End of Summer Thoughts

As I drove to do my recycling today, I pondered my summer and the extraordinary effort which made this season enjoyable. In the past, the much-anticipated summer season has dragged on like a deadly combo case of heat exhaustion and boredom. By the middle of August, I would beg for sweet mercy. Prior to my child, I considered the countless summers consisted of too much work, not enough money, and never feeling entitled to a vacation. That’s just plain no fun t’all.

But I swore not to squander this summer. If the opportunity wasn’t there, I looked ahead and jammed it in to break up the yawning schedule. We started off attending a Summer Party held by our friends Liz and Laura in Trappe. The party was a swell kid’s and community gathering. We saw Ellie hold baby Linden and pull her own tooth out. So sweet. And made new friends.

Then we enjoyed a visit from our friends Sarah and son Charlie, which I spoke of here, followed by the summer camps galore spaced out just right to give me some reprieve from the son’s seven year old mania. There was British Soccer camp at the High School, Lego robotics at Chesapeake College, and Karate camp at the Y. All got tremendous thumbs up. I was glad I eked the money out somehow. And then came our tripping.

There was a crabbing trip to Claiborne, described here,and a Fourth party at our friends in Pasadena that I’ve yet to post pictures for . One night in a mini cabin at the local state park was a random plan jammed in the calendar for something different. The post here I wrote about it summed it up perfectly. That was before our “Big” ticket trip.

My husband liked the idea we should take a trip that had educational value. Not in the mood for the Gettysburg large field of death thing or another trip to Philly so soon after the Flower Show, post here, I insisted on Williamsburg. Unlike trips of the past, I didn’t really over-think this one. We packed, glanced at an online site, got a Google trip-tick and off we headed. We had changed our overnight stay from two to three back to two nights. Mark was thinking about work, what else.

Williamsburg has lots of stuff to do. I asked all the living historians a ton of questions. My kid began to drag and complain. I promised him something really spectacular if he held his whining. So the best part of the trip for him was then the surprise Hagen Daas ice cream and pirate put-put. I became the best Mommy ever. Feeling pretty fine. So I was extra bowled over to bump into a long-lost best friend at the Williamsburg IHOP at 8:30 in the morning. She and her husband treated us to a lovely candlelight dinner at a historic Inn that night. We headed off to Jamestown the next day and made our 4 and a half hour trip via the tunnel bridge back home.

And so August went by in a whirlwind as the son and I left again four days later for a lovely short visit with another long lost best friend at her family vacation in OC, NJ. It had been 30 plus years since we’d been connected yet we clicked again like no time had passed. All so wonderful except where I hot a really bad burn in my bosom.

And finally, the  final trip; an overnight at Rehoboth this week. We knew we needed our one beach trip fix. Ironically, living less than an hour away doesn’t guarantee a visit made. So I booked one night in a Comfort Inn which I liked and made sure to ask our girl Caitlin to come too. It was a family trip complete with beach time, arcade, ice cream, boardwalk fries, and another round of put-put golf. And the hotel movie Dogs and Cats accompanied by a glass of wine. Heaven. The kids slept in and we got coffee downstairs.

I can say, the only thing I missed this summer was the crab feast. Not sure how I missed it but I’m going to try to remedy that and throw a few oysters in for good measure since, in less than a week, it’ll be a month with an “R” in it! But I am definitely not saying, “Where did my summer go?” Instead, I am looking around saying, “I can’t wait to have some time to catch up on all the neglected projects”.

And since I am about to go into full tilt nesting mode, I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a productive and happy fall for me too. I suspect every season of life is better than the preceding one. And instead of that old feeling of angst and anger for what I didn’t have happen, I am sporting an attitude of gratitude for all the wonderful blessings this season bestowed upon me. Old and new friends as well as old and new family. Happy Augusts’ End and Autumn’s beginning.