Monday, June 11, 2012

Tennis, Swimming, Church on Sunday, Contentment

A new generation of tennis partners!
What does summertime fun mean to you as a grown up, compared to you as a kid?

Swimming on Sunday afternoon was so much fun, I didn't bother to stop for photo opportunities.   Fun in the sun trumped blogging.  Tennis on Saturday was a great time for teaching and practice, fortunately Darling Bride had us stop for a quick snapshot.  Sunday morning church was a morning of celebration and remembrance as we officially completed our new building construction.

Hurrah for a weekend, and double hurrah for a Darling Bride and active kids to spend it with!  She did a great job detailing our on-the-go activities in her post "It's a New Week".  The three examples above are just a selection of a full list of fun activities.  From that list, I mention 3 only because I'm thinking about what it takes to be content and joyful where I am and with what I have.




Aside #1 - This post is about contentment and joy at play.  This coming Friday, about contentment and joy at work.

Contentment and joy can be elusive if you and I are not looking in the right places.  I choose to look at Saturdays and Sundays with my family.  Where are you looking?  What have you found?

My name is Jeff and I am addicted to Summertime.  Once upon a time, I was blessed to be part of perhaps one of the last generations to have all the cliches of the season - no school, play all day until dark, go swimming at the city pool, be free range kids.  Even structured activities like Little League Baseball didn't seem oppressive.  Some mornings I would get up early and meet my friend Ken for tennis at the school between our two houses.  Some other days neighbor kids and I would play baseball in my back yard until dark.  We even tried an orange baseball to find out if we could see it better at dusk (didn't seem so).  My brother and I would bicycle all over.  The three best parts of school were June, July, and August.  Summer meant putting off the burdens of school and putting on the fun of play.  My mom was a teacher, so we would all have a summer vacation!
We go to Indiana State Park swimming pools, using
a 25 entrance pass that costs only $35.00.  So a family
of 5 can swim all day for $7.00!

Today, not so much.  Nobody told the world of business to take June, July, and August off.  At least in my profession we have weekends.  Evenings, too.  After I get home, there can be 2 to 3 hours before dark.
Aside #2:  From 1998 through 2008 I didn't even have weekends when I worked with Darling Bride's parents at the bakery, so I have learned to take nothing for granted.  Even working Saturdays during tax season isn't so bad because it is temporary and part of my calling.
Now that I'm all grown up with responsibilities, deadlines, commitments, and budgets, I am thankful for these opportunities to put off the burdens of adulthood and put on the fun of play.  If I cannot have the whole summer, I'll take the summer weekends and evenings.  It is a big deal.  Also, I much prefer being active with my family.

Yes, I am addicted to Summertime.  No cure necessary.  What does summer mean to you as a grown up?  As a grown up with kids?

1 comment:

  1. It was a pleasure to spend this weekend with you. For myself, I am reminded that we don't have to be camping on the weekend in order for the weekend to be counted as "special." I had set camping up as the ideal. Looking forward to your contentment at work post. Love you.

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