Dinner Out!

Such a small thing, but it's a big difference. We have a west-facing back porch, which means that dinnertime sun is brutal, especially in the summer. We finally (after four years) put up a shade so that we could eat dinner out there without being blinded. My oldest is concerned about the wind blowing it back and forth, but otherwise it seems to do what we needed.

Being able to take an outdoor break for meals on days when we can't go to a park has been really good for us. I notice an improvement in at least my oldest's behavior and ability to focus later in the day. Mine too. I have been having a lot more migraines lately, and I have to soldier through a certain amount of the time. Eating a meal out there where we can smell the flowers and talk about our garden is really grounding.

The house was new when we moved in, and the neighborhood has no old trees (former cotton farm). But our small, simple yard is becoming a retreat. We have planted flowers, fruits, and vegetables that attract countless butterflies, lizards, rabbits, toads, and more birds all the time (song birds and, of course raptors -- still on the edge of country after all).