It’s the last day of August. Labor Day weekend in the US is almost here. And, no matter what the temperature and the calendar say about it, I always think of this time as the end of summer…probably (in no small part) because from kindergarten through being a high school senior, the first day of school was the day after Labor Day.
Time isn’t so delineated for me now, at least not in the same way, but that feeling must have soaked well and deep into my bones because it’s lasted all these decades since then. Most years, Labor Day weekend feels like a marker, a before-and-after line for the year, a time to look back at the past few months and take stock of the season of summer. And although summer heat impacts me more than it used to, and most summers now don’t hold the same sort of magical feel of earlier ones in my life, summer is still a season I enjoy.
This summer held lots of time with our girl. Even with her continuing health challenges and the uncertainty of how much time she has left, she enjoyed happy and energetic days these past months, and we continue to treasure each good moment she has. We went through a decluttering and reorganizing spree in July, and she helped (in her own way)!

I continued to spend time on genealogy and historical research (exploring the histories of the places my ancestors are from). I read novels. I went for walks.

There has been ongoing work on my current novel, as well as new guided journals I put together and have available on Amazon.

And, as usual, daily paint play has helped to ground me, calm me, and connect me with joy.

Continuing the trend of the past several years, the summer also held lots of anxiety and stress and challenges.
But I continue to pray and take things day by day, step by step, moment by moment.
I continue to do the things that help me. I hope you find what helps you too.
❤