The Small Struggle Between the Ideal and Living the Real Life - Or, Gosh, Is It Really July Already?

Every year I have these ideal plans of how I will use my time during the summer. They seem so logical and doable. But, life happens and I rarely follow through completely. I have found that many of my friends have the same problem. Take today for example, I thought I would have all rooms in our house deeply cleaned by now and that I would simply have to do upkeep cleaning. I also thought that I would have all of the various gardens in check, too. I thought teaching my online classes would happen in smallish bits each day and that I would be knee deep in some creative projects by now. I thought I would have grip on making my bedroom actually look like a bedroom that has some cohesive design. Alas, it is not the case. Many rooms have been really cleaned out, but the closet upstairs is till wanting attention. The laundry seems to multiple when I am out of the room doing other things. I am indecisive about how to decorate my bedroom. I have parts of the front, Hosta and veggie gardens close to under control, but the weeds are winning. The only creative projects that I have are in my head and waiting for their turn to come. The online classes are happening in bigger chunks since they rolled out a new, very different version. I have gone from knowing the answers and doing things quickly to having to play "guess how to use the application" nearly every day. I have wrestled with the impulse to hangout and rest a bit more versus doing exercise or cleaning. The one thing that is true and good is the time I spend with the kids. I feel so happy and lucky that at 12 and 15 they are still happy to do things with me. I spend much of my time each day dealing with them, whether it be to have a conversational breakfast or to drop them off at a friend's house and pick them up again, or planning an outing for a group. That always trumps my best laid plans. I think it was John Lennon who said real life is when happens when you're not looking.