First day of summer break!

So, it's official!  It's summer break Monday, June 18, 2012. 

After a quick weekend trip to NN for Father's Day, I'm at home all day cleaning my house.  Put my new Swiffer wet-jet to work, stripped the bed, doing the laundry and getting ready to go back to NN for about a week/ten days or so - so Daddy can go to the family reunion and visit his home place one more time.  He's feeling reminiscent these days and checking things off his "bucket list" - even though he probably doesn't know that's what he's doing.

My bucket list is to help him with his bucket list, so that's what I'm going to do this summer.  I'm also going to clean out the clutter from my life.  I've got an awful lot of clutter - not just stuff but moments when I feel unfulfilled because of the clutter of things undone.  So, my plan is to eliminate as many of the to-dos so I can focus on "want tos" rather than need tos, should dos, would dos. 

Closets, drawers, garage, attic, office, boxes, hideaways - you name it, I got it.  So does my dad (well, mostly mom), but we Howlands all have a bad case of clutter.  Today, I'm focused on cleaning and getting ready not to be here for the rest of June, but July is MY time.  I will do one closet per day until they are all done.  I will do every drawer before the summer is over.  And it is all going to Goodwill.

I'd like to think I will plant $5 worth of flowers every day once I get back from NN.  And paint my fence, but maybe not.  Cottage garden may be just a pipe dream.

It's okay.  I can want it all I want - and maybe one day I will have one, but I don't think it's going to happen this year.

In the meantime, Maryann says we have 72 days of vacation.  And today is just day three.  69 more to go.  We can do a lot with those 69 days, and I intend to make the most of them!