Parked in a deserted lot behind a Starbucks for 4+ hours

Last Saturday, Kylan had a lot of work to catch up on, so we parked in a deserted lot behind a Starbucks for 4+ hours. The kids and I took a nap, played in the dirt lot (steering clear of broken glass in some spots), and ate some snacks. A few hours later, Kylan came back and said, “I got lots done! I also looked up campgrounds to stay at tonight. None are open until tomorrow night. So tonight, we’ll have to stay in a Walmart parking lot.” “No problem!” But with nothing to do until tomorrow, I typed in “swimming pool” in google maps. A rec center popped up only 20 mins away. That day was the last day of their outdoor pool was open. It only cost 0.25 cents per person, and they closed at 7:00 pm. So we drove there, played for 4 hours, took nice long showers, and then made tacos in our trailer in their parking lot. It was perfect.

The pool was empty too. It was just us and one other family. So that was an added bonus 👌

These spontaneous adventures are so exciting. The eye contact and conversations I’ve had with our kids has increased so much over the last two weeks. I had no idea how much eye contact I was missing out on with them. Especially Maverick for some reason. He’s grown up so much and I’m loving his spicy sense of humor.

God is good and He’s giving me a lens adjustment every day. I’m literally realizing that every priority I used to have a few years ago, mean absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. 🤦‍♀️ I can’t pass perfectionism and “success” on to my kids. No one cares about that crap in terms of their happiness. It’s all about wholehearted living (Thanks @brenebrown for that terminology).