Summer amirite.
William had knee surgery. There were two possible outcomes, and the surgeon said he wouldn’t know which it would be until he got in there. First possible outcome: quick easy fix, several days of taking it easy, then back to normal except much improved from before the surgery. Second possible outcome: complicated fix, six weeks of being totally non-weight-bearing on that knee (i.e., using crutches, having significant difficulty with stairs, having significant difficulty working, etc.), and then many months of physical therapy. The woman scheduling the surgery said her son had the same surgery with the second outcome. “It was like having a newborn again!,” she said, helpfully. I didn’t dare hope for the first outcome, but that is what we got. We are so glad/lucky/relieved.
We went to a play, and I only went because the twins had a friend who was in it, and I was expecting to suffer through it, and I was irritated by how much they thought it was reasonable to charge for tickets to a children’s summer production (FIFTEEN UNITED STATES DOLLARS FOR AN ADULT), and it was amazing. I don’t like to use “amazing” to describe productions by children. But it was amazing. I was amazed. I am going to go see it again. And I am going to make a point of seeing more productions there, even when we don’t know anyone in the play.
We are doing academic/creative/organizational/life-training again this summer. I am using my time so far to study my state senators/representatives, and to do KenKen/Sudoku puzzles, and to learn how to draw interesting lettering/borders. I am also emptying an entire closet in the little boys’ room, because I guess we have fabric moths all of a sudden. I just discovered this tonight, and it’s my first encounter with moths.
I got together with my friend at an AirBnB. It went well (even though it turns out she does not drink wine), except that I had specifically used the search filter to get places with a/c, because a/c is very important to me, and this place “had a/c” in that there was one compact window unit for an entire house. It was not up to the task. “Not up to the task” to the extent that we OPENED WINDOWS to HELP the air conditioner. But there were comfy chairs, and we did a lot of good talking, and there were feral kittens in the yard, and we found a breakfast place with delicious stuffed French toast, so. Next time I will know to ask “How MUCH a/c?” (and also “Do you have feral kittens?”).
And if you’re thinking of getting together with distant friends, I do recommend it if you can swing it. Friends don’t have to be in-person, but in-person is nice from time to time.
Summer summer summer help me out here. Tell me one thing ONE THING you have done this summer that was neat / was notable / was fun / was you-want-to-tell-us-about-it. Or one thing you WILL be doing. Just one thing. It doesn’t have to be the BEST thing. It doesn’t have to be the MOST cool/notable/fun/interesting thing. Just pick ONE thing and tell us about it. Tried a new ice cream flavor on impulse and it was unexpectedly successful? YES.
[Edited to add: Originally I wrote “one thing” to remove the pressure: i.e., you don’t have to write about your entire summer, you can just pick one single thing. Re-reading it this morning, it seems more like I’m saying that I get to say many things but YOU may only say ONE. If you would LIKE to say more than one thing, you CERTAINLY MAY!]
I performed as a drag queen. It’s lots of fun, which is great because it pays basically nothing.
I decided to get my Democrat on to feel better about Things. In one week I wrote 100 Postcards To Voters. It’s a grassroots program. It felt good. Really good.
My summer has flown by and tomorrow the teens start band camp so it is basically over. I took a long trip with my rising senior daughter to look at colleges, just the two of us. It was heavenly. We get along well, we are both morning people, and she is just a great kid to be around. It was so nice to have a week off from my….not so pleasant, younger teenager(s) and their bickering. It was nice to have two people in a car/hotel room/restaurant/navigating trains in downtown Boston rather than the whole family. Unfortunately, I cannot let her leave me to go away to college, so too bad for her. Maybe I could send the sassy 14-year old instead?
Ugh, Boston. We were just there during a 10 day trip to New England. Loved many aspects (particularly the Bacon Truck) but it was just a little too much for me (would not want to navigate the subway on the regular). But the main fun thing we did there? My two teen daughters and I went to see Moulin Rouge at the Emerson Colonial Theatre (freakin fabulous!) while my husband and son went on an urban adventure bike ride tour through the city. Salem is more my speed, and I wish we had had more time to spend there.
Side note – I also began following a keto diet/lifestyle in April, and didn’t find it too hard to keep it keto while traveling. We even toured Ben and Jerry’s, and I did not even care that my husband and daughters got ice cream (my son rarely eats sweets, so he and I were the party-poopers).
I had some bad and good things. Bad: separated from husband, he moved out. 2 older cats (17 years old) die within 3 weeks of each other. Good: New freedom and pride- mowing the grass and paying bills for the first time in 13 years. Painting my bedroom (grey), buying a new quilt and buying new art to hang on the walls (cat with ice cream cones, pink flowers) that I like, getting a kitten that I got to name by myself (Sullivan). Four weeks left before I head back to school to teach.
Good job countering the challenging with some positive!
I went through a devastating break up myself in the spring and I have spent a lot of time this summer redecorating my house. This is the first time EVER in my life I have been able to choose exactly what I want. It’s been so fun! Plus it turns out I LOVE living alone.
