Let the Summer Begin! ... I guess.

Well, today is the first of an unending series of "park days" for the summer. Actually, I guess there was one on Tuesday, but I was out of town and I think it was cold and rainy here. I'm not sure. But we obviously didn't go.

But today's park date is one I'm committed to, being a long standing attender with a reputation for always being there. I'm part of the core, baby.

But I have to admit, at this very moment, 7:40 am on the first park day, I'm really not looking forward to it. I do this every year. I somehow perceive the hassle of getting all the park stuff ready as monumental, and the idea of being out in the fresh air and sunshine, instead of basking by the warm healthy glow of my monitor, as foreign and scary.

Plus, we've been in a pretty decent rhythm for school, chores, and exercise recently. Laid back, slow moving mornings, but making steady progress. The children have done really well in getting to their school work, and I've been consistently getting my workouts in. I don't really want to give that up for the faster paced morning rush of park days.

Seriously, though, I get to hang out with some of my best friends at the park. The park is all fenced in, with a little shallow pond and some sand, so the kids can get wet and dirty without getting lost. This year I don't have a newborn, but my youngest is old enough to play without me being 1 step behind, so I get the luxury of sitting on the blanket, watching the kids and talking with my friends. What could be better than that?

So I'm not sure what my hang up is, with not wanting to go. I think it's just figuring out which clothes to be the "okay to get dirty" park clothes and deciding whether to have them change into clean dry ones before coming home (requiring, then, two outfits per child for the trip) or what. I could do swim suits for them, but I don't want the nice swimsuits to get trashed by the muddy sand ... and then there's lunch, hauling a cooler and trying to remember to take fruits and veggies and hope nothing gets squarshed on the way there.

Writing that down seems like a lot of lame reasons not to want to go to a really cool thing. I'm sure I'll have a blast and be glad we went. I guess I'll start getting ready. In a minute. As soon as I sit here on my behind drinking my coffee, a little longer.

Maybe I'll take my new camera and manual and see if I can figure out the things that are confusing me. And if I get some cool pix, I'll share them with you.