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A Summer Intermission

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Jess Connell

Summer Intermission (I'm taking summer 2016 OFF) // jessconnell.com

“So, anyways, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty” (<—– in my head, that is in Nacho Libre’s voice, in case you’re wondering).

Summer is here and I need to breathe deeply and find my way to some fresh headspace.

I’ll be back; I always come back. Writing is in my blood, but it’s time for some assessment and reexamination of the whats and whys. As always, I want to write things that:

  • are helpful for women
  • are biblically faithful, because teachers are accountable for what we teach
  • intersect with the real places where women actually reside — in both their practices and their hearts.

But for now, I need a lengthy intermission.

I need to

  • go on hikes,
  • say “yes” to playing Spades, going on walks, planting seeds, drawing with chalk, having picnics with the kids… summertime requests that we don’t always have time to carry out
  • get podcasts edited and ready for publishing,
  • reexamine where my writing efforts are best spent,
  • water my blueberry plants more often so they don’t shrivel up,
  • enjoy the no-school lull when my mornings are more my own than they are during the school year,
  • clean my house up and organize all this stuff we collected from thrift stores and gifts over the past year or two,
  • grab full hold of our summer and try to find a time when we can have time away together as a family.

We’re in dreaming mode… which maybe is a constant thing for us… but summer has given us more freedom to do it. What could this summer hold? A family backpacking trip? A deep-cleaning and a hefty garage sale? A summer of heady reading for our big boys?

At the end of this summer, Lord willing, I’ll be a 36-year-old, 30-week pregnant mama…

But I could also be a 36-year-old, 30-week pregnant mama who:

  • is in better shape than I currently am,
  • has a quiet, settled heart,
  • is well-rested and amped up for our next school year, (gonna have my first high schooler this year! wheeeee!)
  • has experienced more scripture than social media,
  • dwells in a less cluttered, more steward-able house,
  • has an even-clearer vision of my purpose and goals for this next season,
  • and maybe even has completed a multi-day-backpacking-thru-hike with our family of 9.

I don’t know what all this summer holds. But for now, it doesn’t look like it will have a 3-day-a-week writing commitment in it.

So.

I’ve decided it’s summer intermission. I hope not to lose you along the way.

  • Be sure to follow me on Facebook so that we don’t lose touch. (I’ll still be posting articles from the archives and links of interest to you there.)
  • Follow my JessConnell.com Pinterest Board & you’ll know exactly when I start posting again.
  • You can still use my contact form to get in touch if there are personal things that hit you that you want to talk through.

Have a great summer!

Category: Grow as Writer

12 thoughts on “A Summer Intermission”

  1. Katie says:
    June 10, 2016 at 12:37 pm

    sounds lovely! How are you practically going to “experience more scripture than social media”?

    Reply
    1. Jess Connell says:
      June 10, 2016 at 2:57 pm

      Well I’ve been keeping up with a Bible reading plan… kind of… by that I mean, I tend to veer off into study-ville, which takes longer than simply reading the plan and checking it off the list. 🙂 So while I’m technically “behind” I’m sticking with it and loving it.

      But FB = gone for a while… and that’s my main social media intake source.

      We’ve already been enjoying a “screen-free” summer in our home these last couple weeks- in all areas except for this last one, so while I’ll still be online (doing things like reading gear reviews, for example, and as always, reading articles recommended by people I trust), I won’t be on social media much at all for a while, and even then not near as often, until I need/want to do so again when I start writing/etc.

      Reply
  2. Amanda says:
    June 10, 2016 at 12:46 pm

    I will miss your posts, but I wish you a very Happy summer!!

    Reply
    1. Jess Connell says:
      June 10, 2016 at 3:37 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  3. Jennifer Collins says:
    June 10, 2016 at 1:08 pm

    Have a grea time!

    Reply
  4. Diana says:
    June 10, 2016 at 7:08 pm

    Have a WONDERFUL summer and a great break!!!

    Reply
  5. Katrina says:
    June 12, 2016 at 5:03 pm

    Hope you have a beautiful summer enjoying the Lord and your family! I really appreciate your blog and the issues you biblically address that few other blogs do. You’ll be missed, but I hope your summer is full of sweet times with your family!

    Reply
  6. katy says:
    August 1, 2016 at 1:04 pm

    i just saw on Fight for Together that you guys r going on the Wonderland Trail! I can’t wait to see your posts when you get back! 😀

    Reply
    1. Jess Connell says:
      August 1, 2016 at 5:29 pm

      Haha, well, we have been gearing up for it and planning for it. 🙂

      This year is a bit wonky with their reservation system, though, and so we’re planning to be flexible with our plans. The Park Ranger I talked to this morning said people are having to take really weird travel plans (like short couple-mile days, and then 25-mile days) in order to get on the trail.

      Because we’re traveling with a 3-year-old, who will be walking the whole way, we won’t do more than 11-mile days (at most). It just would be too strenuous and not worth it.

      So we’ve got a back up plan of doing the Northern Loop Trail, and adding on the Spray Park/Ipsut Pass loop on the NW of the Wonderland trail. That would still be a 8-9 day trip, but each day would be more like 4-8 miles, rather than the 7-11 miles/day of the Wonderland. Which… is honestly sounding very appealing.

      So yes – while we’ve been planning to do 10 days on the Wonderland Trail, after our conversation with a Park Ranger this morning, it made us rethink some things and we may be doing a more achievable (and more reservable) 8-9 days of the Northern Loop, with the Spray Park loop added on. 🙂

      Doing this much hiking as a family has definitely given me a lot of thoughts about facing hard things as a family, helping little ones stretch to do more than they think they can, what stress does to all of us, and more 🙂

      But I’m enjoying the break from writing. Pray that I’ll want to come back to it cause right now, I don’t. haha.

      Reply
  7. shannon bradbury says:
    August 26, 2016 at 11:34 am

    Can’t wait to see ya back on the blog!
    I miss your practical tips for moms!

    Reply
    1. Jess Connell says:
      August 26, 2016 at 9:26 pm

      That is really encouraging! Thanks for coming by to tell me that. I have really really really enjoyed the summer break… but I am getting mentally prepped back to share things that are helping and changing me.

      Probably be back mid-September or so. 🙂 See you then!

      Reply
  8. Pingback: Mom Exhaustion Doesn't Have to Steal Your Vision - Jess Connell

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