For a variety of boring reasons, I’m staying with my parents during July and August. Today I went to the farmer’s market with my mom, and then we went to my aunt and uncle’s house and it turned out they had several out-of-town guests visiting (including two adorable little kids), so that was fun. When we got home we cleaned the kitchen while listening to old records, and then I made a cake. A great day!
This summer is crazy. I got married in June and we had a fantastic honeymoon abroad. In the two weeks since we’ve been back we house-hunted like mad, since our lease is almost up and I really wanted to find a house before I go back to work in August. On Friday, we made a house offer and it was accepted, AND my husband received a very-much-needed job offer, AND my sister found out she’s pregnant!!! Basically, I feel like the rest of my life will be one big letdown after this summer.
I know that was not one thing; I am sorry but I could not choose.
I need a like button for this comment!
It’s winter here so much more indoorsy that you lucky ducks in the Northern Hemisphere (although we are going to Australia soon and that should be just warm enough for me). I took last Monday off work and took my two year old into town to do fun things which was exhausting and he didn’t appreciate it as much as I’d hoped but it was still fun! First we went to our local observatory where my favourite thing was a display on gravity and my son’s was the videos of “rocket ships!!!!” taking off. After that we went to a book week event on our city’s cable car (and why I took the day off) which was a reading of “Tango Makes Three” by a fantastic drag queen with an equally fantastic beard. That story (about gay penguins and their baby) almost made me cry. So it was not a relaxing day off like days off used to be but it was fun. I find I see a lot more of our city now I have a small child to entertain!
We spent a family weekend away. There was a nice pool, a complimentary breakfast and an afternoon at a Shaker village with Really Interesting Stuff to try. Both my kids (who are 11 and nearly 9) were charming and engaged. My daughter, age 11, spent an adorable amount of time wearing old-timey clothes and calling herself Hannah. (She is not named Hannah.) My son, who is as addicted to his electronics as anyone, spent a satisfyingly long time learning how to weave on a loom, and even longer in the woodshop working with real (sharp) tools.
I started eating keto-style. I agree with everything you said about diet talk being weird and always awkward so I will say two things: 1) Your posts were extremely helpful! 2) It is unexpectedly not terrible.
I am interested to hear what others have to say. I live in a very warm climate and cabin fever is starting to set in with a solid 2.5 months to go. I have spent a number of Saturdays and Sundays getting up very early, running over to a ranch and riding a horse in the “cool” air. When extra lucky, I catch a beautiful sunrise (or stunning sunset during the workweek).
I took my son to a garden and herb centre. It was surprisingly fun. Showing him different plants, that had a neat store with local soaps and gemstones. Was super fun.
I have 3 sons and 1 daughter- all teenagers (also a husband). Not once , but TWICE this summer it worked out so that my daughter and I had 2 girls’ weeks at home with all the boys gone. We had our toes done, went to the movies twice (Oceans 8 and Jurassic World), ate all our favorite foods, watched all the Twilight movies (which she had never seen), rewatched the Pitch Perfect movies, rented The Greatest Showman. It was the best! Totally relaxed 2 weeks. And guess what??? Our house stayed clean. it was a summer Christmas miracle. LOL.
This sounds amazing!
Early in the summer I instituted a practice of reading for 30 minutes a day, for me and my three girls. It has all gone to hell because of camps, etc. , but we did it for a while and it was great – their faces were out of those damned phones for a while and I got to do some reading too. I taught a typing camp for the second summer and it went well, it’s so much better to do something for the second time because I knew what I was getting into!
I took my daughter to orientation at the university she’ll be attending five hours away from home last week. We’ll move her in the day before her birthday. I keep telling myself that this is completely normal, there is nothing unique about my situation–you did it yourself, just last year! But that doesn’t make me less sad.
And now I’m going to add a second thing, since the first one is such a huge bummer: we took our church youth group to Jacob’s Well, a swimming hole near Austin, and it was tremendous fun. Two thumbs up, would recommend for older kids and agile adults.
I have a job interview tomorrow, and it pays well, and it’s very (omgsodarn) close to my house. I actually dropped my kiddo off with her father so I can prep and sleep and kill it tomorrow.
Good luck!
2020 UPDATE: I did not get the job. BUT I got a different job, 0.4 miles from my house, in a much more relaxed office, and it ended up being pandemic-proof. Grateful grateful grateful.
Congratulations!
I went camping for the first time! My husband is an experienced camper and I have never been. It was unexpectedly amazing, aside from our terrible sleeping arrangements, and we plan to do it again next summer. The kids LOVED it and fought only once or twice which was an all time record for a two day span. And as for ice cream, someone brought in a bunch of flavors of Malai ice cream. I tried the Rose with cinnamon toasted almonds and the Turkish coffee and I was amazed. Seriously the most interesting ice cream I’ve ever had.
