Summer: From Fresh Vegetables to Ocean-Eyed Boys and Everything in Between
Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. - Henry James
I could hardly wait to get to the farmers' market yesterday. Parking is a mild annoyance and the market (held downtown) can get pretty crowded, but I remind myself of how much I will miss it when we're knee-deep in snow in a few months. I picked up corn on the cob, zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes (I'm growing my own but they aren't ripe yet), lettuce, cauliflower, green beans, and peaches. I've recently re-committed to Weight Watchers so I just need to make sure I don't supplement those nice veggies with Oreos (I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but pretty much all Oreo flavors are technically vegan).
.
Somehow, it's already August. My friend Nancy is a teacher and she always says that August is "like one big Sunday night" but I'm not a teacher and I'm not even close to letting summer go. We've had a few adventures so far this summer. The kid went on tour to Michigan back in June (with the touring choir of which she is a member). She also enrolled in some fun summer classes over at the high school - stuff like baking, set building, leadership games, and so forth. She told me that they actually played dodgeball the other day. I guess not enough generations have been traumatized by that "game" - gotta make sure today's kids learn the whole "Lord of the Flies" thing the hard way.
The classes have been held in the mornings. Then, in the afternoons, she's been hanging out in our neighborhood park. The city hires "parkees," which are college-aged kids who run organized games and activities for the younger kids. Lunch is also provided (which is nice because it bridges the gap for kids who might not get enough food while school is out). I like that she has been spending so much time at the park. She comes home sweaty and tired and very much in need of a shower. I'd rather see her playing kickball in the park than staring at a screen all day.
However, I found out another reason why she loves the park program so much. There is a boy there who (and I quote) "has eyes as blue as the ocean." Oh boy. I think she really regrets telling me about it because now every time she mentions the park I ask her if Mister Ocean Eyes will be there. "He'll look right at you with his ocean eyes," I tell her. This is met with eye rolls and sheer exasperation.
We have certainly seen a hormone surge lately. She took a shine to a young Kohl's cashier yesterday. I bought her a few new things for school because I had the coveted 30% off coupon and our state featured tax-free shopping days for the first time ever. Anyway, last night she discovered that there was a security tag on one of the shirts I bought her. "Look, Evan left the tag on," she said. Evan??? She liked his hair and his glasses, apparently. Oy.
The teen had to miss a couple of weeks at the park because she was in Virginia. She flew out to DC on the 14th and spent a week with my middle sister and her family. She got to spend three days at Busch Gardens. Lucky kid. Being her usual organized self, though, she showed up at the Busch Gardens water park with no swimsuit. To be clear, my child didn't bring a swimsuit to a place called WATER COUNTRY USA. I think my sister ended up running to Target to buy her a new one.
Her dad and I joined her at my sister's house a week later. It was a long car ride but we've done it a gazillion times before. We drove about 11 hours on Friday night and then arrived at a Super 8 in Youngstown, OH at 2:30 a.m. I had booked the room on Priceline. We didn't need anything fancy since it was just a matter of getting a few hours of sleep before hitting the road again. When I checked in, all bleary-eyed and exhausted, the chick at the desk said, "Okay, I see you've booked a smoking room." Oh, sweet Jesus. They were fully booked so there weren't any other options. We were so tired that we didn't even argue.
Now, I don't want to suggest that the romance is dead in our marriage but when we walked into our smoky room and saw that there were two beds, we were delighted. "Oh, thank God," we muttered simultaneously. We'd spent so many hours in the car together that we just wanted to sleep in a bed without another human in it. And so we did. It was weird to have ashtrays everywhere. I felt like I was on Mad Men for a second there (the general decor also made me feel like I'd slipped back in time a few decades).
The next morning, we got up and hit the road. We missed the complimentary continental breakfast (whatever that might have been) and decided we'd get some food at a rest stop later on. Stupidly, I took some medication that does require food to be taken with it. "It'll be fine," I told myself.
