Roll Out THose Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer....

Last night we had grandbaby over to the new house to see the fireflies. They have been out the past few weeks and last night they were spectacular! After a quick meal we made a campfire and waited for dark. Once the moon was up in the sky where it's supposed to be we climbed onto the golf cart and rode through the trails in the woods. There were so many fireflies that some actually were flying right in front of our faces like sparks zipping through the air! Grandbaby squealed with delight and kept saying "More Papa! Let's go see some more!"

The sounds of the peepers have given way to the call of the locusts (earlier than normal hubby says.) Probably the heat. The mosquitoes have been obnoxious but it's a small price to pay for the glories of summer. It was a good night.

As we ride through the 4 acres we have I can't help but envision the grandchildren someday - having the best time on this property! With the trails through the woods, the water slide hubby built (yep...a water slide - see the pic) the gardens and secret hiding spots - I just know that they will build memories that will last a lifetime! I truly believe that memories are the glue that hold our otherwise mundane lives together. I hear the locusts and I'm back in the field behind my childhood home on a blazing hot summer day chasing butterflies. I smell a woodsy campfire and I'm once again at my favorite campground as a kid.... I walk barefoot on the wet grass and I'm still 10 years old. A few weeks ago I got my brother on law to take his shoes off and walk to the far back edge of the property with me. It was well after midnight and raining slightly. He thought I was nuts...this executive type guy that pushes papers all day at his desk. He's still talking about it! Each step through the tall wet grass lit only by the starlight took him back to his childhood and closer to the earth.

Tonight we're having a few friends over for a campfire. I swear - I've sat before more campfires this summer than I think I have combined in the past 20 years. There must be some primitive longing in each of us that draws us to communing over a fire or walking along a shoreline. At least for me anyway. I've always been an outdoorsy person - a camper, hiker, boater, backpacker... Perhaps that's why I dislike winter so much. It keeps me stuck inside.

And now as I write this...I hear thunder rumbling. Some time ago this would've put a real damper (pardon the pun) on our plans for the evening. No more. We've learned to enjoy the summer no matter what. The campfire is sheltered enough by the tall pines that it doesn't matter if it rains. We have a big pavilion to dash under if it gets really wet. And I've learned to live with wet hair. That's the nice thing about getting older. Somethings just don't matter as much anymore. And others...well they do!

Perspective....

It's hot here with a capital H! The kind of hot where the air is thick and the sweat runs down your neck even when you're sitting perfectly still in the shade. I've had errands to do all day which had me in and out of my car which has a waning air conditioning system. So no - I didn't run today - or walk. I saw a young lady running down the street earlier - really running - not just jogging as I tend to do. It made me feel guilty. For about a minute.

I'm also having a pity party here and trying to snap myself out of it. The job I interviewed for 2 weeks ago sent me the obligatory "thanks but no thanks" letter yesterday. I've applied for no less than 10 teaching positions this summer and that was the only one that even called me for an interview. I'm angry. Because I'm a good teacher but I'm past my prime. I was warned that districts didn't like to hire older teachers. But I didn't listen. I am now. Except there's nothing I can do about it. You can't prove age discrimination (even though it's blatant). It's too easy to "disprove."

So here I was sitting all mopey and PO'd. Feeling real sorry for Lora and focusing on me, myself and I. Then I visited some blogs and felt the Lord smacking me upside the head. My problems are big to me - but in the scope of life - not all that important. Not compared to what's going on in the lives of some of my blogging buddies.

Honi lost her mom on Tuesday. Alicia is going through a separation from her husband. And here I sit moaning about a job (or lack thereof.) I feel like a schmuck.

So today I'm going to take some time and ask the Lord to bless Honi and Alicia. To wrap his arms around them as each endures her own personal trial.

Please do the same.

A Good Summer Day....

I did my run/walk yesterday. It wasn't as good as usual. I am a bit out of the groove from taking a few weeks off so I only ran in 5 minute spurts interspersed with walking. I did 2 miles but like I said - there was a lot of walking involved.

