rainy stay-at-home day...

As the school year winds down and the promise of a long unscheduled summer looms, I want to impart to you all how disillusioned I am about such things. I unconsciously put up mental blocks...that block out the appointments, the rides to here and there...I envision a summer of sitting on the deck, of drinking a light beer while I grill the chicken...I am not a beer person, but once in a while it's lovely, it just goes together...a light beer with lime, being outside, listening to the tree frogs come out...marveling still at the fact that I am OUTSIDE, the warm breeze caressing my arms, bare feet on the warm wood of the deck, outside without a jacket and boots and gloves, ha.

So I have these visions of summertime. Swimming and sunning and watching the kids play badminton in the yard. Taking walks and having campfires, just being outside.

Yesterday, I grilled pork chops, marinaded in fresh lime juice, olive oil, and Jamaican jerk spices. Pork is tricky to grill, because it has to be cooked so thoroughly. We had a salad with it. Paul and the older kids left to go to a landscaping fundraiser, and I went to the awards ceremony with Evelyn. It's nice to go out with just one...Miss Ev is 16, she drove...and she looked so elegant and grown up, going up to the stage for her awards. And shh, when the superintendent gave his speech and mentioned how the parents should be commended for encouraging and assisting the students to have good attendance, ect., Ev and I just looked at each other. I think school is a wonderful thing, just not the ONLY thing. We are very blessed to have a lifestyle where it's normal to travel and visit friends and family far away. I think that's just as important, or more important, than school.

Anyway. It's still quiet here. Joseph just came in for coffee, and I told him that I don't know if I'm just old and soppy, but this spring has been the most beautiful ever, and he replied that he says that every year. I probably do too, but just don't remember it.

It's a rainy sort of day today, chilly compared to the hot days we've had, and the perfect day to get lots of homeschooling done, we are finishing up! I think we might take a trip to the library too. I want to continue that all summer because reading is so important. I like to get a stack of random books about things like the tombs of Egypt, life in Siberia, Native Americans of the Southwest, ect. They browse through them, maybe read them, share about them, and learn.

Our No Electronics During The Day rule will be relaxed during the summer, but I am definitely going to make sure it's not just a lazy free for all. I honestly believe that video games/social media, ect., the whole online thing, is the biggest thief of our precious and brief time here on earth. In moderation it's fun, it's great to connect to others, and for teenagers, it is almost essential. But, the path of least resistance is the one we take, but I am the Mama here, and I will provide a little bit of resistance, so they don't waste their summer on devices and playing games:)

So fun times are ahead...my son Aaron is flying in from California to come to the camp in the Adirondacks. My Army son Samuel will be here next week, spending some days here before we leave for the camp. Margaret, who has been in Norway for the year, has been having adventures of her own, visiting Italy (Venice!), Switzerland, Germany. Abigail is in Norway too, they won't be home until later in the summer. Benjamin cannot come to the cabin in the woods this year, he is in his training, his apprenticeship program for HVAC. But he's coming, with his wife and our two year old granddaughter Anya, later in the summer. :)

I will be attending so many concerts this summer! Not as a guest, but as a concession stand worker! It's fun though, hard work, but fun to be there with friends and family, doing church fundraising. And, we are right near the stage and can hear the music loud and clear. At the Ringo Starr concert, the song, "Photograph" started playing....and oh dear. That song just reminds me of my mother..."I can't get used to living here, my heart is broke, my tears are cried in vain...every time I see your face, it reminds me of the places we used to go...and all I've got is a photograph, and I realize you're not coming back, anymore..." As for my mother, I miss her more and more, not the less and less one would expect. She would just delight in so many things! I used to call her every day when I was making dinner. And in the mornings, too. She cared about the details in a way no one else ever has. You know, the little things the kids said, how the cashier reacted to me asking her to put the cold things in separate bags, how much I saved with coupons, and that there was a crayon in the dryer with the little girls' nice dresses.

I miss her. It's just not fair that she only had 69 years on earth. She genuinely loved everyone who came across her path. My friends would rather sit and talk to her than come in my room and listen to records (GAWD, I'M OLD!)

I guess I'm old and soppy, aren't I? But my mother wouldn't want me to be sad, she didn't believe in wasting time with that.