3 Life Lessons from this Summer

I always like to do an end of Summer round up of key things I have learned. This year wasn't as much of a learning period as last year with moving for the first time and being newly married (link here), but I picked up on a few key things that I want to share with you. These 6 from last year I still implement everyday day, but now I have 3 more to add.  

1) No matter where I go, God is with me

The first week of baiting snares I got hopelessly lost for an hour. Thick underbrush and pine rows that all look the same is not a type of area I was used to. I didn't have my GPS because it was dead, my phone had no signal at all, the sun was directly over head not giving me any shadows to follow out and all I could do was stop, not to panic and pray. I knew God saw me even in the dense forest, I knew that he sends his angels out before us and makes a way wherever we go. He orders our steps. Maybe that happened as a testimony and a very good lesson to be learned. I prayed and after a while I found my way to an ATV trail and just to my right 30 yards away was my ATV- I was out. That was my 1st day when I was by myself and for the next 7 weeks I'd be alone everyday. I did, however, get some volunteers to accompany me on rare occasions but that lesson taught me that God will see me through- no matter what. He always knows where I am and meets me in every situation. I leaned on that a lot while I was out in the woods everyday and hiking far back in to my snare sites. I will take this lesson with me the rest of my life in my wildlife career. Also- I always keep my GPS charged now!

2) Slow down and enjoy what is around you

I got told a lot this Summer that I was working too fast. I took my time at snares and diligently looked for hair- even just a single hair I would find it. But, I wasn't getting 40 hours a week. I liked to get my job done, explore a little and take cool pictures for my LinkedIn and then I'd be done around lunch when it would reach over 100 degrees most days. Then I would go home and clean, make good food, and paint. As Summer kept going, I realized how much I will miss some of these places I go to and I tried really hard to keep a mental picture of my routes, how the sun would come up through the trees, how certain areas smelled of dry grass, crisp leaves or pollen that made me sneeze. I took mental notes of the plants and animals that I saw. I know that when I get to school and have to sit in a classroom for hours I will tremendously miss the areas I was at all Summer. In the beginning I did want to get them done quickly, being alone made me a little uncomfortable in some areas. Now, I can say I learned to feel at ease in all those places and really know my surroundings well. Knowing my point #1 as mentioned above helped a lot with this one as well. 

3) Keeping a clean home is important

When I was younger, the last thing in the world that I wanted to do was to clean. I remember my parents would tease me and half worry that I wouldn't keep a clean house. Well, I do. It's looking amazing since this Summer. It is so important to me to keep a clean house so I can relax and paint or do other things. It feels good to know that I could spend half my day and take care of the home things and when Parker comes home from work he doesn't have to help me clean and he can enjoy a homemade meal. It has allowed me to have a lot of friends come over this Summer for card games and Bible studies. Having a clean house just gives me a feeling of freedom. It was a little overwhelming at first when there was a lot to tackle but now that it is mostly clean I only have a few chores to do a day. Constant dishes to do, constant sweeping the floors from the rabbits but all other things like laundry, vacuuming, wiping down counters and the stove and cleaning the bathroom can now be on rotations. As I got older, I would keep my room clean and our house in South Dakota was pretty kept up on, too. But now I feel like I really got a handle on keeping up with stuff. Even our hobby room is clean! I will do an art...studio? tour soon just to show you my small little set up.