I get lost in the days, following the rhythm of Things To Do.
Breakfast. Laundry. Kids to camp/preschool (if a school day). Laundry. Cleaning. Errands. Working out. Lunch. Errands. Karate. Dinner. Bedtime.
I rise and fall, going through the motions, sometimes forgetting to breathe and savor the little moments tucked between the daily routine in the quest to get things done.
Then summer approached and we waved good-bye to our old rhythm and routine.
We went on vacation to the beach.
The kids loved the sand and carried half of it back in their swim suits…
We visited family and friends in Iowa and Minnesota.
Can you see Lil Diva’s face? She had no fear. CG took home the award for Most Awesome Daddy by riding this ride an insane number of times, after the rest of the adults (my mother, sister, and myself) could no longer take it.
We saw friends in Kansas City.
My children loved hanging out with my dear friend Katie’s children when we visited them in Kansas City.
We dodged severe weather, drove over 2400 miles, danced in rain, biked on trails, splashed in pools, screamed on rides, and savored moments with loved ones we never see enough of.
We also battled food poisoning, car sickness, and learned why people agree to root canals.
Each little thing brought a new rhythm to our life, most of them a welcome change from the old refrain I’d been mired in.
And now, I find myself trying to learn the steps to our new rhythm, the one that changes daily, wondering when things will slow down so writing can find its way back in my rhythm.
Five minutes is start.
Dances with Chaos 
I am the person who linked up after you on Five Minute Fridays (my first time). I wonder how many of the posts will be about fitting writing into family rhythms? Yours is, mine is. Your vacation sounds crazy and wonderful, and I wish you luck in finding a beat just for you in the rhythm of your day now that “regular summer” has started.
If only there was something “regular” about summer, but since no week has the same schedule, I think the beat will change every day.
Which might be a good thing, once I adapt to it. 🙂 I can’t only listen to the same song for so long after all.
I do think we will have to add nightly dance parties back into the mix though.. :
Yes 5 minutes at a time totally counts!
I think that is all I might be able to do for a while. Thank you for stopping by!
Cool pics of the kids! I hope vacay was a total escape (as much as it can be with kids). That’s an insane amount of driving! Good luck in finding a new rhythem!
The vacation was actually about as relaxing as visiting family can be. Lots of relatives to distract the kids, I got to sleep in a lot, the weather was MUCH cooler than in Texas and we enjoyed a ton of outside time in between rain/T-storms.
The worst part was the end–the drive home– when the food poisoning, carsickness, Severe T-storms with hail, and The Evil Toothache that Would Need a Root Canal were all plaguing us. So we didn’t arrive home very relaxed, even though the bits before were quite lovely.
Alas, I was rarely on my computer during this time unless photo sharing with my family, and did not find the time to write. It was just too nice out.
Loved this and stopping in to say hello from Lisa-Jo’s – you write beautifully friend and your pictures are gorgeous.
Thank you Tonya. You’ve only seen a small taste of how photo happy I am. I love the digital age and being able to capture the millions of expressions my children have.
I’m glad you enjoyed the read!
Thanks for the visit and comment back — I totally didn’t register how rhythm had become synonymous with chore and not with joy/expression until you pointed it out. Good luck with the dental work (which I associate with January, since that’s when our dental insurance starts over). I, too, have been terrified of the dentist, but horrible pain from teeth that need work must trump the fear.
I did do a check up in January as well, but I couldn’t wait until the six months was up to take care of this. It was BAD.
Definitely makes you face your fear.
We need to work on altering rhythm to be joy again. Embrace the dancer in each of us. 🙂
This was totally refreshing. I’ve done a trip similar, in which root canals sound like vacation. Your pictures are a joy to “read”. Thanks for all this. Love the blog name too. You put a smile in my day!
Oh lord. Root canals a vacation? I do not want to know any more–I’m already scared.
I’m glad I made you smile today. Making you smile made me smile, so the favor is returned.
Stick around for the in-depth stories of my vacation (when I get another five minutes) and you won’t believe some of the photos and stories I have of my two chaos children…
I love the pictures and the moments they captured! This week’s FMFriday has some very joyful posts! Thanks for sharing!
You hit the beach twice right? spring break and summer?! 🙂 But you’re talking summer … I know.
miss you!