked.

So I called and told a friend how much it sucked.

And she agreed and then said (because she doesn’t sugar coat things for me), “You aren’t going to want to hear this, but you need to accept it all with joy because you’re just making yourself miserable.” She’s right, I didn’t want to hear it.

{Pause for pretty pictures}

Mine – I have no idea what I’m doing so I just throw paint on until I like it.

Violet’s – She wanted to make a series of symbols. I love how it turned out (and that she made her own crayon resist for her name).

Abram’s – He actually spent awhile painting his crayon resist painting but decided he didn’t like it at the last minute (I think because V and I got sick of ours) and painted this instead.

I wish I could say I took my friend’s lesson to heart, but I didn’t and I was pretty miserable and cranky for a good part of the summer. And then…I got fed up being miserable.

I accepted that it wasn’t going to be the perfect, pretty summer that I planned and I turned the page and just relaxed into it which didn’t make it a summer filled with fun or accomplishment, but at least made me less cranky.

I wish I would have listened sooner.