Ten days in

warm and dry – courtesy of The Chicago Tribune

Today is the tenth day of summer and it feels like the tenth day of summer. The weather yesterday was warm and dry. We need rain, the forecast yesterday called for rain however, the rain went either north or south but it completely avoided us.

There are things I would like to avoid, like interruptions, distractions, and lack of focus. However, that is what and who I am. I can distract myself like no one else. I can also be very productive or incredibly unproductive, like I was yesterday. I got nothing done and except for the annual physical – required for scout camp and because I am of a certain age. I did not learn anything I didn’t already know or suspect; I need to lose weight, I need to exercise, and I need to start now. Every summer, I get started and I lose a little bit of weight and exercise more than during the school year, but once school starts, I fall back to my old ways of doing things and eating. From what I heard yesterday, I need to start and make it happen AND stick with it.

So, I started. Several years ago, I followed the South Beach Diet to lose weight and exercised to get back in to shape, and for the most part, it worked. I lost over 20 pounds and was able to keep it off until mid-winter and then I fell back. I followed same regime the following summer and had mixed results and I have yo-yoed summer after summer since. It is hard getting started and staying motivated to move forward.

they are amazing after they have cooled and have been iced, with milk, of course!

However, after a weekend visiting Versailles and trips to the Dairy Bar, Brown Sweet Shop, and the midway I need to slow down and eat well. We had a good time visiting grandma and grandpa and the kids enjoyed seeing them. I am reminded how important it is to slow down and listen, every time I visit Versailles.

We came home late Sunday night because the kid’s sports camps began Monday – William has wrestling then football beginning at 7 AM and Olivia has basketball followed by softball at a more reasonable 9:30 AM. The camps are run by the high school coaches and for William it his introduction to high school sports – he plans to play football, wrestle, and lacrosse as a freshman all the while balancing grades and scouts. I know he can do it, and he does too. For Olivia, the camps are a way to learn new skills and see young women, student-athletes, who Olivia admires. Both of them came home yesterday tired and excited. I came home distracted, more than ever.

The camps continued this morning and through remainder of a week full with scouts, softball, errands, and jobs at home. Somehow, I have to ‘squeeze’ my agenda – writing\blogging, reading, organizing, and learning into the time, which is left. However, I can distract the time away, like a true pro.

In ten days, I have read two books and deep into a third with a list that grows by the day – this morning, as a distraction I added two more: Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman and My Reading Life by Pat Conroy – one of my favorite authors. I have made a small dent in the mess downstairs I call my office and I am again training for the mile at Camp Tesomas. I have seventy more summer days and despite yesterday being a distracted day, it counted. Making the Days Count; even when I am recovering from a distracted day.

What do you do to recover from a distracted day?

Thanks for visiting MtDC. How are YOU Making YOUR Days Count?