Summer, half over! or is it half still to come?

There is a saying that there are 3 good things to being a teacher...June, July and August!

Having just lived happily through June and July and beginning August with a trip to see my Isabel and Ava ready to begin , I may agree. It has been about the slowest and most leisurely summer I have experienced in years, and I am certain the remainder will be just as lovely. When I realized that there was still another month left until work officially begins, i.e. school starts, I thought that perhaps I had the dates wrong. How could this be when I have already read 6 novels, 2 self-help books and have 2 more laying on the nightstand on the 'reading now' list?

My summer began with the two week vacation in Ocean City, New Jersey and graduation party. That rolled into a decidedly casual month at home, alternating between watching grandson Ethan, scrapbooking, driving to Boyertown to chase twins around their back yard,taking a kazillion pictures, and taking one grandson at a time for his official "Grammy time alone" overnight. Eliot and Grammy watched the movie Wall-E,
Simon and Grammy went to the Hagley Museum
and Jesse and Grammy watched Animal Planet on TV and had Friendly's Restaurant food.



As I was writing that paragraph(and I am not kidding here!) the phone rang and a soft voice said "Grammy, hi, I am excited about my turn to come overnight" It seems maybe the granddaughters are getting equal time since Nora seemed pretty sure she was packing her blankie and pillow in her new birthday suitcase and coming here -today. As I weaseled my way out of that dilemma, my heart nearly burst with happiness that these little creatures want to come see me and spend time here!!
Guess who piped in her hello shortly after Nora said Bye? Bianca Margot ready to participate!



Well , what was the point of this particular Scribbling Session? My Summer! The wonder of time standing still and being so Daily rather than rapidly speeding by leaving me and my lists and plans in it's wake.
I have reached the age when I look back over the years past and am able to say , well I did OK, I worked hard and I prayed harder, the agenda of raising children is over and the husband is gone. I can just BE. Just me, just Be. My Year of Jubilee!

I think I am looking forward to the second half of my summer, marking time by taking pictures of beautiful people I love and flowers I stop and smell, by eating fast food if I feel like it or skipping lunch and replacing it with a Grande Latte if I so please. Maybe I won't read any more self-help books at all and instead I'll read Shakespeare. OK, well that isn't going to happen, but at least I am considering such out of character options!

The one thing I wish could still happen is for me to become brave, take risks, go out on a limb without imagining the loud crack of a branch breaking...I was sure it would come this Year as I celebrate the single life, the Jubilant Year, the barriers being torn down. Thus far it isn't happening, but one risk I am willing to take and I'll let you know how it turns out. That is the risk of driving my minivan with no a/c all the way to North Carolina in weather that resembles the desert, alone, AAA fortified and camera chip ready to fill. That is what I call fun.