MZ Dub's Summer List

     

Summer's here. Depending on where you live, that makes you extraordinarily happy or a little depressed.
Also, whether you're a student freed for a few precious weeks, or a parent coping with that freedom may affect how you see it too.

In our "mountain" years summer was glorious. Fling the doors and windows open glorious!

In the Sonoran desert, it's the start of the "pull the shades, crank up the AC, hunker down, stay inside or die" season. Kind of like winter in Minnesota only opposite.
Yeah, yeah, I know.....it's a dry heat. Well, I'm no rookie..... I was born here.... but when it gets above 115 and I can't touch the steering wheel without getting second degree burns, it's too darn hot, no matter what the chamber of commerce says. Thank God it only lasts four months.
Thank God too for sparing us hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and earthquakes. I guess hellfire and duststorms could be worse. I should count my blessings.

Then again, as I'm counting, my heart drifts back to the mountains.
Mornings are always cool and green no matter the month.  But, June afternoons are hot enough to make you want to wiggle your feet in Horton or Tonto creeks, just off the Rim. We did just that more times than I can count. On the way to Saturday shopping, before they built the new highway, we almost always took a detour off on Apple Lane in Christopher Creek so we could open the car doors to dangle our fingers in the clear, cold stream where it crossed the road over the little cement ford. Sometimes, too, we'd take the turnoff to the fish hatchery, the road winding alongside Tonto creek, berry bushes growing along it's banks and my favorite flower, yellow Columbines, standing delicately in the shade close to the water.

I think the smell of a mountain creek is one of the most restoring in life. It ranks right up there with a clean baby's fuzzy head or Sunday supper in the oven when you get home from church.
Rain's another one of those soul satisfying smells isn't it? I can't remember the last time it rained down here in the west valley of the relentless sun. But, when it does, I'll admit nothing quite compares to the smell of wet mesquite.

On the mountain in mid July and August, billowing thunderclouds brought rain every day with a rainbow promise when the showers cleared.

Yes, summer's the season of freedom and possibilities. No matter where you live.

And yet, I was always surprised when school started each fall at how many kids were actually glad to see it end. "Really? Why, for heaven's sake?" I asked them. "You guys couldn't wait to get out of here in June."

Well, it turns out that endless leisure is hard to handle. Yes, uselessness becomes a burden after a bit. Who knew?
Well, Heavenly Father for one.
We've been taught by our leaders that we should always, "Be anxiously engaged in a good cause."  I actually put that on the wall of my classroom.
Why?  What's wrong with a little laziness? Sometimes I like it, personally.
Well, what's wrong is that too much "disengagement" leads to unhappiness. Do nothing worthwhile for too long and pretty soon you start to feel worthless. (It makes me a little sad, though.)

So, a good cause. Anxiously engaged too. Even in summer.

That leaves a whole lot of room for personal choice doesn't it?
Can lounging around in pajamas watching TV be a good cause?   Well, maybe, I think.
If you've been toiling for days to build a barn or study for the bar exam and every muscle including the one in your brain is aching, then that might be a way to sharpen the saw. But if you've been lounging for days in those pj's like some kids tend to do along about the end of July then........no.

Remember, an eternal principle is involved here. You just can't be lazy and useless for long and still be happy. Sorry.
People think they'd love to have no work to do and life be just one long vacation, but it turns out that road eventually leads to misery. Just look around at the celebrity news.

My daughter once told one of her high school students who was struggling with work ethics among other things, "You can't do wrong, Brandon, and feel right. It's a rule." Indeed it is.

That "anxiously engaged" thing really is an eternal principle.
And sharpening the saw dulled from lots of hard use counts as a good cause. Thank heaven's "sharpening" leaves room for lots of fun after the work's done!
As a matter of fact, I love that "sharpening the saw' thing.  Think of the possibilities!  It's one of my favorites.

So, in an attempt to assist my students through the long, hot, summer I started to give them "Mz. Dub's Summer List" on the last day of school.  It was for whenever they were tempted to sing the dreaded "I"m bored" song. That song often leads to being in PJ's at high noon. That's not the anxiously engaged attire.

Here's a part of the list. Give it to a kid in need.

• Paint a room
• Learn how to change a tire
• Get a new hairstyle 
• Make a fancy salad for tonight's dinner 
• Wash your car (Or your mom's car. Or the dog, or the laundry, or your hair.)
• Play Monopoly with your little brother
• Go to the church website and do some "indexing" for genealogy purposes.
• Read
• Clean out your drawers or closet
• Study the scriptures
• Watch a video on LDS.org
• Learn how to make enchiladas. (Or the best pancakes on the planet)
• Put emergency supplies in your trunk
• Update a 72 hour emergency kit for your family
• Rebuild an engine
• Wax the car
• Go through your closet and donate stuff you don't need.
• Clean the bathroom
• Pray
• Play tennis at night
• Swim laps  
• Learn a magic trick
• Ride a bike
• Go to the library
• Learn to drive
• Write a movie script
• Learn to fix something
• Build a shelf
• Practice playing an instrument
• Teach someone to sing or ask someone to teach you.
• Do yard work
• Plant something
• Do some housework
• Write or email a missionary
• Call your grandma
• Do a favor for your neighbor. (or everyone in your family)
• Get a job
• Go to "Khan Academy" on the computer and brush up on geometry or history with the mini-lessons.
• Vacuum the house 
• Go through the sofa cushions and find all the change. Buy dessert for the family. 
• Sew a t-shirt
• Paint or draw
• Lift weights if you're a girl
• Do yoga if you're a boy
• Redecorate your room on a shoestring budget
• Walk the dog. Feed the cat.
• Write a poem for your girlfriend
• Write a song for your boyfriend
• Start a band
• Start a team
• Invite friends over for a BBQ. You cook.
• Talk to your dad
• Take your mom out for ice cream
• Sell stuff on Ebay
• Open a savings account

The list could go on forever. In any case the people who have happy lives are probably anxiously engaged in something good most of the time. Try it and see.