Amazing What The Sun Can Do - Kicked Me Into Spring Fever Mode & Paced My Academic Day with Outdoor Chores

 God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change,

the courage to change the things I can

and the wisdom to know the difference.

In my senior year of high school, I did an internship with a local social work agency and peer-tutored kids my age who had extreme circumstances at home. While there, I first learned the serenity prayer and, years later, working at the Louisville Nature Center with Barbie, we often repeated these words to one another when we were most stressed. It really is a nice mantra to live by.

Sue bought me this piece of art for my birthday and it has the serenity prayer written on it. It's meant for the outdoor garden, and feeling the sun, I decided to put out my solar lights and pull out the tables from the shed. I also positioned the artwork, so when I look out from my back window (where I do my dishes) I can see it. I'm definitely a better spring, summer, and fall creature.

I never got back into the gym routine this winter, because the weather never was severe enough where I couldn't run outdoors. Still, I know that the hibernal months of breads, comfort food, pizza, and indoor laziness catches up to the best of us (even though, when I wasn't sick, I ran every day). 

Yesterday, I got a sunburn on my run, because the sun was that bright. It felt great and it put me in the spring cleaning mode, where I vacuumed the excessive hair that my dog leaves on everything, pulled out the patio items, bathed the dog, and washed the car. These were the breaks I allowed myself in-between grading and planning. 

By 10 p.m. I was simply exhausted. That's what happens when daylight offers more time to be alive - I simply do the nerd work, but also have space for feeling the dirt and wind outdoors.

And there's the grill (next to Glamis who found a deflated volleyball to run with - she was in total rejuvenation mode, too), where I totally find my happy place. I love to cook, but I love to cook more when I have the outdoors to grill with. I'm blessed to have the patio right off my kitchen and I can't wait to put it into action again this summer. Funny how quiet and dull Mt. Pleasant is over the winter months. I'm ready for the energy and entertainment still to come, when we can eat and play outdoors.

Oh, crap. It's Monday. Here we go again. You got this, Crandall.