Q is for Quiet

 This week is that week in the summer. It it were an episode of Friends, it would be called "The One with All the Appointments" -- that week of vacation days that don't feel like vacation days because  I dumped a necessary appointment into nearly every single one of those days.

If you're an educator, you understand. 'Tis the season, after all. 

In previous summers, I spread the appointments out, which led to the unfortunate scheduling problem of not being able to find a week to go on vacation without major rescheduling. This summer, I thought I'd be smart, putting just one week out of commission.

Okay, so at one appointment per day (most days), the week isn't really out of commission. It just looks a little overwhelming at a time of year where I've become accustomed to big blocks of white space on my calendar. It's the visual equivalent of a noisy room. 

And I like quiet. 

Quiet starts to my mornings, which begin later than they do during the school year. Quiet pursuits like jigsaw puzzles I actually finish and books I read for fun. Nothing to grade. Nowhere to be except out in the sunroom, where it's...

Quiet. Most days, anyway.

But this week, I have something that every day that interferes with my peaceful (and quiet) pursuit of my summer break. 

I know. Adulting is hard. No matter how much practice we have.

This morning, determined to fit in a few of my favorite things, I laid out my day. I'd scheduled two appointments which would have at least two hours in between them -- plenty of time to return home, write some blog posts, and take care of a few small things. 

Then I decided to strip the bed and do laundry. After that, I added in a quick stop "on the way home." Finally, I decided to get my car washed "as long as I'm out."

I'm sure you've figured out how this played out. Though the car wash was quick, the combination of schedule changes I foisted on myself ate up the hours in between appointments and, by the time I got home from the second one, the creative energy that would have been abundant (okay, available) during the appointed hour(s) had been replaced by weariness.

Luckily, my husband planned a schedule change of his own, leaving me the best antidote to a day that has gone off the rails.

Quiet. Lovely and restorative. The attribute that helps me get back on track.

In truth, there was nothing bad about the way my day turned out. My car is clean (and so are our clothes), I had a lovely conversation with a friend, and I don' t have to go back to the dentist for six months. 

But it took returning to quiet for me to flip the script, seeing gains instead of losses.

Quiet is useful that way. And it's one of my favorite parts of summer.