The good/bad news is that this post helped me identify the moths that are in MY bedroom too. Ugh, so much washing to do! But maybe after that I won’t have moths anymore?
A fun thing we did today was go to a birthday party in the park, where my almost-three-year-old did some VERY inventive baseball playing. Has some real interesting ideas about how to hold the bat, was very entertaining. And then we came home and watched an episode of Planet Earth, and it’s so sweet and fun to watch and listen to his observations.
We’ve been to the tide pools several times this summer and found INTERESTING CREATURES. We finally dusted off the camping gear now that the kiddo is four and went camping.
I learned to ride, and then purchased a
used, motorcycle. If you wold have told me this in April I would have laughed hysterically. And yet, here we are and I enjoy it very much.
Bought a swimsuit with long sleeves and a crew neck collar. Saving so much time and money with the reduced need for sunscreen, since I swim outdoors at least once every day.
Will you share where you purchased this? I would love one!
The brand is Body Glove. I bought it at the Bay but try online, it’s a pretty big brand. There are one- and two-piece styles. If you get a one piece, I have a tip: put your hands /arms in once you’ve got the bottom up to mid-thigh, certainly before the bottom is all the way up, otherwise it’s a bit tricky. The zipper could stand to be a little longer.
Or just google “rash guard,” you should see some other styles and brands.
In Spring, I planted dahlias (the tall kind) in pots, which I wasn’t sure they’d like. I also planted caladium bulbs that had sat in my closet waiting for it get warm enough to plant them and weren’t looking the best when it finally did. BUT they are all up now and overall look great. My dahlias have started to flower and most of the caladiums came up and are making the large, previously mostly empty flower bed they are in look much better with their pretty leaves.
In mid-June I signed my kids (14, 11, 8) up for tennis lessons. Instead of camp we did 2 hours of private lessons per day for a week (same price). I decided I would take lessons too since I haven’t played in 20 years. I paired up with the 14 year old & it was so much fun! I don’t know if I’ll get into playing games but hitting the ball around is so much fun & it was great to have a new activity with the kids.
(Intentionally vague) Life went from having one very frustrating overwhelmingly difficult part of it, to having TWO opportunities to change that awful part and a choice has to be made. And BOTH choices are right, and both have very good parts and very tough parts. And while it is BETTER than before and we are LUCKY to have both opportunities, it is also VERY stressful to decide and either way we go will end up in disappointing some people we do not want to disappoint.
So far this summer has had a lot of late nights and wine.
I started geocaching earlier this year, and because I am a teacher and not working right now, I have been doing a LOT of geocaching. Right now I have a streak of 36 days in a row! It is a good summer vacation activity because 1) it makes me leave the house, 2) it makes me find new areas in my city (once you find a cache, you can’t find it again! You have to find a NEW one!), and 3) it does not cost money. The little smileys you get on the map for found geocaches are very satisfying.
Are you using….an app of some sort?
I played laser tag for the first time at a friend’s son’s birthday party. I was technically the vest and gun carrier for my little, who was too small to carry the heavy pack herself, but she wanted to lead the way and not shoot anybody, so I got to do all the parts, while trying to make sure she didn’t get separated from me in the foggy maze. It was much more fun than I expected, and I’d totally do it again.
So this is nothing particularly exciting, but is something I’m proud of myself for. I am extremely pregnant and have been taking my (young) kids swimming most days…which is exhausting no matter what, but also adds a level of uggghhhh when I’m hauling out a maternity swimsuit and shaving while pregnant daily. Anyhow, I am proud of myself for doing this when I’d rather be doing nothing. Maybe that makes up for all my general irritableness?
I am strictly a Salted Caramel or Coffee.Mocha ice cream kind of person — can’t resist it! — but I tried a KEY LIME PIE flavored ice cream this summer and it was AMAZING. Had little bits of ground-up graham cracker crust in it, and the texture of that alone was great, but with the lime ice cream….? WOW.
Yes, this was probably the highlight of my summer!
Still waiting for Blogstle and assuming it will have wine.
I got together (just for dinner, alas) with two friends I haven’t seen in decades.
I visited my parents. My father has dementia and my mother is not a roll-with-it type, so it was grim and I was glad I went. I’ve figured out some things that could make my next visit better, and I passed them along to one of my brothers AND told him that, no, he could not come on my next visit because we needed to space these mofos out and he needed to get his ownself there. (He is generally an awesome guy, just sometimes needs a nudge.)
Spouse and I are taking the oldest to college. All his roommates/suitemates appear to be straight-up rich, which is weird, because I think of our family as perfectly comfortable but . . . not like that. I wonder if it will be weird for him? Whatever. I am going to focus on assembling a first aid kit.
And on picking some good gin for my next trip to see my mom and dad.
This is one of my Worries for my daughter for next year. She is applying to some…elite schools and while I am hopeful that she can get in, I wonder if she would be the poor kid on campus. We don’t want a Rory at Yale situation. I have reassured her that there are all kinds of people everywhere, and you just have to find yours, etc etc etc. We’ll see.
