Life Lessons I'm Learning This Summer
Let’s cut to the chase: it’s hot, humid, and the air is full of bugs (sometimes my house too).
It’s the middle of summer.
Except you wouldn’t be able to tell from my neighbourhood. For some reason the flora and fauna are all a month early this year. It’s not even August and yet we have Coneflowers, Rose of Sharon in bloom, and I noticed this morning that the burning bushes are….burning? What the actual heck.
Anyways, who knows what September will be like. Hopefully we will have some leaves on the trees, or maybe it’ll start to snow. The weather is flying by and life experiences are too. I’m learning a lot this summer. And hopefully I’ll bring some of these learnings into the fall and next year ahead––because the new year really starts in September, right?
Without the right tools, dog grooming is a nightmare
My husband has been suggesting that we try to groom our Standard Poodle ourselves for a while now (she’s 4 years old), but up until this Spring I didn’t want to consider it. The time, skills, and tools needed would be a big investment. Grooming your dog yourself is a huge task to take on.
But then I assessed our budget.
We spend $150 for her haircut every two months, so $900 a year. It adds up.
So we looked into which trimmer to buy, scissors, dog shampoo/conditioner, de-matting brushes etc. We bought a bunch of professional supplies. Spent $350+. And it didn’t work.
We stood in the dark, 50℃ garage, tried to cut her hair and it wasn’t coming off. Over a period of 5 days we watched countless YouTube videos. We gave her two baths. We spent about 8+ hours total trying to cut her hair to no avail. It just simply wasn’t working. It was just plain horrible.
We were close to throwing in the literal towel and selling all the stuff to go back to the groomer. At this point her hair was cut enough to let it be and deal with it the next month. More research suggested how to prep her hair properly to cut really smoothly. So in July, B prepped her hair. It was so soft and creamy and ready to be cut. We set up all the supplies, thinking it would only take 1 hour to cut everything. And it didn’t work.
I realized there was something wrong with our tools. We were using a #10 blade on our Wahl KM10 trimmer and it worked well on the super fine areas, like the inside of her ears or in between her paws. It was too small for her body. So after more research I ordered a #4 blade from Amazon, another $80 later. Gosh. This “money saving” idea was feeling not so money saving, nor stress, time, or energy saving.
But guys. That #4 blade took her hair off like smooth butter. It was beautiful. IT ACTUALLY WORKED. We also traded the boiling hot, dark garage for our bright bathroom with AC. It’s easy to clean the floor, cool and comfortable, and I can actually see what I’m doing!
Dog grooming is not for the faint of heart. It’s a STEEP learning curve. But when it works? Wow. So darn satisfying. We are about $450+ into our home grooming investment, so we better ride it out the rest of the year and see how it goes. But I feel so hopeful and even though her hair is far from perfect, it’s soft, short, and so much more suited for summer. AND I DID IT!!!
2. My daughter not being ready is not my failure
Notice the photo above of my almost 3 year old daughter BESIDE the swimming pool and not IN the swimming pool. That was at our swimming lesson last week. Our private swim class in which I totally pictured her growing in her swim skills, and getting ready for swim classes this fall without a parent with her in the water. But she isn’t ready to get into the water without Mom.
I was so disappointed.
We have done parent + tot swim classes since she was 4months old, and overall she’s really enjoyed them. Swim classes for 3 years and above are the next option for her but parents sit on the side and aren’t in the water. I wasn’t sure how she would do without a parent so I thought if we tried some private lessons this summer it would build some confidence and comfort in a swimming environment without mom with her.
Great idea, it probably will still happen, but last weeks attempt was pretty stressful. The teacher even suggested cancelling her second class later that week and reimbursing us. Was it really that bad? Had I failed her as a parent? Not prepared her enough? Not given her enough opportunities?
The answer to all those questions is a big fat No. It wasn’t that bad. I didn’t fail my daughter. I have prepared her well for swimming, and offer her lots of swimming opportunities.
The reality is, she’s almost 3 years old and perhaps just isn’t developmentally ready for activities (especially swimming) apart from parents. My counsellor reminded me how normal this is. In fact when I was a kid, I didn’t start activities without my mom until I was 5 years old. But it’s common now for parent-free lessons to start around 3.
I’m learning how to pivot my expectations (this is extremely hard for me). And also assessing how my disappointment reflects more of my desires and expectations than any wrong doing on her part. Plus my desire for her to do independent swimming lessons at almost 3 is more about ME than HER readiness.
We will pursue family swim times together, and re-assess the goals and expectations of swim lesson opportunities in the future.
There’s more I’m learning this summer that I’m still in the midst of living.
For instance:
Summer viruses can be strong and nasty
It’s worth following through on commitments
Unplugging from technology for a 5 day vacation is a really wise thing to do
It’s possible to listen to too much political commentary
Growing tomatoes kind of suck
Zucchinis have a way better yield
When hosting a large outdoor party, don’t leave the meat and cheese in the sun
Chronic diarrhea can lead to hemorrhoid flare ups
If my daughter is terrified of costumes, accept it and stop buying her Halloween costumes
Daycare miracles DO happen (my exact return to work date though is still uncertain)
Prioritizing being present at church on Sundays in the summer and gathering with God’s people really pays off emotionally and spiritually
Catching up on Olympics at night can be fun, but sleep is also necessary
Simple summer meals are great but can get boring––it’s good to mix things up
Harvesting lettuce and basil from my garden.