Goodbye Week. Hello Weekend. Lessons Learned: Take 98.

Goodbye first week of summer break and cleaning out Kiddo's backpack from old papers, broken pencils, and forgotten candy.

Goodbye reading this inspiring blog post and hoping you're inspired to do the same. Thanks, Rose.

Goodbye hoping the rain, rain will go away; and take these cool temperatures with you, too!

Goodbye easing into summer fun slowly by catching Epic; not a bad movie to start the summer.

Goodbye purposefully accumulating late library fines because I just don't want to give back this book even though I'm done reading it (I've never been good at sharing).

Hello changing up the bedding decor, replacing winter comforters with beautifully made quilts from Grandma (we miss you and your talented hands).

Hello summer evenings with the start of an all-consuming baseball season - Play Ball!

Hello nightly hum of the washer and dryer as I try to get out the red dirt from Kiddo's white baseball pants after each game.

Hello Super Hubby's ongoing dental surgery saga and hoping all goes well today (prayers please).

Hello Kiddo attending a birthday party with a video gaming truck in attendance; hmm, should be interesting.

My lesson learned this week is how much beauty resides in the simple. Simplicity is something I strive to achieve. I have yet to arrive. There is so much grace and peace and wisdom in this state of mind and being. Yet, the goal is difficult to get to in a complex, fast-moving, quick-paced world. So, it's time to take stock in where simplicity can blossom in my life. After much thought I've come up with 3 areas that can help anyone achieve a simpler life, while having joy runneth over the proverbial cup.

Your Schedule
The first is your schedule. Whether you want to take ownership of it or not, you, not outside forces, control your schedule. You are the one that put that "To-Do" on your list. You said, "yes". Don't lose sight of the true controller of your calendar: that's YOU! The world won't stop spinning if you miss Cousin Ofelia's birthday party. Send a card wishing her many more and stay home with the family, take a hike, play Monopoly, or just hang out and do nothing. Ahh, doing nothing. It's really something!

Your Clutter
You've got to stop shopping for anything but the essentials like food and toilet paper. I'm a believer of shop therapy, don't get me wrong. But, accumulating items you truly don't need makes for a complicated, cluttered, complex life. It's another thing to clean, it's another item to take care of, it's another tchotchke that'll end up in a garage sale selling for a fraction of what you paid for it (did I mention the frustration of the buyer haggling you take off 5 cents). You need to train yourself to window shop, instead. It's much kinder on the wallet and your state of mind.

Your Surroundings
Stay right where you are and look around you. What do you see? How do you feel? Now, get up and go open that junk drawer or that linen closet or that pantry of plastic storage containers. What do you see? How do you feel?

The state of my surroundings determine my state of mind. If my house is a mess, I feel my life is a mess. When I clean-up my house, I feel like I'm somehow cleaning up my life and I'm able to breathe a little easier and freer. It's called taking control instead of the dirt and clutter controlling us. Before you can take control of your life, "you've got to take control over that sink full of dirty dishes" (thanks Joyce Meyer).

How? Baby steps. If you've got a lot to clean up, just the thought can be overwhelming, so start small. Try setting aside one hour of each day. Find out what you want to tackle. Start it and finish it, however long it takes, by just working on it for one hour each day. Set the timer. When that timer dings, walk away from your work and revisit it the next day. It's not going anywhere. You'll be so amazed when that one area gets tidied up that the feeling will motivate you to move on to the next area. Before you know it, you're entire home will be cleaned-up and organized inside and out, and your life will follow suit. SIMPLIFY!

Note: get your kids involved with the clean-up. Despite their opinion on the matter, one hour per day will not ruin their summer vacation. They will survive!

Have a wonderful, simple weekend, friends.