I’m going to chime in on this because I worried about this with my son. He came from California to Pennsylvania to school, to a private university. I gave him a “talk” about how he would meet lots of kids who spent $$ like water, and that he should not worry about money because we were comfortable but also not try to keep up with that crowd. This was based on my experience as a Californian going east to a private school. He commented during his first months there that I hadn’t been kidding, had I. He found his crowd (and they were incidentally not his roommates) and did just fine during his four years there, as your kids will too.
I had been hoping my kid would pick the school he’s going to rather than the other contender because I thought it would be nice for him to spend some time away from the East Coast. And he did! He did pick the private university that I imagine is full of smart, nice, down-to-earth kids rather than the private university I imagine is full of smart but insufferable little snots (even though I have friends who went there and they are delightful).
And now he is the only kid in his suite-to-be who went to public school and I’ve seen postings from one of his suitemate’s parents on the parent FB group (admittedly not a random sample of typical parents, and anyway the parents aren’t going to college) that make me roll my eyes. I’m not saying anything to my son, because I do trust my his judgment, but eeeesh.
I feel like the fb parent groups are people who are waaayyyy to invested in their kids’ college experiences. I always thought I was a pretty involved parent but my son says I am remarkably hands-off compared to his housemates’ families.
We signed our three young kids up for Saturday morning swim lessons at the YMCA for the last 8 weeks of summer. It’s been challenging but overall a Very Good Thing for our family to be doing. It gives us a weekly activity to do all together and starts the weekend off. Great for safety reasons and hopefully moving ahead more water activities, which I love myself and would love so do more of. Two of the three have been terrified of being in the water more than just dipping their feet, but their progress has been amazing and heartening to see. The instructors are fantastic – they know how to swim, how to teach swimming, and how to handle terrified, crying, whimpering children. A+
Also, I just saw Mama Mia 2 and loved it and am working out how soon I can go see it again and again.
I did the same – Sat am swim lessons at the Y when my 3 children were little. A good way to start the weekend. You feel like you’ve accomplished something well before lunch on Saturday!
I got married 7 weeks ago! I hated most of wedding plannings (literally couldn’t care less about whether the napkins are ivory or eggshell), I super hated my dress, lots of things went wrong, but it was THE BEST. I was looking at photos last night to make an album and I was like, “Dang, that was a good wedding.”
Walked (late) into a completely random church and met some nice folks.
Excellent!
I got a membership to the nearest rec center and have been taking my daughter there on the afternoons when she isn’t in daycare and I’m not at work. They have an indoor water park area, and she bounces around in the toddler-depths, singing and having a fine time. They also have an under-7 indoor kids’ play area, where she races around jumping on and off of things, climbing up tall slides, and then coming down. I love seeing her so happy and I also love not having to mess with sunblock and being boiling hot.
I went to my brother’s wedding in Oregon. It was an awesome wedding and he married a lovely woman. We had a wonderful time all around.
In the middle of a major renovation (most of main floor, including kitchen), so cooking/living in the basement of our house, which is forcing us (in a good way!) to get OUT of the house. Having a really lovely, fun summer with my four kiddos (12, almost9, just5 and 3.5), despite no AC all summer and working men in my house a lot of the time. This is the first year since having the little ones that we can basically just…leave the house, without too much preparation, and everyone is reasonably well behaved and not high maintenance. I really, really like it. Also, going tent camping for two nights for the first time in a few weeks. I’m both apprehensive and excited.
We moved from a little city apartment with no garden to a house on the other side of the country with a proper garden, backing onto a canal with ducks and geese. And somehow we moved to the rainiest part of my country in a heatwave so the weather has been sunny pretty much every day for the last two months. We are NOT used to this.
So actually the things that have helped our summer the most are a new bbq and some garden furniture with a big parasol for shade. Apart from that we’ve done lots of exploring of our new area with our toddler. As expected, some activities go better than others, but the logic behind their relative success eludes me. Museum of science and industry? Total hit. Free community farm packed with animals? Meh. Birthday party for small children? Total freaking disaster.
TWO YEAR OLDS ARE WOOOORK.
In a few weeks I am flying out to visit my parents- flying with my 3.75 yr old and 7 month old. EEEP. My husband is not flying with us because the first leg of his trip is in the opposite direction, going to defend his PhD. Which is excellent, he has worked so hard and I am so proud of him, but where is my advanced degree in flying with small children?? Please send chaperons/wine.
Great Wolf Lodge. Yes, it was expensive and overrun with kids but SO totally worth it. Really, they nail this travelling with kids thing and “make it easy for parents to order dinner and wine” biz and “sit by the pool while kids go nuts in the water park” and the beds are soft and rooms are quiet and I want to go back.
My One Thing has not happened yet…but in a week and a half, I am getting on a plane and flying 15 hours for two glorious weeks in New Zealand, and I am SO EXCITED. We spent 5 days there about 3 years ago and I loved it so much I cried when we left. I vowed that I would be back, and I feel so very lucky that vow is one I’m able to keep. Also the fact that it’s winter down there and I’m leaving surface-of-the-sun 100+ is pretty appealing at this point.
