Farewell, friend Summer!

Ah, me! So much has happened this summer, and I've done so very little blogging.  And now it's nearly time to head back to school again.

This summer has flown by.  On May 5, 2010, I was looking ahead to what I wanted to be a care-free, lazy, perfect summer.  What actually happened wasn't too far off from that, but as usual there were so many things I had planned to do and never did, and just as many things I hadn't planned on that I ended up doing.  Let's see...

*     I painted and redecorated my "suite".  This took a lot of perseverance, let me tell you.  I wanted it done.  NOW.  And it took foreeevverrrrrr!!!!  I'm so glad that it's finished now, and I can relax and enjoy it for years to come. :)

*     Planted and actually maintained a healthy, green, flowering garden. (*shock and surprise*)  We'll see if those beans produce...

*     I knitted and crocheted quite a few small items, and sewed an apron, hemmed a skirt and some shorts.

*     I corresponded with three people the old-fashioned paper way, and e-corresponded with a few others.  This is something I've been meaning to get better about for a while.  Still working on it, but improving, I hope....

*     I got to spend time with good friends-- afternoons at the park, coffee dates, runs to wal-mart, berry-picking, water parks.  Time deepening relationships with friends is time well spent!

*     I went on mission to Hungary!!!  I still miss them over there, but I'm excited to hopefully continue some of those relationships via Facebook. (the world's plugged in....)

*     But most importantly, I got to meet my precious niece this summer.  She's absolutely adorable.  No bias here, of course.

I think the main thing that I'll take away from this summer, though, is that it's ok to take life slowly.  After three crazy academic years in a row, I tend to stress about how I spend my time.  Not like I'm great at time management or anything, it's just I always feel guilty that I'm "wasting time" if I'm doing anything other than homework.  It took me almost a month to fully relax and re-learn how to spend my time doing constructive things that are unassociated with the word "school".  I'm still learning, but I feel that I'm entering my sophomore year with more than just an academic focus.  I can have hobbies.  I can do other things without having to feel like I'm wasting precious minutes, because I know I'm not.

Well, I suppose it's time to move on to the next subsection of this chapter of my life-- "Sophomore Year"