The Distractions of July (and the Other 11 Months Too)

I really love summer.  I love the fresh cut flowers from the garden, the beach trips, the fresh fruit that actually tastes really good, especially when compared to the paltry offerings during the winter.
I can't seem to get anything done with all of these fun things to do, but I like them all the same.

Taking time to capture a butterfly

But then summer starts to get a bit settled in, and I'm reminded of the downsides to summer: the oppressive heat, humidity, mosquitos and, most unfortunate- time at the pool. Because time at the pool means I have to wear a swimsuit.  And wearing a swimsuit... well, God help me.

The Bathing Suit Wars 

I am a competitive sort, and I really don't like losing to others, especially others of admirable sveltitude (not a word, by the way.) However, I've been dealt a crushing blow this summer: in my version of The Bathing Suit Wars, I have lost. For now, anyway.  I know there are always sit-ups, jogging, yoga, cutting back on my calories- really hate this one- and other regimental changes I can certainly implement.  However, the bottom line (pun is intended here) remains: I don't wear swimsuits like I used to, and I hate that fact.

The Former Pant leg Perpetrator

But you know what I hate even more? The fact that I waste an ounce of energy on how I look versus how I feel!  What a pitiful use of time.  It's a pathetic habit I wish I'd been able to drop during my teenage years, yet it still hangs on like a Pit Bull on a pant leg.

(Disclaimer: I can use that expression, my Pit Bull lovers, because I used to have a Pit Bull-mix, who tasted many a pant leg in her lifetime.)

Besides implementing changes I can make and accepting those I cannot, lately I've had to work at banishing the old self talk, especially when I pass by the full length mirror on the way to the pool.  Since I've abandoned my initial plan of stealthily removing that blasted mirror in the middle of the night, I'm reduced to remembering that physical health must trump obsessing over body image.  I fall within normal weight, and I can't complain about not being in shape. So I know I need to dismiss that distraction and focus on something much more productive, like my business, helping people reach their career potential, my family, and challenging myself intellectually.  Those are values that are dear to me, and much more intrinsically important than whether you can bounce a quarter off the abs of the woman next to me in the kiddie pool.

A festive distraction- Fourth of July dessert contest at the pool

Second bottom line: this summer I've been especially distracted by the superfluousness surrounding me.  So many activities are there for the taking during the so-called lazy days of summer.  Since I've written two posts on distraction recently, I highly suspect I'm exerting a boatload of energy resisting distractions right now.

Besides being highjacked by all of the typical summer pleasures, my children are out of school and working from home feels futile. Household distractions abound, ready to be picked up, put away, cleaned, fed, negotiated, reprimanded and corralled. I'm constantly tempted to just do everything the kids want and the house beckons me to do, saying "no" too few times. Maybe it's the heat.


That being said, it's time to go and get some serious work done.  


But first, take a look at this adorable picture of a goat I found!  I got a little waylaid while going through my photo files...
  

Ed (He looks like an Ed, don't you think?)