It has been a very hard year for a variety of reasons, but this. THIS.
Where are you going? I’m a Kiwi, we live in Wellington. Queenstown is glorious this time of year, or any time of year really.
All over! We are spending the biggest chunks of time in Queenstown and then between Hamilton and Rotorua, though. We’ve got a lot planned, but just from what we had to eliminate I know this won’t be the last trip over. :) I always tell people it’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to with the kindest people I’ve ever encountered.
I had unexpected surgery on June 1 and it sorta derailed the whole summer. My husband is currently in his last week at his soul sucking job he has been in since 1992!, and while we’ve spent the summer preparing for that I am feeling pretty nervous about being a one income family for the forseeable future. Gulp.
I have made it to 2 post-daycare outside summer concerts with the kids and they have been lovely. The kids ran around, did not harm each other and did not get lost. I talked with adults.
On the negative side, we are moving. And the packing so far is as miserable as expected and it appears to be never ending.
One of my daughter’s has a complicated stomach, and, as a result, a complicated diet. Her favorite food (what she has called “the best thing she has ever eaten”) is a dessert at a restaurant that is over 1000 miles from our house. A few months ago, I ordered the special ingredients to make it (a chocolate bar and 10 chocolate inserts). Cost – $55 to make 10 1 1/2″ cakes. The chocolate was backordered until last week. This weekend, we baked 5 of them. They were exactly like what the restaurant serves. We are going to bake the remaining 5 in a few weeks and then order more. Ina is right – use the good chocolate.
Sometimes I get a little…unsettled from the lack of a strict routine in the summer. But this year, I have been doing my best to roll with it. I have used the bit of extra time in the morning (from not having to hustle out the door to school) to read and drink an iced coffee, and it’s just a lovely time of easing into the day. I have also tried biking to work for the first time, and my, what a delightful way to commute! There are downsides (it’s a bikeshare program and sometimes there are no bikes where you need them to be; I am skittish about riding in traffic where there’s no bike lane; the bikes are VERY heavy so the many hills make for an effortful ride; if it’s more than 75 degrees, I get fairly flushed; not all work clothing is good for cycling) but for the most part I love it. Now I’m only upset that I waited so long, and that I got hooked just in time for it to be rainy EVERY DAY for two weeks.
Also, we took a family trip to Denmark and it was just the MOST fun and it was my daughter’s first trip to Europe (she’s 8) and she absolutely loved it. Suddenly I feel the world has opened up because she’s not only a great traveler, but we have so much fun together and she’s very open to exploring.
I went to Krispy Kreme and bought an extra dozen doughnuts (because of course I also bought a dozen for myself) and took them to the school office during their open for the summer hours.
Also Diane and I surprised our six kids with a sleepover on the spur of the moment when both our husbands were out of town. Ryan said it was the best night of his life.
I switched from an iPhone to an Android. This is a big step for me because I know how to do everything in the Apple world and moving to the Google world is strange. (We are doing it because my husband and I have been soured on Apple as a company we be want to patronize.,)
Two weeks in, I am starting to feel comfortable and am.getting over to the stuff I liked better on the iPhone. I do like the way phone contacts and group texts work much better on the Android.
I signed my 6 year old up for private swim lessons at our neighborhood pool and it was expensive and I was dreading it but I am SO GLAD! He went from being afraid to jump in/put his head in the water to being able to swim across the entire pool and back with a decent sidebreath stroke!! In 4 weeks of twice a week lessons!
While at the YMCA I would have to put my other 2 in nursery (or try to keep them from getting in the water because they HATE nursery and just scream until the nursery calls me to come get them) and sit and watch at the horrible humid indoor pool Instead, I was able to take my younger two and entertain them and swim with them and get some sun a mere 2 minutes from my house! At a time of day that I chose! (after nap time, at the hottest part of the day–which is the hardest time of day to entertain children otherwise. Normally I’d make them play in the yard at that time but when it’s 102 out I just can’t.)
It was glorious, and SO worth the money. I will absolutely do private swim lessons for all my kids in the future. It’s been great for all of us!
We did tie dye yesterday, which I have been looking forward to all summer! I’ve never done it but my boys love the tie dye shirts they’ve been given over the years and they had a blast getting to do their own. It had a high factor of potential stress/mess but I organized everything ahead of time and it went really well! I used a kit where you only have to add water to the dye bottles and wash the t-shirts immediately before hand and then use them wet from the washer. I invited a friend and her two kids, and my husband ran interference with any kiddos who weren’t currently taking a turn (we each helped only one kid at a time dye a shirt). No one got dye on their clothes, I was able to (mostly) let go and let the kids control their own designs, and I love how everything turned out!
I’m glad William is facing a quicker recovery.