I spent the better part of the afternoon making blackberry jam. I know...lots of sugar in there - but I only use a wee bit on my toast and nothing beats homemade blackberry jam fresh off the bush. There's something about canning and freezing my own fruits and veggies that takes me to a place deep in my heart where I feel connected. To what, I'm not sure. The earth maybe? or perhaps it's that corny nostalgia that lives in me that yearns for simpler times.

When I was a young stay-at-home mom, nothing pleased me more than dragging out the canning supplies, donning one of my grandma's old aprons and working away until I had rows and rows of colorful jars filled with fresh picked veggies & fruits to see me through winter and remind me of summer.

I had a wonderful herb garden at one time too. Four raised beds divided by a mulched pathway with a little white fence keeping it all together. Now it's just a tangled mess. The fence is gone, the mulch has disappeared into the earth and there are only a few rotted boards proving that that there was any order at all there at one time. The oregano has crept into the grass and the lemon balm is still growing in a patch by the shed, but everything else has died off. I should clean the area up, plant some grass and make it look presentable before we sell the house. And I will....but for now I've just let it go. In all it's dishevelment - it's still a reminder of another time.

We have a big garden at the new house. One that takes up more time than we have now. Maybe when the house is finished and we're not doing a balancing act between two homes, I'll appreciate the garden again. For now...picking blackberries and putting up 7 jars of jam was enough to whet my nostalgic whistle.

My Weekend....

I didn't run as promised. Not good. (Even though I had a legitimate reason.) Grandbaby woke up with a fever that eventually found it's way up to 103.5 which sent us to the Doctor's office. Poor little guy has some kind of a bug but since his mommy was at work all day - it was Grammy's job to cuddle & snuggle him through the rough spots.

So that was Friday's excuse.

Saturday - I was still working on that mountain of laundry (which now thank goodness is barely a mole hill) and then cut the grass which was way too long from our week away. (I cut here - hubby cuts at the new place. (Good deal....1/2 acre vs. 4 acres.) I then went over to the the new house to pick blueberries. The bushes were overflowing and time is of the essence if we want to beat the birds. All that and then we had to be at a graduation party by 2:00. And the run (which was ever in the back of my mind - did not happen.) Did I mention it was well over 90 degrees yesterday too?

Today it's been raining since I got up and I just can't bring myself to go out & run in the pouring ran. I did it once while it was drizzling...but not in a steady downpour. I'm not that devoted. And Sunday being a day of rest and all that.....

I see a very grim pattern happening. I have to *repeat * HAVE TO get back on track here!

So that's been my weekend. Hope yours has been more fruitful!

I'm Home!

We just rolled in from an extended stay at the Lake. I have a mountain of laundry to do - and a gazillion things to unpack and put away *sigh* I want to be there - not here!

We had a great time and it was so nice to have all the kids and their spouses all together under one roof for a few days. The weather cooperated and gave us sunshine on cue almost everyday! We lazed around on the dock, floated in the lake on noodles, took lots of walks and boat rides (and yes - even one run) and had a wonderful campfire on the 4th as we watched the spectacular display of fireworks put on by fellow cottagers (ourselves included!)

After the kids all said their goodbyes and headed off in different directions - hubby and I ran down to the dock and hopped in the boat for a peaceful ride around the lake. We were intercepted by our friends across the lake and ended up having dinner there. The stars were incredible all week and were it not for the dock spiders (which I am terrified of) I would've spread my blanket right out there and stared at them all night long!

We had so much fun and it was so very hard to leave. We'd planned on coming home Monday night....but that stretched into Tuesday which turned into Wednesday.... And this morning hubby & I woke up, rolled over and looked at one another and relented that "it was time."

I hate leaving the lake....the slow pace where all that matters is if that there's a good book to be read, something cold to drink in the fridge and the warm sun on your shoulders. Life is simpler there. I always feel like I've stepped back in time a few decades. No TV. No computer. No mail. Not even a newspaper except the one we got when we rode into town on Wednesday to get a few more supplies.

