NOW Summer is Here ...

Today marks the hottest day of the summer so far ... We're looking at numbers in the mid-90's and wet-wool-blanket humidity. All I can say is ...

Eeeewwwww!!!

But if it has taken this long -- mid-August -- to reach this kind of weather, I have nothing to complain about. Don told Andy -- who is sweltering in Texas now -- that this is the most beautiful and comfortable summer he can ever remember. So true. Although, remember ... because of the soggy mess in the beginning, summer didn't really start until a month ago!

Today Don is on the road, traveling outside of our home for the very first time. He is going to spend some time at a client's house in a super ritzy area, acting as the eyes and ears for his colleague, who will be operating the scenario remotely from Cape Cod. Got all that? Yeah -- OK. Then next week we recently learned he's beckoned back to Cape Cod for yet another week of training ... "bad" in the sense that, well, it's another week with him gone. But it's certainly "good" because he needs the training. While he's doing well -- as well as can be expected -- he does feel like he's swimming in the deep end of the pool without a tube, so more training will be a welcomed thing.

And this morning, as I looked at the expiration date on the milk container, it suddenly hit me: summer is almost over! I got that antsy, pre-school feeling in my stomach, the first flutters. These next three weeks or so will fly by with unbelievable speed ... and I'm not ready for it! Summer had such a late start ... I feel somewhat gypped! And really, if I admit it, it's all about change ... My usual pattern? A new routine pops into place, it takes time to get used to it, and once I finally do get used to it -- and revel in it -- it's time to change once again! It's the Cycle of Life on many levels ... and here I am, absolutely loving summer and all that it brings, and in a few short weeks school begins again. Both of my kids are involved now, as Grace will be attending pre-school for three mornings a week for the very first time. Talk about adjustments ... that is something that will be very hard for me, not having my precious girl around. I cried buckets of lonely tears when Aidan went to preschool for the first time ... I am quite certain I'll do the same when both my kids exit the door on a school morning. (What, oh, what will I do for their weddings?!)

Ah, I'm jumping ahead of myself ... First things first: it's Monday! Don took our only car to the job site so we are stranded here at home. Mondays, however, are a fine stranding day -- I have 3 to 4 loads of laundry waiting for me, plus some final clean-up from our picnic with friends on Saturday. I have the summer issue of our church's newsletter to start (despite the several articles still missing, regardless of the vicious, threatening reminder emails I sent out), and then a date with my boy: party planning! I promised him that I would devote the next few days to his well-thought-out party. Today is Invitation Day, something we've been working on together -- selecting the right image, writing the perfect text. And as sad as this sounds, Aidan and I will sit together in front of the Toys R Us website and check out what toys he might be interested. Like I said ... sad, perhaps, but this is how things operate with Aidan. I suppose we're just used to it. Next we will craft our itinerary of Star Wars themed games and at some point I'll have to pay a visit to the Dollar Store to see what I can find. I'm actually looking forward to this project. I'm a half-closeted Star Wars fan myself, so I would much rather dive into this pool than, say, Donkey Kong.

Dear old Jack gets his stitches out tomorrow, although unfortunately all of his belly-licking (despite our diligence to keep his tongue away) seems to have removed some of the stitches. I think it's OK, though -- it seems to be healing nicely.

Monday, Monday ... a long hot day ahead of us. I think I will sign off and fill up the pool for the kids. We have a 4x6 blow up pool (or dimensions thereabouts) that we drag out from time to time, although this summer has not seen much use. For those few hot days we did have, we could always count on a pop-up thunderstorm in the afternoon, thereby wasting a big pool full of water. Today, though, calls for no such rain ... I think I'll even join them for a splash.

Happy Beginning o' the Week to you!