When summer first begins I can’t wait to toss aside my sweaters and boots. Shorts, tank tops, and flip-flops are a welcome change. I rejoice in the idea of getting outside more. Snow and ice are traded in for sunshine and evening thunderstorms. There is something peaceful about falling asleep to a thunderstorm rolling in.
My garden is bountiful, tomatoes, okra, green beans, onions, beets, turnips, herbs, potatoes, peppers, jalapenos by the bucket full. The bugs are also bountiful; I think I get at least six bites even with bug spray on. The real stuff too, Deet! They don’t care; I’m too tasty I guess.
The heat drives us back indoors during mid-day, followed by a cooler evening full of fire flies. The bats are swooping in from overhead. I read that a single bat can eat up to 8,000 bugs in one night! We watch them bob and weave while we sit by the fire.
In Maryland, schools are starting again soon, and I can get at least one of these rowdy kids out of the house full-time. Another will do two half days per week, a welcome break even with the toddler still home. Teachers, I hope you rested up this summer. I know I’m not! We have been on the move since the day it started, with still one more vacation planned. Winter is a time for rest and hibernation. Summer is for fun and adventure!
I’m a little sad to know that summer is coming to an end shortly. It was 11 weeks of summer break for the kids; those weeks went by fast (but sometimes really friggin slow and I wanted to cry). At the beginning of summer, I knew I was in for a crazy season. I wrote: My summer resolution is to sleep a little, shave a little, and clean nothing. Truth, I followed this. My house is dirty, I lack sleep, and the stubble on my legs suggests I need some self-care. Ah well. Life.
I look forward to focusing on my writing, taking a few classes, more blog entries this fall and winter.
Hope you enjoy the end of summer!
Melisa Peterson Lewis 