Motherhood is hard. Wait, LIFE is hard. But the best part is we’re all in it together. Come join me as we find our own zen in the middle of parenthood, marriage, extended family, volunteering and just generally enjoying our time here in Lake County.
Note all opinions belong to me and only me and are not a reflection of those of our advertisers, partners or other writers.
Last night I was looking at my iPhone plugged in, sitting there on the counter, recharging. And I was jealous. I thought, wow, when do I ever stop and recharge myself? Then I thought – what would recharge me? Given the limited amount of time I have to spend on “me” – I should be strategic about how and what I do, so it’s the most beneficial to me. How can I bring more life into my life? What’s my O Neg?
[If you’re not in the health care industry or watch and medical TV, you might not realize that the blood type O Negative is universal, no matter what blood type you have, you can receive O Neg. So in an emergency, if you can’t figure out what blood type you are, ER doctors will give you O Neg until they figure it out. So, O Negative Blood actually does give life to everyone.]
Honestly, pictures are my passion. I do not claim to be a professional photographer by any means, but I really enjoy documenting my children’s childhood. And if I’m home alone (well that never happens), but if I’m home in a quiet house with sleeping children and have a few minutes of downtime, you can bet I’m looking through photos of past vacations and fun memories. It calms me down. It makes me realize how much I have to be thankful for. It is truly like reliving happiness. And it actually energizes me to plan the next fun adventure. So here is my list of ways I recharge with my family and create photos in the process!
The top 20 most fun things we have done in Lake County that are extremely memorable and photo-op-erific!
- Splashing in the pool and floating in the lazy river at Barefoot Bay {Mundelein}
- Making a keepsake art project at Board and Brush
- Cheering on a local high school football team and treating the kids to concessions
- Rollerskating
- Experiencing the beautiful fall colors walking along the Des Plaines River Trail or through Independence Grove
- Renting a paddle boat and trying to make it all the way across Diamond Lake
- Eating outside
- Finding a new playground
- Cheering on my kids base hit at the little league fields or goal at the local soccer fields
- Bike riding
- Trying a new flavor of ice cream
- Fishing
- Making cookies
- Staying in our pj’s all-day
- Sledding
- Trying a new fruit or vegetable fresh from the farmer’s market
- Walking around and trying to find the perfect gift at the Long Grove shops
- Dressing up for the hog jog 5K (or any other silly local race)
- Searching for the perfect pumpkin at the farm
- …and then once the pumpkin is carved, launching it in “big red” at the Mundelein pumpkin drop
What is your O Neg? I wish you some recharging time and peace. Feel free to share your ideas below! We’d love to hear from you.
Cheryl is an aspiring writer from Mundelein. You can now follow her on her author journey on Amazon.
Get a copy of her first book, Letter’s to my Children, available on Kindle now.
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