As for summer, I feel like I’m just marking time between our beach trip in late June and our college road trip in mid-August, with the occasional drama camp/chorus camp performance, which I do enjoy. Trying to work (at a part-time, flexible hours job) with one or more kid home most weeks is driving me slowly crazy.
Speaking of kids’ performances, the theater where North acts charges $20 a show for all ages. We’ve been to seven shows this year. North has acted in three, the rest we saw because of friends. It does get pricy. At least camp performances are free.
I had last week off and I did some of my book work for my (late, but it’s okay because I’m getting a refund and that makes it okay to file late in Canada) taxes. Woo woo!
I repotted 2 plants I’d been meaning to for about a year, and purchased and planted a couple of other things in pots (herbs, 2 tomato plants). It’s a silly, small thing, but I am not a gardener by any stretch.
Mostly we used our pool because we finally have a hot summer for the first time in a few years. Last year was cool and rainy and we didn’t get a lot of use out of it. I’m on real vacation next week for 3 whole weeks and hope to finish my taxes and… hm. Maybe do a road trip? I’d like to take the kids to see my university and I’ve got a couple of good friends who live in that direction. I’d also like to take them the opposite way and show them some of New England because I love it there (Vermont and New Hampshire). But if it stays hot, inertia might take over…
In June the whole family went to DC for a week and it was great! Even though it was insanely hot and humid (like 103 with the heat index) my kids soldiered on and didn’t even really complain much. Oldest (15) didn’t try too overtly to get away from the family and enjoyed lots of the stuff we saw and Youngest (9) also enjoyed lots of things. The kids didn’t bicker much and we tried new foods and it was really such a great trip. There were a lot of years when one or the other of my kids was little that I thought we’d never get to this place where we could travel as a family and all do things we enjoyed together and have a good time but suddenly here it is. We’re already thinking about where we’re going to go as a family next summer. I so glad we went because the rest of the summer has been taken up with camp and sports and we’ve spent little time altogether as a family so it was really good to spend a fun time together before the summer went bananas.
I love reading all these interesting and hard and super fun things. Summer is not my best season, I tend to get a little depressed. So I love reading that it’s busy and hot and crazy and fun and hard for other people, too.
We’ve tried some new things this summer- new activities and sports for the kids- which is hard but satisfying. My SIL and BIL were able to adopt another child this summer, which is so incredibly wonderful and I’m focusing on that to cheer me up when things seem grim. Also, it’s time to go back to school shopping which I love AND I found a local charity that is gathering school supplies for refugees. I’ve organized a neighborhood drive to gather supplies, and I also love the excuse to buy more office supplies and backpacks for a good cause.
Hmm. Summer has been busy but not particularly notable. I do however have a pint of Cinnamon Churro ice cream waiting in the freezer which I am probably inappropriately excited to try. When the children are in bed and I’m not required to share.
Mine falls into the not so fun but hopefully will be soon category. I had the edges of my big toe toenail’s sliced off! Wearing close toed shoes has been so painful that I haven’t been able to walk for exercise in a long time. I was NOT one of the 99 percent of people who have no issues with it, but went into it excited and am so looking forward to painless wearing of shoes!
Went with my friend and our sons to a local seaside town so that the boys could go crabbing. They caught lots of crabs, all of which they then put back, and were very happy. It’s so hot here right now, the breeze was nice.
Loved reading all these and at the beginning I thought that I don’t really have anything to add as I’m just working a normal schedule all summer. However, I do have a couple of things! I have started a daily meditation practice. I have tried this many times in the past and hated it but someone suggested guided meditations on You Tube and it’s so much easier and more enjoyable. I still don’t love it but the day goes smoother when I do it.
I also bought a 1000 piece puzzle of Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry painting and we have been doing it in the evenings. Fun group activity in front of the AC!
Glad the AirB&B adventure went well. We had that A/C situation one time as well. If you haven’t already left your feedback I would include that so future guests will be warned. That is why I also always pack a (small) fan!!
I went to a couple of new to me baseball stadiums (and states too!); pigged out on some serious KC BBQ and now am looking forward to spending a few days on the Gulf. Anyone have any hotel recommendations for St. Pete/Clearwater?
So happy to hear that William’s outcome was the better of the two! Amazing.
I LOVE community theater. That being said, I’ve never been to a children’s production but I hear excellent things about our children’s yearly production of The Wizard of Oz. In fact, on your recommendation, I may round up a child or two and see it this year.
As for my summer, Man-Child and I are heading out in a couple of weeks for the beach. But this time, we are heading to a beach we’ve never been to – so there is the excitement of going somewhere new.
First, I would like to talk about a ridiculously privileged event of my summer. My sister and I took a trip to England that we have been talking about taking for years. It was wonderful, and the unexpected outcome is that I have been so depressed since I have been back. (We got back a month ago!) It was the best trip ever and so I have been sad every day since.
