Seas the Day

For those of you who don't know, I'm a high school English teacher.  Our last day of school was yesterday, & it ended at 10:30.  I went out to brunch with a few friends, & we left the restaurant around noon.  I don't need to pick up my kids (& they don't want me to pick them up at camp) until at least 4, so I had some time.  I kept trying to brainstorm what to do.  I tried to think of a coffee shop on the way home where I might sit for a bit outside & read, but I couldn't think of one that wouldn't have me chillin' in a parking lot.  I knew, of course, that I could go home & throw in some laundry & catch up on the cleaning... but I have over two months around the house. I'll be doing plenty of laundry.
Therefore, completely on a whim, I decided I was going to the beach.  My school is about 45 minutes from the beach, & it's a little over an hour for me to drive from there to my house.  Totally worth that driving time.  I got there around 1 & walked & walked.  Then I headed over to my favorite beach coffee shop, grabbed an iced, grabbed my book, & leaned against a big rock on the beach & read for a while (I'm reading Wicked City by Beatriz Williams.  She's a fantastic writer of historical fiction, & I'm loving this one). My sister called, I chatted with her, walked the beach some more, & then headed back to the car.
Nothing got accomplished yesterday afternoon (although I did stop on my way home & grab our new laundry basket at Target :) ).  I'm totally ok with that, though.  I got four hours, & rather than do more of the same, I slowed down for long enough to ask myself what I wanted, & then I gave myself permission to do it.  No guilt.  It felt great.  I love going to the beach with my kids, & we'll probably be there in the next week, but it's good to spend some time with yourself, too.  I'm pretty proud of myself for starting the summer off with an eye towards balancing my life so that my needs got met too.  
I'm also glad that I took the opportunity to fly by the seat of my pants.  21st century parents have a tendency to over schedule.  I'm glad I started summer doing the opposite, flying by the seat of my pants & just going where I wanted to go.  I think it's a great attitude to bring to my summer days with my kids.  Kids are wishing for some new stories?  Let's walk to the library.  Drive by a candy store?  Stop.  Band playing in the park?  Sure, the kids can stay up late.
I saw a mailbox on my walk yesterday that said "Seas the Day."  I think I'm going  to  make that the  motto of the summer: "Seas the Day."