It wasn't fine. By the time I found some food, the damage was done. I spent the next five hours slumped over in the passenger seat, clutching my abdomen, while my husband drove through torrential rain to get us to my sister's house in Virginia. I felt somewhat better by the time we arrived, fortunately. Lesson learned. Take your meds with food, kids.
I'd like to say that spending time with my extended family was the best part of my vacation, but if I'm being very honest, the best part of my vacation was this: my brother-in-law got me and my sister tickets to see Erasure at the Warner Theatre. I've been a fan of Erasure for 32 years. I've asked Alexa to play Erasure so many times that she's probably planning an intervention of some sort. I make no apologies about being a fan. Seriously, I had the time of my life. My sister booked an Uber because of the distance and the still-pouring rain. Once we arrived, we grabbed a couple of over-priced drinks and took our seats, which were AMAZING. I think we were in row H, just to give you an idea. The opening act was just finishing up. Before long, Andy Bell, Vince Clarke, and two back-up singers took the stage. I was grinning so hard my cheeks started to hurt. I sang along to every song I knew. When they played my favorite Erasure song, " Sometimes," I thought I might pass out. "It's not the way you lead me by the hand into the bedroom!" I'm happy to report that Vince Clarke is as much of a synth genius as ever and that Andy Bell is just as over-the-top as ever. Andy kept shedding clothing and I wondered if he might be naked by the end.
The other great thing about this concert is that everyone there seemed legitimately very happy. There was no fear of pissing someone off if you accidentally bumped them. My sister and I went to the restroom and when we came back, "Blue Savannah Song" was playing. A woman was dancing up the aisle towards me and briefly danced with me as I made my way back to my seat. It seemed like most of the attendees were in my age range and it may also have been one of those rare times when I was in the minority as a heterosexual person. I loved every second of that concert and am very grateful to my brother-in-law. My other brothers-in-law need to step up! Ha ha.
In addition to the concert, we also attended a high school production of Hairspray, visited my stepdad and grandma, and spent a day in DC. I was able to score tickets to the new African-American History museum, which is not that easy to do. I had to wake up at 6:30 a.m. and compete with strangers to snag some of the few tickets that are released each day. We also visited the Air & Space Museum, which is my least favorite museum of all, but I took one for the team because that's the kind of self-sacrificing, heroic woman I am. Despite the rain that plagued us for several days, my sister was determined that we tie dye some shirts, which we did. They all turned out great!
On Wednesday the 25th, we headed to the Eastern shore in Maryland to spend a few days in Ocean City. We stayed with my dad and stepmom. My sister and her family followed us out there the next day - they rented a place in Bethany Beach. The beach visit was a lot of fun, too. I attended yoga on the beach a couple of times. We hit the boardwalk and the GoKart tracks, ate Thrasher's fries (the mister even let me add vinegar), and of course spent time at the beach. We celebrated my sister's birthday the night before we left for the long trek home. We arrived home on Monday, my car piled high with dirty, sandy laundry. I actually tried to vacuum out the sand a few days ago but the sand said, "Nah, we're good!" So I guess the sand is permanent.
As for the rest of the summer, we have a few more things planned. The kid heads to choir camp this week. Next weekend, she and I are headed to the state fair. I gently suggested to my other half that he skip the trip this year. We go every year, and every year he looks kinda miserable. The following weekend, the three of us are driving to Minnesota to spend the weekend with friends. On the 21st, I'm flying out to Denver to spend time in the office. This is my first trip to Denver and I'm really looking forward to it. It will be nice to meet my co-workers in person. I'm a little worried that I'll be turned away at the border of Colorado because I don't know how to snowboard and don't look very outdoorsy. I'm hoping to sneak in, though. So, do they issue my legally-sanctioned weed at the airport or do I have to pick it up somewhere? Kidding! I'm kidding!
I'm sure school will start before we know it. The kid is headed into her third and final year of middle school. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but she's excited. You can imagine how I am looking forward to getting her up in the mornings. Of course, I bought her a pair of $60 Van's yesterday so maybe she can use those to sprint to school when she misses the bus.