Second, I think part of the reason for my post-vacation distress is that I am jumping into the other thing I have been talking about for years–becoming a foster parent. Vacation means so little responsibility and now I am volunteering for the most intense responsibility ever? I am kind of terrified even though I am pretty sure it is what I want? I am in the middle of certification classes and I don’t have any kids now, so holy crap, what does the future hold? I don’t know!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!
Just saw your comment, and I am *eagerly* building my network of foster parent teammates. I was started the process in January, was licensed in April, and accepted my first placement in June. It has been. WHIRLWIND.
If you want to connect, lmk!
I would love to connect! I am also a single lady (with pets!) about to embark on the wild ride of foster parenting. I love hearing from people who actually have a placement. Imagining all the different possibilities is so overwhelming. Trying to think of a way to share my email address with you that doesn’t involve posting it publicly on the internet!
If you like, I could play go-between and send your email addresses to each other. (I can see the email addresses used for posting comments—or if you want a different email address sent, you could email it to me.)
That would be wonderful! Thank you! I had been trying to think of a way to cleverly code my email address and I wasn’t having great success.
Okay, I have sent your email address to Miz Middling!
Connection has been made! Thank you, Swistle!!
I went to my family reunion and while is was STRESSSSSSSFUL in all the expected ways (I made my mom cry! my son made me cry! my daughter caught a GI bug on the flight home and puked so much all over the airport we missed our flight!) (wait, I know we are supposed to be saying nice things, but I can’t help but do context) I also got to ride on a boat! I tried to water ski. I failed, but also it was SO fun and I felt so smug trying something new in front of my 4 yo ( “look, even moms have to try hard to do new things) but also just being in a fast boat with sun and water was absolute JOY. So great.
I got to take my kids to visit their uncle and aunt and grandmother and great grandmother. They got to sleep in the living room on a quilt, learn how to fish and play War with cards. It brought me so much joy to watch them do the things I did as a kid.
And I also ate the BEST buttered pecan cream popsicle that I’ve ever had.
WHAT!!! Butter pecan is my favorite and has the bonus of no one else in my family liking it, so I get it all whenever it’s around. But butter pecan popsicles! The world is an amazing place.
I saw Winslow, AZ and the Grand Canyon this summer.
We went to visit family for 2 weeks and had a nice time, it felt very long while we were there but on the other side of the trip it seems to have gone so quickly. Among the family we visited, is my 95 year old Grandma who is nearing the end of her life. We weren’t sure if she would last til my visit but she did. she is still alive (though I have not yet checked in w/ my mom), not having eaten anything since June 30. She lived a long healthy life & is choosing to die in her own home on her own terms. I plan to fly back for the funeral with my daughter so I am in a constant state of “can I plan for dinner in two days or will I be gone?” Also trying to arrange for everything at home to go well while I am gone. Meanwhile, I have zero energy for ANY of the fun things or learning things or anything with my 3 children. Want to play video games all afternoon? Yes. Want to watch all the tv? Go ahead.
1. Took a family bucket list trip to Alaska. Highly recommend! Also recommend a partner that enjoys research and planning. That is NOT my gig. I just want to go and do; no need for lots of talking about it first! :) If you want/are able to take big trips, you really need to do your research and plan accordingly. If you are the researcher/planner (which I think Swistle might be based on what she shares), then great. Otherwise, find someone that compliments you in that way or hire a professional!
2. Making the switch to a “natural” (coconut oil) deodorant. Decided to get over the fear of possibly being more smelly/sweaty during the transition. So far, it’s not too bad.
3. Finally signed my children up for music lessons. My older sister bought them musical instruments for Christmas and they’ve just been sitting unused b/c the task of finding a good teacher and making time for the lessons felt overwhelming. Turns out, asking a friend who her children use and then making a phone call was not that bad and here we go!
A good thing: I actually go see a good bit of live music with my gentleman caller, but our music tastes don’t overlap a lot so one of us is always way more into it than the other one. But we went to see Weezer this past weekend and it was SO. GOOD. and we both loved it. It was everything I want from a band I loved decades ago: playing the hits, decent production value, fairly chill venue. I’ve been to see a couple of bands I loved recently where I was kinda bored—my interest in white men noodling on guitars seems to decrease proportionately to my age, while their interest seems to increase as they age (sorry, Jeff Tweedy, but I am looking directly. at. you.).
Your post made me think about a community production I saw of the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe a year or so ago, where the children were WONDERFUL! They were so good! I was so impressed I was almost in tears! And I don’t even have children, so this wasn’t maternal pride or empathetic maternal pride. They were just great. The adults were abysmal, so I didn’t make plans to see it again. :)
My kids are in year-round school, so they don’t really have a summer break – just 1 week over the 4th of July & then they start their new grades! They get various 3-4 week breaks throughout the year. As a 2-working-parent household, the schedule is really ideal in a lot of ways, but part of me is nostalgic for a summer break (then again, I don’t get a summer break from work, so it would basically be a more-stressful shuttling between camps/home/work).
My small good thing is that Haagen Daaz’s new non-dairy “ice cream” (frozen dessert, whatever) is really good!
