Another Weekend of Swimming

This weekend is another weekend of swimming. We have gone swimming almost every weekend so far this summer. Last weekend was Devil's Lake and this weekend was Gov. Nelson State Park. Gov. Nelson isn't nearly as nice as Devil's Lake but it's still a beautiful park where the kids can swim and get full of sand. I love it because they are cheap day trips that are still a lot of fun.

Along with the state parks, we have also been taking advantage of our Y membership. We are in the swimming pool there almost every weekend. Again another free activity since we have a Y membership.

I am very excited this year that I am going to finally be able to do almost everything on my summer wish list. Sure there are a lot of things I should do and haven't like cleaning out my house and the kids toys but I am slowly working on those things. Mostly I am just enjoying having a summer with every weekend off work.

This is the first year I have had a job that was strictly Monday through Friday. For the past ten years I worked 3 out of 4 weekends a month. Now, I get to enjoy all of those weekend activities I have wanted to do for a long time. Our summer has been full of fun activities like a Clinic At A Time fundraiser, swimming and short hikes, walks around the block, swimming outside, t-ball, soccer, birthday parties and inside and visiting sprinkler parks. There are still more things I am looking forward to such as our first family church camp and our first Ethiopian American culture camp.

I am also really enjoying having a set schedule with days off that I can plan on every week. No more telling my children we can't go to a birthday party or other event because I am working. No more telling Jacob he can't play a sport because Mom has to work. We now have a set routine and busy and full weekends.

Changing careers was a great move that has been wonderful for my family. While I lost some flexibility in my evenings, I gained flexiblity during the weekends and even during the week. I can now flex my hours to be able to go to appointments instead of using time from my leave balances. I can enjoy my children every weekend instead of paying someone else to spend that time with them. It has been a great summer in part because I have a new job.