Skip to main content

August

Every day in August is a Sunday... maybe you've heard this before, probably from a teacher. Every day in June is like a Friday, every day in July is like a Saturday, and every day in August is like a Sunday. All that anticipation of BTS. My nieces have a rule not to use the "S" word. You know, the one that starts with s,c,h. Shh - don't say it. That time of year when everything ramps up - kids, paperwork, forms, shopping, planning, packing, scheduling, and trying so hard to fit in one more moment of summer and to APPRECIATE it before it's all gone. I don't have any advice. I don't know how to relish the days or to make them last longer. I don't know how to slow things down. I think trying to just makes it worse. I've tried countdowns and picturing today as the last day of summer and none of it works. I asked a teacher friend how many days he had left before returning to school and he said, "Oh, I don't count." So I'm trying that. It's not really working because the looming end is there whether I recognize it or not. But I think what might help a little is to take stock of everything that's happened, not this summer, but maybe this month, or this week. So here's a top five list for this week:

1. Time to pause - I'm savoring my morning rituals with quiet time for coffee and candles because in a few weeks there just won't be any time. My husband and I have been sitting here almost every morning. Sunflowers make it special!

2. House projects - these materials were all down the basement and I finally got everything together to make this new shelf. It feels so good to accomplish something, anything that makes a space feel new again. And it's another checklist item I can cross off!

3. Time outside - Yesterday I asked Annie if she wanted to eat outside and when she said no, I reminded her that winter is long... sorry. She repeated it to me later. So we have to enjoy it, no matter what we are doing: gardening, walking, swimming, hiking, laying on the beach or by the pool, eating al fresco! Just get out there and soak it in. 

4. Friends for lunch - I had friends over for a late summer afternoon and I made cucumber gazpacho. Yummy delicious food, preferably from your garden, helps. (My cukes were from produce junction:( ) Time with friends helps! 


5. Time for fun - Last night my cousin played with his band "Asbury Fever" at a free outdoor concert - a full old-school set list of BRUCE songs and it was wonderful! I danced my heart out! Why isn't Thunder Road on my playlist? And who knew that I know every word to Trapped?!  It's not too late to find free stuff to do.

One more thing I am doing is spending special time with each child before they go back to school. Yesterday, Annie and I drove to do some "Destination Shopping". Did you know this is a thing? My definition is different than the retailers' definition though. We drive somewhere off the beaten path, where there's secondhand shops, good food, and nice scenery. Our drive there is half the fun! We drove out to Devon and Wayne, PA, to visit our tried and true places. We listened to our own old songs in the car and Annie surprised with a few old songs from when she was little, like Martina McBride's This One's For the Girls!  She didn't like it when I started crying though. Today Charlie and I are going to lunch at his favorite BBQ place. I promise not to cry. No pressure, no agenda, just a nice lunch. 

Just writing this is helping me to savor these days. I guess it's like self-care for summer, or Summer-Care. What's on your Top Five this week? What can you put on your weekend list to make it special? Enjoy and take care of your summer! 









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Is Grief?

 What is grief? It is standing in the shower and  you are suddenly crying and then you are sobbing. And you barely thought about it in the two days since you heard  your Uncle Rich passed. You thought about your dad and your cousins and your aunt and how sad they must be and you checked in on your dad. "I'm so so sorry." And you went to work and you did what you had to do. And now you are ready for another day and you are thinking of all the things and then you are crying and you are little again and vulnerable  and your heart hurts. And you remember everyone. Medford Lakes and a swimming pool and laughing so hard  and dancing around a Christmas tree and fireworks by the lake at night. And you can see his face and all their faces smiling Aunts and uncles and cousins and brothers who aren't here. And you remember his voice, deep and laughing, and you remember his kindness and his advice. "Are you taking vitamin C, Joannie?" You see all their faces and you mis
6 comments
Read more

Home for Christmas

  Dear College Kid and Post-Grads,  Welcome Home! You are finally here! And we are so happy to welcome you. It's been a long semester. You've faced trials and tribulations. You still need to meet your own benchmarks and others you've exceeded. But it's over now. For now, you must rest. For now, you are released from your duties and obligations for studying and group projects. You don't have to worry about homework and practice and when to wake up and when to eat. You are home. You can sleep until noon. We are here to love you back to health and wellness and give you that unmistakable feeling of home.  Some things haven't changed here at home. There will be bacon and eggs for breakfast and we will get cream donuts from McMillan's tomorrow. We will have bagels and cream cheese one morning. Some things are new to us. We will order the meat lover's pizza. We will make room on the shelf for your protein powder. Some things have changed. We painted the front d
Post a Comment
Read more

Tomorrow We Will Make Coffee

We are all searching for guarantees.  The guarantee on shipping from our website order, the guarantee on the newly-purchased mattress, the guarantee that when we wake up the electricity will still be on, the guarantee that the weather will get nicer soon, the guarantee that my car will still be parked where I left when I get back, the guarantee of a healthy pregnancy, the guarantee of an easy child.  All the things we expect at the beginning of the day to go our way, the meeting, the conference call, the sales pitch, the ruling, the game, the score.  I see people searching for schools, looking for a guarantee that the choices they make, the selection of this school over that school, will guarantee that their child will thrive, be successful, and maybe happy.  They want the guarantee.  They expect it when they walk in, as if they were going to a car wash, that the car will be perfectly cleaned when it comes out the other end.  As if kicking the tires will guarantee the purchase they mak
7 comments
Read more