The Beginning of Summer

Can you believe May is already over? I don' t know about you, but time is flying by. It seems like every year as summer begins I have high hopes and expectations of making it a great one. Taking trips to the beach, hanging with friends, working on my little projects . . . the list goes on. And every year, it goes by too fast and very few things get crossed off of my list.

It was different when we marked time by the school year. When classes ended there was a certain freedom granted. As the days got warmer (in the Midwest), laziness set in and it was perfectly acceptable to do nothing. Now that the academic calendar has little to do with my schedule, I find it harder to carve out time for summer fun and sunshine. The weekends are just too short to get everything done and go to the beach. In many ways, I envy my teacher-friends who still have that school-year schedule.

As summer begins, I know I'll still be working my normal 40 hour work week. I'll still be making our brown-bag lunches and rushing home to get dinner on the table at a reasonable hour. But I also know that there may be opportunities to go to the park a little more often, or have a picnic on the beach next Saturday. It may not happen as frequently as I would like, but it can happen enough that it makes summer time special and memorable.

Last Thursday we drove across the bridge to join our cousins for dinner. We've only made it to their home a couple of times since they moved there, but as we were sitting down outside around the grill (a sure sign it is now Summer) and watched the sun set after 8 p.m., I was reminded that it is actually Summer and the perfect time to relax and hang out with friends. And I sat there and soaked it all in. Glorious.

I want more of that.

My hopes for this summer include: a trip back home, a trip to Las Vegas to see my sister, short day trips to the beach and picnics in the nearby parks, maybe evening strolls if the wind allows and relaxing weekends with friends. Maybe I'll read a few books and finish a few crafty projects too.

Welcome to Summer!

Can you believe May is already over? I don' t know about you, but time is flying by. It seems like every year as summer begins I have high hopes and expectations of making it a great one. Taking trips to the beach, hanging with friends, working on my little projects . . . the list goes on. And every year, it goes by too fast and very few things get crossed off of my list.

It was different when we marked time by the school year. When classes ended there was a certain freedom granted. As the days got warmer (in the Midwest), laziness set in and it was perfectly acceptable to do nothing. Now that the academic calendar has little to do with my schedule, I find it harder to carve out time for summer fun and sunshine. The weekends are just too short to get everything done and go to the beach. In many ways, I envy my teacher-friends who still have that school-year schedule.

As summer begins, I know I'll still be working my normal 40 hour work week. I'll still be making our brown-bag lunches and rushing home to get dinner on the table at a reasonable hour. But I also know that there may be opportunities to go to the park a little more often, or have a picnic on the beach next Saturday. It may not happen as frequently as I would like, but it can happen enough that it makes summer time special and memorable.

Last Thursday we drove across the bridge to join our cousins for dinner. We've only made it to their home a couple of times since they moved there, but as we were sitting down outside around the grill (a sure sign it is now Summer) and watched the sun set after 8 p.m., I was reminded that it is actually Summer and the perfect time to relax and hang out with friends. And I sat there and soaked it all in. Glorious.

I want more of that.

My hopes for this summer include: a trip back home, a trip to Las Vegas to see my sister, short day trips to the beach and picnics in the nearby parks, maybe evening strolls if the wind allows and relaxing weekends with friends. Maybe I'll read a few books and finish a few crafty projects too.

Welcome to Summer!