Sunday, June 22, 2008

happy summer.

So for the past ten days, I've taken an unexpected blogging break — I'm chalking it up to a combination of Mercury's last gasps in retrograde (which, according to astrology.com, "sends communications, travel, appointments, mail and the www into a general snarlup!") and the long-awaited longest day of the year, the Summer Solstice.

Still, the world didn't stop turning during my absence — blogfodder is piling up all around us (remind me to soapbox about the newest addition over at the Spears' trailer, will you?) . . . but for today, I'll ease back into the cyber-saddle with a couple of summer-oriented items I'm feeling the need to share.

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What's your summer going to be about? Renée Trudeau planted this seed with me a few weeks ago: If you were to choose a personal theme for summer '08, what would it be? If you were putting on a t-shirt this summer that said, "Summer of ..." how would you complete it?

I let this question bounce around up in my noggin for a while, and the answer I kept coming back to was The Summer of Summer.

Yes, this summer, I'm having a summer. Not a summer off (since it's not showing signs of becoming the Summer of Independent Wealth), but a real summer. A summer with trips to the neighborhood pool at minimum once a week, with occasional afternoons earmarked exclusively for reading, with a personal retreat to Fredericksburg to celebrate and contemplate my 41st birthday.

So that the close of August doesn't hit me upside with head with, What did I do this summer?, I made a checklist of what I want to do this summer — excluding serious stuff like hit my goal weight and finish organizing my office, and including fun stuff like the above examples, plus:
  • Go to the movies on my own on a weekday afternoon.
  • Go to the Oasis with my husband for a sunset supper.
  • Go to the bead store with my daughter and make a new anklet (beach-y,sea-washed colors, I'm thinking).
  • Go with my family to see the Round Rock Express play (we've already got tix for August).
  • Go with my family to Sea World San Antonio.
  • Go to San Antonio another time on my own to visit my dear friend, Nicki.
  • Surprise the kids and take them for ice cream after they've already gone to bed.
  • Take my kids to the library (we tend to be bookstore folks, though some of my fondest childhood memories are library-oriented).
  • At their request, take my kids to the bookstore, the dinosaur store (Whole Earth Provision Co.), the Austin Zoo, Pump It Up & Volente Beach.
  • Take our puppy to the dog park.
It's a longish list, I realize, and I'm approaching it with a do-as-much-as-I-can-without-it-creating-stress attitude.

So, what's your summer tee say, and what's your list look like?

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I clipped the following from body+soul magazine recently because it spoke to me; maybe it applies to you and where you are, too:

Let Yourself Grow
Somewhere between the life you have and the life you want lies the quiet seed of potential. With each new thing you do — the friend you make, the garden you plant, the risks you take — it begins to open up. ... But like all tender young things, it requires enough attention, enough rest, enough sustenance to thrive. For now, give yourself plenty of what you need — maybe even a little extra. Get more sleep. Take a chance. Taste something new. And watch things grow.

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By the way, we can all rest easier as of July 4th, when the final traces of retrograded Mercury disappear and we return to our regularly scheduled astrological programming . :)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love your summer list...what a great idea!! Let me know when you will be at the RR Express game...we just live a few miles from there, and it would be great to see you guys! :)

Jannie Funster said...

The Summer Of The Bedroom Remodel!!!

Jannie xo

iggee said...

Love your list! Ours looks almost identical...

We've managed to go to the pool quite a bit, and Lucy has these adorable little tan lines on her back. We're taking the kids and my niece Kaylin to Sea World on Monday and have been spending mornings at the park before it gets too hot.

The Summer of Summer is turning out to be quite 'cool'.

Susan K. Morrow said...

Wouldn't mind hitting Sea World too, since the last time I was there, I was nursing my now-16-year-old daughter! No doubt she'll enjoy it more now.

I experienced a HAYWIRE Mercury-retrograde week. Every plan fell apart, especially around money. It was weird. But Mercury went direct on the 19th, and I have not felt its retro-effects since. In fact, things are pleasantly on the upswing, especially around money. Life's good!

As for summer... Off the cuff, I'll say it's My Summer of the Book. Not to be confused in any way with the People of the Book, although I belong in that category, I mean to say that I am working to get my second book into print, the third into editing, and the fourth onto paper, the last deadline being September 1. Plus I am reading much more than usual, a true pleasure. I know you're envious.