I could hardly wait to get to the farmers' market yesterday. Parking is a mild annoyance and the market (held downtown) can get pretty crowded, but I remind myself of how much I will miss it when we're knee-deep in snow in a few months. I picked up corn on the cob, zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes (I'm growing my own but they aren't ripe yet), lettuce, cauliflower, green beans, and peaches. I've recently re-committed to Weight Watchers so I just need to make sure I don't supplement those nice veggies with Oreos (I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but pretty much all Oreo flavors are technically vegan).
.
Somehow, it's already August. My friend Nancy is a teacher and she always says that August is "like one big Sunday night" but I'm not a teacher and I'm not even close to letting summer go. We've had a few adventures so far this summer. The kid went on tour to Michigan back in June (with the touring choir of which she is a member). She also enrolled in some fun summer classes over at the high school - stuff like baking, set building, leadership games, and so forth. She told me that they actually played dodgeball the other day. I guess not enough generations have been traumatized by that "game" - gotta make sure today's kids learn the whole "Lord of the Flies" thing the hard way.
The classes have been held in the mornings. Then, in the afternoons, she's been hanging out in our neighborhood park. The city hires "parkees," which are college-aged kids who run organized games and activities for the younger kids. Lunch is also provided (which is nice because it bridges the gap for kids who might not get enough food while school is out). I like that she has been spending so much time at the park. She comes home sweaty and tired and very much in need of a shower. I'd rather see her playing kickball in the park than staring at a screen all day.
However, I found out another reason why she loves the park program so much. There is a boy there who (and I quote) "has eyes as blue as the ocean." Oh boy. I think she really regrets telling me about it because now every time she mentions the park I ask her if Mister Ocean Eyes will be there. "He'll look right at you with his ocean eyes," I tell her. This is met with eye rolls and sheer exasperation.
We have certainly seen a hormone surge lately. She took a shine to a young Kohl's cashier yesterday. I bought her a few new things for school because I had the coveted 30% off coupon and our state featured tax-free shopping days for the first time ever. Anyway, last night she discovered that there was a security tag on one of the shirts I bought her. "Look, Evan left the tag on," she said. Evan??? She liked his hair and his glasses, apparently. Oy.
The teen had to miss a couple of weeks at the park because she was in Virginia. She flew out to DC on the 14th and spent a week with my middle sister and her family. She got to spend three days at Busch Gardens. Lucky kid. Being her usual organized self, though, she showed up at the Busch Gardens water park with no swimsuit. To be clear, my child didn't bring a swimsuit to a place called WATER COUNTRY USA. I think my sister ended up running to Target to buy her a new one.
Her dad and I joined her at my sister's house a week later. It was a long car ride but we've done it a gazillion times before. We drove about 11 hours on Friday night and then arrived at a Super 8 in Youngstown, OH at 2:30 a.m. I had booked the room on Priceline. We didn't need anything fancy since it was just a matter of getting a few hours of sleep before hitting the road again. When I checked in, all bleary-eyed and exhausted, the chick at the desk said, "Okay, I see you've booked a smoking room." Oh, sweet Jesus. They were fully booked so there weren't any other options. We were so tired that we didn't even argue.
Now, I don't want to suggest that the romance is dead in our marriage but when we walked into our smoky room and saw that there were two beds, we were delighted. "Oh, thank God," we muttered simultaneously. We'd spent so many hours in the car together that we just wanted to sleep in a bed without another human in it. And so we did. It was weird to have ashtrays everywhere. I felt like I was on Mad Men for a second there (the general decor also made me feel like I'd slipped back in time a few decades).
The next morning, we got up and hit the road. We missed the complimentary continental breakfast (whatever that might have been) and decided we'd get some food at a rest stop later on. Stupidly, I took some medication that does require food to be taken with it. "It'll be fine," I told myself.
