It's Going To Be A Slow Summer. That's Not Such A Bad Thing.

I've never viewed Memorial Day as the unofficial start of summer. It doesn't begin the end of May and it certainly doesn't end when the Back to School crap makes an appearance. For me, summer begins on the 'First Day of Summer' date on my calendar, which is June 20th, and it ends when the calendar says it ends.

This afternoon, while sitting at my desk, I stared at the calendar for longer than I care to admit. Aside from birthdays, "gotcha" days and a couple of reminders, the calendar is blank for the entire summer.

For the past two years, there hasn't been an inch of the May, June, July, August and September calendar pages that wasn't covered with event dates, fundraisers, raffle basket pickups and drop offs, etc.

For a few minutes, I thought, "What is going on? This can't be right." 

Last year was insane. In addition to having an event booked every weekend, one weekend double booked, we had two Bodacious Yard and Bake Sales at the house that required weeks of planning.

Meanwhile, from April through August, sadness and grief struck hard as we lost 3 friends and 2 family members. 

I picked my brain. Was I forgetting something? Did I miss an email? Did a Post-It note fall to the floor? No events scheduled at all. No requests for raffle baskets. Nothing.

I'll admit, I was bothered by this for a mere second or two. However, that didn't last long. Towards the end of last year, Lisa and I talked about making some changes. Earlier this year, we implemented those changes. We had to. Things got too crazy. We took on too much. We lost focus.

I can't say for sure if the changes we made had a profound impact on the lack of invitations or requests for this year's event season. What I can say is that I have no regrets enforcing those guidelines. We're back on track, spreading more biscuit love, and doing a lot of great stuff to support our mission.

Since launching Bodacious Biscuit Love, we have evolved. You live, you learn. I don't think there's any organization, non-profit or rescue group that hasn't made changes over the years based on the wisdom acquired after the first year and in going forth.

I think, too, the universe has shifted a bit. Those little shimmy shakes have been accompanied with an epiphany or two.

Maybe this summer is meant to be spent at a slower pace. Sure, there's work, baking biscuits, spreading biscuit love, writing, and everything that goes along with our crazy dog mom life, and we embrace it all, but maybe we need this summer to be about exhaling.

Maybe it needs to be more about being in the moment and less about rushing around to this event or that or almost falling asleep on the road because several raffle baskets have to be delivered 6 towns over.

This summer, I want more time to enjoy with Lisa and the kids.

This summer, I want to be present, and I want time to do more for Lisa and the kids.

I want to have more playtime with the kids both indoors and outdoors.

I want to get back into bread making. I'm not proud of having to buy store bought bread and bagels.

I want to make custom doggy beds and blankets for the kids.

I want to eventually have a DIY tab on this blog site to feature dog themed items I've made for our kids.

Maybe, if all goes well, I want to offer these items to other pet parents.

I want to bulk up the 'Our Dog Treats Recipes' tab with more of a variety and add frozen treats and pupcakes.

I want to create doggy themed ornaments for the holidays. I'm sick of buying their ornaments at the store. And, maybe, I'll offer them to the public.

I want to make more from scratch. I have eliminated a lot of processed foods from this house and replaced them with homemade, but I can do better.

I want to take a few hours on the weekend and visit yard sales.

I want to walk the beach more than once this summer.

I want to visit more animal shelters and ship more biscuit love.

I want to make S'mores.

I want to make grilled pizza for Lisa. She's never had it.

My current empty calendar doesn't mean we suck or we're slacking.

It could very well be the universe working her magic and shimmy shaking.

Maybe it's her way of saying, "You can't have a repeat of last summer or the one before that. It wasn't good for you. This summer, you're slowing down."

The universe has a mind of her own. She speaks her own language.

I've learned not to question that.