Less is More

Yesterday afternoon I stopped at 7-11 to get a dose of caffeine for my ride home.  I was delighted to find myself in the midst of a little girl's birthday party!  A young immigrant girl and six of her friends were laughing and enjoying "Slurpees" as their mothers looked on.  The cashier and manager, who are both immigrants, were fussing over the children as though they were at a 5-star restaurant.  The birthday girl was showing off a bright pair of children's sunglasses, while the other children admired and exclaimed.  These kids and their mothers were absolutely radiant with happiness.  Seriously, I'm sure they were happier than they would have been if the party had cost hundreds of dollars.   As I walked back to my car, the only thing I could think of to say was, "Wow!" and "Wow!" again.   As cliche as it sounds, sometimes less really is more.


Driving home I thought about my remaining three days of work and HOW I'M GOING TO SPEND MY SUMMER VACATION WHICH STARTS IN FOUR DAYS DON'T YOU KNOW!!!  I spend the entire school year maintaining a list of all the things that I absolutely must accomplish during my summer break.   This year's list is longer than ever.  It includes:  paint the family room, hallways and computer room; make curtains for the computer room; put new wallpaper in the bathroom; make a recreation room in the basement; clean the filing cabinet; take at least one professional development course; landscape the entire yard; learn to paint landscapes; be Superwoman and Supermom  and take the girls to a million cool places; and find the cure for cancer.   Okay, that last one is a joke.  But, the idea of less is more really got me thinking.  Who am I trying to kid?  I'm not capable of getting all those things done.  And, really, what's going to happen if I don't?  So, I'm making a new list of what I want to do this summer.  Here are a few of the items:  get the girls up early to go look for hatching butterflies; let the girls stay up late to go toad hunting; read aloud with the girls during breakfast; help Cassie make curtains for the playhouse; teach Lacey what a president is; and maybe make some very cool chalk drawings in the driveway.