Friday, June 18, 2010

Summer Has Begun! (It's Friday: It's a Good Thing Edition)

This is officially the last day of school for my kids. You know what that means: pool days and sunburns; less writing, more sleeping; vacations, roasting marshmallows over our fire pit and eating s'mores; catching fireflies and laying on our backs in the grass watching the stars come out; trips to Krispy Kreme – a summer-only treat. Hours and hours browsing the used bookstore; sipping Paneras iced coffees and working on the book while the kids are in music camp. Crazy art projects and bike trips through forest trails. Sand between our toes. Turquoise toe nail polish and good books.

I love summer. I love not having to hound the kids to finish homework. I love not having to wake up at six and fix three lunches before I can even think about breakfasts. I love drinking coffee because I love it and not because I need it. I love no after school activities. I love traveling to far away places. I love the fresh, crisp feeling of our new passports, and the prospect of breaking them in. I love sprawling on the living room floor with three kids and a new book, reading. I love trips to the zoo, and to museums when the zoo is too hot.

Two summers ago I finished the book I would call the "book of my heart." Last summer I got a contract for that book.

Summers are good things. Full of possibilities and hope. Friends and family.

Today: it's not quite summer yet. Today is crazy. Today is frantic getting ready for summer. Today is "how am I ever going to get it all done and survive?"

Tomorrow, though... tomorrow it all begins.

What's your favorite thing about summer?

9 comments:

  1. I want to spend summer with your family! I don't have kids in school yet, so I suppose my summers aren't too different than my winters except there are more bugs. However, my mom is a teacher, and I like it when she is on summer break because I get to see her more. I like that I don't have to shovel my driveway.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those are great things to love about summer! I love summers because there are new things to look forward to every year. This year it's camping and traveling out of the country (yep, got my brand-new crisp passport in the mail last week!) and writing and hiking. Also, the kids are getting older and there are more things I can do with them. Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  3. My favorite thing about summer is the post!

    I used to love how strange it felt to put long pants on for Church in the summer, since life was shorts only. Those days are gone, though.

    I just like the warmth and blue skies of summer. Soon enough, though, I'll be craving autumn. I'm fickle like that.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This summer is extra special because my family is moving to a new state to be near close friends and an amazing church.

    I love not having to wake up to an alarm and being able to spend most of my days at home. We don't have forests here, but where we're moving we will be able to hike and do all kinds of fun outdoor activities! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. in a word... simplicity.

    doing things because we can and that being a good enough reason.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Definitely not having to make lunches.

    I love our family trip where the phones, computers and life gets left behind to spend 14 days together.

    ReplyDelete
  7. It's hard here cause it seems the same because my daughter is gone. And summer in Florida is like winter up north--lol--not my favorite time,I love the fall!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hoorah for summer! Your post summed it up beautifully. We are loving life over here!!! There's just something about summer livin'!

    ReplyDelete