It wasn't fine. By the time I found some food, the damage was done. I spent the next five hours slumped over in the passenger seat, clutching my abdomen, while my husband drove through torrential rain to get us to my sister's house in Virginia. I felt somewhat better by the time we arrived, fortunately. Lesson learned. Take your meds with food, kids.
I'd like to say that spending time with my extended family was the best part of my vacation, but if I'm being very honest, the best part of my vacation was this: my brother-in-law got me and my sister tickets to see Erasure at the Warner Theatre. I've been a fan of Erasure for 32 years. I've asked Alexa to play Erasure so many times that she's probably planning an intervention of some sort. I make no apologies about being a fan. Seriously, I had the time of my life. My sister booked an Uber because of the distance and the still-pouring rain. Once we arrived, we grabbed a couple of over-priced drinks and took our seats, which were AMAZING. I think we were in row H, just to give you an idea. The opening act was just finishing up. Before long, Andy Bell, Vince Clarke, and two back-up singers took the stage. I was grinning so hard my cheeks started to hurt. I sang along to every song I knew. When they played my favorite Erasure song, " Sometimes," I thought I might pass out. "It's not the way you lead me by the hand into the bedroom!" I'm happy to report that Vince Clarke is as much of a synth genius as ever and that Andy Bell is just as over-the-top as ever. Andy kept shedding clothing and I wondered if he might be naked by the end.
The other great thing about this concert is that everyone there seemed legitimately very happy. There was no fear of pissing someone off if you accidentally bumped them. My sister and I went to the restroom and when we came back, "Blue Savannah Song" was playing. A woman was dancing up the aisle towards me and briefly danced with me as I made my way back to my seat. It seemed like most of the attendees were in my age range and it may also have been one of those rare times when I was in the minority as a heterosexual person. I loved every second of that concert and am very grateful to my brother-in-law. My other brothers-in-law need to step up! Ha ha.
In addition to the concert, we also attended a high school production of Hairspray, visited my stepdad and grandma, and spent a day in DC. I was able to score tickets to the new African-American History museum, which is not that easy to do. I had to wake up at 6:30 a.m. and compete with strangers to snag some of the few tickets that are released each day. We also visited the Air & Space Museum, which is my least favorite museum of all, but I took one for the team because that's the kind of self-sacrificing, heroic woman I am. Despite the rain that plagued us for several days, my sister was determined that we tie dye some shirts, which we did. They all turned out great!
On Wednesday the 25th, we headed to the Eastern shore in Maryland to spend a few days in Ocean City. We stayed with my dad and stepmom. My sister and her family followed us out there the next day - they rented a place in Bethany Beach. The beach visit was a lot of fun, too. I attended yoga on the beach a couple of times. We hit the boardwalk and the GoKart tracks, ate Thrasher's fries (the mister even let me add vinegar), and of course spent time at the beach. We celebrated my sister's birthday the night before we left for the long trek home. We arrived home on Monday, my car piled high with dirty, sandy laundry. I actually tried to vacuum out the sand a few days ago but the sand said, "Nah, we're good!" So I guess the sand is permanent.
As for the rest of the summer, we have a few more things planned. The kid heads to choir camp this week. Next weekend, she and I are headed to the state fair. I gently suggested to my other half that he skip the trip this year. We go every year, and every year he looks kinda miserable. The following weekend, the three of us are driving to Minnesota to spend the weekend with friends. On the 21st, I'm flying out to Denver to spend time in the office. This is my first trip to Denver and I'm really looking forward to it. It will be nice to meet my co-workers in person. I'm a little worried that I'll be turned away at the border of Colorado because I don't know how to snowboard and don't look very outdoorsy. I'm hoping to sneak in, though. So, do they issue my legally-sanctioned weed at the airport or do I have to pick it up somewhere? Kidding! I'm kidding!
I'm sure school will start before we know it. The kid is headed into her third and final year of middle school. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but she's excited. You can imagine how I am looking forward to getting her up in the mornings. Of course, I bought her a pair of $60 Van's yesterday so maybe she can use those to sprint to school when she misses the bus.
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