And now I'm home looking at this mountain of laundry and afraid to step on the scale (no scale there either!) And I'm dreading tomorrow because I HAVE to get back on my running program which I've sorely neglected. Yes....I did run around the lake with my daughter - we did 10 minutes then a neighbor on the west side of the lake saw us and tagged along. She's not a runner so we walked a bit after the first 10 minutes - ran another five and then walked about an hour. But that's all I've done in over two weeks! If I don't get back on this now I never will.

So that was my week. While this one is winding down for the rest of you - I feel like a new one is just starting for me. Tomorrow I run. Do or die.

Where Do I Begin?

Well I'm not going to bore you with the whole litany of why I've been missing and how busy my life has been. Let's just say life has been less than tranquil these past few days. No crisis or anything - everyone is well and the marriage is intact! But we hosted a large party (80 people) over the weekend (for my sister & her hubby's 40th birthday) which took a whole lot of elbow grease considering it was outside (at the new place) and we had to prepare all week to make things nice (the gardens and the yard mostly - which has been a construction zone for the past year so it needed some major overhaul!

And did I mention that Sunday was my birthday?....and I spent most of it in bed because I was up till 4 AM the night before (and at my age - 4 AM requires a full day of recuperation!)

I also had 3 job interviews in two days (one of which took a lot of prep on short notice....had to teach a 30 minute lesson to 6th graders and make sure I "wowed" my observers and jumped through all the right hoops.) And then there is this weekend. It's the big one for our family. We celebrate all the summer birthdays in one fell swoop. There are 12 total and it's literally Christmas in July with all those gifts.

We (my brood) always go to our cottage for the fireworks and then converge at my brother's on the next lake over for a big picnic on whatever Saturday happens to fall near the 4th. it's fun - it's crazy and the kids look forward to it all year!

It's also melancholy...bittersweet...for me. Because in my mind's eye the 4th was always celebrated at my folks cottage (two lakes over) when the kids were young. But my parents passed on 11 years ago and the traditions have changed. The proverbial torch has been passed - whether I wanted it to be or not. Not that I don't enjoy my new role! I love it - really! Having all my kids and their hubbies and my grandson all together at the lake is the best. Absolutely the best! But I still miss the old days...and the people that were a part of them (late hubby included.)

Wait. I wasn't going to bore you with my week, was I!? Sorry.

In spite of my non-posts though - I have been keeping tabs on all of you in the snippets of time I've found to log on. Just haven't been able to comment!

And now my dear friends...tomorrow we leave for the lake! The youngest daughter & hubby are bugging out of work early to drive in from Massachusetts. The middle daughter and her hubby have been there since last Friday - soaking up some alone time. The oldest & her boyfriend will meet us there tomorrow also and hubby & I plan to make it there by dinnertime.

There is no computer there. No phone (well...cell phones count I guess.) No TV reception - but hubby came across an old lady tossing out videos 2 days ago and brought home 164 VHS tapes of all sorts of good movies...so if it rain - we're set! (where to put the friggin' thing though??)

What I'm trying to day is that I'll be AWOL again until Monday. But I'll be thinkin' of you all and hoping those in the US are having a great 4th of July celebration. (I remember one year I was in Italy over the 4th and the waiter brought out a cake with a sparkler for us...to make us feel at home! It made me remember that I lived on the othe side of the world.)

Oh - and now the confession. I haven't run in a week. (I can hear Nan gasping now!) I could come up with a myriad of excuses....rain....lack of time...heat...and all of those things were true at the start. But then life got overwhelming and the mojo went out the door and now here I am feeling like a putz. But I DO plan on running with my daughter at the lake. Maybe every day. (She's a task master.)

So get out the wet noodle and send some lashes my way. I'm not giving up. I've come too far. But I do deserve a smack upside the head!

Have a happy 4th all! I love you guys!

Missing In Action........

Yes I know...I've been remiss in posting. It's been a ridiculously busy week. I'll check in tomorrow. I promise!