We Missed A Meeting!

Hey Girlies, where has everyone been? The month of June is winding down and we did not have our monthly MAMAJUSAVI meeting.
Not that I have much to report but I figured I would post here and just get the conversation going again.
So here's my input on what kept me busy this month (outside of working fulltime and the "basic" stuff): brake job on the jeep, root canal - Part Two, doctor's appointment to try out new doc (by the way, I hate to stereotype, but women doctors are WAY better), Little League baseball, elementary school moving-up ceremony, middle school graduation, vet appointment (don't ask!), heartbreaking Little League championship game....just to give you the highlights. Among all of that, Mike and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. Five Good Solid Years of All-American wedded bliss.
So let me boil it down for you and offer you a little tip to chew on, and we can air this out at an upcoming meeting if need be:

EMBRACE SPONTANAEITY. (Did I spell that right? Geez, I'm the writer in this group, so you'd think I would at least look it up before posting but what they heck, I'm feeling reckless tonight).
Yes, that is my advice of the month. Do not plan out your life so fully that you leave no room for the spontaneous act. That's it, my friends. Act on impulse. Don't think. Just go for it and see what life brings.
Where does this wisdom come from, you ask?
Two places, really. My own experience and watching the way other people have to strenuously map out every single day of their lives or their children's lives to fill up the time. I'll just say this: it is a mistake to have too many "plans." When your schedule is full, you leave no room for the unexpected. You wipe out all chance of having a new adventure. And you totally leave yourself in a position of not knowing how to just "be."
I recently discovered that I need to work on this a bit more, since I have spent most of my adult life filling up my time, keeping busy. I realized that I have done this, almost certainly, as a way to deal with the difficult experiences of my life, and I won't go into that now. My point is, I see that I have a harder time just relaxing because I have become accustomed to always having something to "do."
I am getting better at it, for sure, and it was the simple realization that helped me to turn the corner in my approach to life.
Not that I am going to change from being a "hard charger," or anything like that. (Well, wait, maybe I will...)
The Saturday on the weekend of Mike and my anniversary was a gorgeous day. I had a moment of insanity that morning as I woke up and almost immediately began to take up my painting project in the dining room (or what used to be our dining room). I picked up the paint scraper and started to scrape.
And scrape.
And scrape.
The more I scraped, the more the paint just kept unpeeling from the wall until it became such a large area, I could see it approaching territory that I had already painted! This was bad.
So I did what any smart woman would have done. I dropped the scraper, packed a bag, and went to the beach.
:)
Of course, my husband saw me leave but never expected I was fleeing for my life. After a couple of hours, I guess he realized I was really "gone," and called me on my cell.
Here's where the spontanaeity comes in. (Although, technically, I guess I already had executed a spontaneous act of my own). He suggested we just pack a bag and go somewhere. Anywhere. Just get out of dodge and get back to basics. Remember why we got married and just have FUN.
Reluctantly, I agreed. (It was a BEAUTIFUL day at the beach and I was actually quite content at that point. Still, I saw the possibilities in salvaging what we could of the weekend together.)
We had no idea where to go, but just got in the car and started driving. Ultimately, we ended up in Narragannsett, Rhode Island. We found a nice place to stay, got a great deluxe room for a break (another tip: when the reception clerk gives you the room rate, walk out, then come back 15 minutes later asking if they have a discount rate, like AAA or something. Even if they don't normally offer that rate on the weekend, they may cut you a deal anyway. It's either that or miss out on the revenue you are standing there ready to pay).
Anyway, we had an awesome, though brief, getaway. Got some sun, a change of scenery, laughed a lot and just for a moment, felt like we could just put all the "life issues and troubles" on a shelf. I highly recommend it.
So I am going to give the MAMAJUSAVI girls an assignment before our next meeting: do something spontaneous and see how it goes. This is not going to be easy. You cannot THINK about being spontaneous. You cannot even decide WHEN you will be spontaneous. (Because, of course, spontanaeity is about NOT planning). You just have to have the presence of mind to be in the moment, step back, and say, "change of plans!"
DO IT.

Ditto on the 50th party

Ditto on the great job for the 50th party. We had so much fun! And, who are these lovely ladies that attended?

I uploaded all of our pictures from the party onto my photoshop.com site. Here's the link for anyone that's curious:

http://www.photoshop.com/user/julskovac/?wf=share&galleryid=8a1d5eec276343a0988c0a0f6c600c8c&trackingid=BTAGC