In Which I Stop Living For Summer

Today I return to the daily grind. 

Summer is over and it's back to school for me and my colleagues. And our students return next week. 

I had a great summer.  I saw Beyonce and Jay-Z perform live. I went to BlogHer '14 where I saw Kerry Washington, partied with Rev. Run of Run DMC, and met Arianna Huffington. And I even hosted a blogging conference of my own. 

But still there was so much I wanted to do but didn't. 

I didn't spend enough quality time with my family and friends. I didn't go to New Orleans with my husband. I didn't work on landing new freelance writing gigs or on building this blog. I didn't truly enjoy my city the way I wanted to and I didn't read all the books on my summer reading list.

The other day while looking over my list of summer intentions I said to myself, "Oh well, there's always next summer."

Then I stopped myself. 

Why do I keep acting as if life ends when school starts?! 

Sure, it's easier to write, build my business, and hang out with loved ones when I don't have to be at work 8 hours a day and spend my evenings grading papers. But this doesn't mean that I can only have a life two months a year. 

Plus, I really like my job! Teaching the gifted and amazingly talented students at my school is one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. It's my mission to inspire my students, but they have no idea how much they inspire me. 

So this school year I'm going to use all that energy and inspiration that I get from my students and pour it into all the work I do both inside of the classroom and outside. 

Of course, my teaching career is my priority August through May, but I'm still going to make an effort to spend more time working on my business and freelance writing career. And I'm going to make an effort spend more time with family and friends and my husband, too. 

You may not be a teacher, but chances are you can relate to this story. Is there something you want to do, but you keep putting it off until the right time? I have news for you: there is no right time. That's what this summer taught me. I was sure that I'd be able to accomplish all my summer goals because I'd have a copious free time. But each day that time was eaten up by something -- cleaning, cooking, laundry, sickness, laziness, moodiness, etc. 

The New Living Translation of Ecclesiates 11:4 reads: "Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest."

And this isn't just a verse for those working in agriculture, y'all. 

There is no perfect time to start pursuing your passion. Start right now. Work with whatever is in front of you and with whatever time you have. Do one small thing each day to move you closer to bringing your dream to fruition. Sow the seeds. Otherwise you will never enjoy a harvest.