We went to NYC! That’s been the best part of my summer so far! Other than that, I enjoy the lazy river at my community pool:)
I got my first placement as a foster parent. So, I started June as a single lady with two cats and ended June as a single parent of a 12-year-old (still with two cats).
The rest of the summer has been about as wild as you might expect!
I tried a natural deodorant a while back and it just didn’t work for me – curious which one you used Therese? I had one from Lush because it was palm oil free.
As for summer, camping is getting easier now that the kids are slightly older :)
I had a success with my back patio and it is the accomplishment of the summer, maybe my whole year. I live in a little brick rowhome with a concrete back patio. These patios can look pretty grim and I live in a fairly treeless street of a big east coast city that also has a rat problem. This year I found a deal on scrawny geraniums for 1.50 a pop at my local grocery store and planted one each in a small terracotta pot – a total of about eight -that I then attached to my wooden fence – to make it kind of like southern Spain, if you can imagine. It actually looks really good! I also have some herbs and other hardy native plants back there that the rats don’t seem to touch. I see butterflies and bees every day now and even some birds once in a while. My little grimy corner of the city actually feels kind of romantic now.
I sent my very shy, very introverted daughter to camp for the first time, mini-camp for just 3 days to test the waters. She was so disappointed she didn’t just jump into a full week session! We stayed and hung out 45 min after I arrived to pick her up. She didn’t want to leave.
Almost 8 months after buying my new car, I finally signed over my old car to my 16yo niece. I was ready to just give it to her as it isn’t really worth a lot of money even if it’s still a solid, reliable car. My SIL didn’t feel right about it, though, and insisted on waiting until they could afford to give me something for it. So I got a couple hundred bucks, more parking space in front of my house, and a very happy niece. :D
I work with people who answer suicide hotline calls. Last month, after two celebrity deaths, they had a couple very rough weeks. I dropped off some snacks for them, nothing special, just a little something for those busy times when they can’t stop for a real meal. They were so grateful I got a thank you card signed by all the workers. It made me so sad that I have no more car money left to drop off more treats.
I got married this summer. The wedding went better than I ever could have imagined and I’m still in a love bubble with my husband. I discovered your website a couple of months ago and love it. Especially the baby name section. I love the mix of statistics, demographic, and culture in naming trends. Just fascinating and it’s great to see I’m not alone in such niche interest.
We took a very enjoyable trip out to New Mexico, and one of my favorite things we did there qualifies as one of those amber-in-time moments that I will keep in my back pocket for days when i’m feeling down.
We went to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife refuge, where I blew past my personal record for the most hummingbirds in one place at one time. (they were black-chinned hummingbirds, for anyone interested) There were scads of them at the feeders the staff had set up, but the really cool thing was that there was also a cactus garden where all the cacti and a towering agave plant were in bloom. At sunset, hummingbirds started to descend on the cacti flowers and the agave flowers. I was standing there in a desert oasis while maybe 25-30 little avian missile rockets came barreling down at once towards flowers and I felt like I had stumbled into an Audubon calendar.
I love this so much!
We got chinese exchange students for one month. They called me mom and were so humble and kind and helpful and wonderful. Now they are gone and I am glad we did it but also not glad because now we miss them terribly and may never see them again. I always thought I might like to try fostering kids but this makes me more nervous. We got attached.
Also, our schedule is as follows: Do something fun in the morning (the kids are sometimes signed up for week long camps that run from 9-12) Then lunch and quiet time for 2 hours while baby naps. Then swim in the pool (sometimes with friends).
I am a little late to this because last week we were on vacation in New Jersey last week. Specifically, Ocean City, at the boardwalk. We went to an escape room on the boardwalk and while we were waiting, who should walk out right in front of me but BEN from Ben and Birdy! Swistle, I am telling you this because I know you know who he is, and I had to share this with someone. I surreptitiously walked over near him and his buddies to make sure I wasn’t imagining it (I wasn’t). My family, of course, had no idea what I was talking about, even when I pulled up Catherine’s blog. It was just surreal. I thought about emailing Catherine, but what would I say? And I didn’t want to be a weird stalker about it. So I didn’t email her. But I had to tell someone!
!!!!!!!!!
OMG OMG OMG!
I sort of feel like Catherine would roll with it, but Ben would be weirded out (and who could blame him?)
I once wrote to Catherine because I couldn’t find a column I needed (I knew she’d gone through something similar with one of her kids) and she wrote back her very own self with bonus insight.
This was more than a decade ago and I’m not suggesting she has time to do that anymore. But I am convinced that she will always be wise and good.
Slim, it was so bizarre. Imagine walking out of…I don’t know, your grocery store. And then Ben is right there in front of you. And you are looking around and no one else is amazed and there’s really no one to tell, and you think about emailing his mom, who also doesn’t know you! It was just so, so surreal. I’m glad you can share in my OMG-ness about it because clearly here I am still thinking about it days later. Haha, perhaps I need a hobby.