2. Some summers are different than others. This is one of them. Some, I have a lot of free time without a whole lot of pressing things to do. Not this year. New job. Certificate expiration/renewal. Approaching that halfway mark to the Doctorate. Teenager who is on the brink of adulthood, but who doesn't have all the adult skills required to be independent. Like driving. I'm cool with all of this, just reflecting it's not a "lay around" summer. I had one of those the summer before last. It was really awesome. This one isn't less awesome, just different.
3. Reset. Summer is when I do that. This past year has been particularly hard which also tends to mean, for me, it was also a year of great growth. The type of growth that wasn't pleasant. I'm glad for it, but am also hoping I've been released from that process for awhile. My current state is like that of a computer. The window is flashing "Updates added, please restart your machine." You know what I almost always do when that window is flashing? I hit "Remind me later." ;-) I haven't been given full permission to hit that restart button yet. It's coming.
The story of the last two weeks...I was feeling like not much of anything happened and then I started looking at pictures. A sampling:
Pippi turned 10. How could we not take her to the store to pick out a present and then follow that up with a party?
Damascus Days...this parade sums up what living in Damascus is like. I say a lot of things about living in this fishbowl, but I don't want to live anywhere else.
Jac went to Boy Scout camp.
Fresh tomatoes started happening. Seriously, summer is the best season.
Finished my practice bear/exemplar. My new job comes with a knitting club. I'm supposed to be teaching kids how to knit these bears for a service project. You can read about that here: Mother Bear. I'm looking forward to the experience, but there are/were two things I'd never done. 1. Teach kids to knit. I can't wrap my mind around how that is going to happen in large groups. 2. Knit a bear (or any kind of stuffed animal). I can check #2 off the list of stuff I need to do. Even if he is a little wonky. My second bear will be better. That's how it always works.
Every class I was taking ended. Online and what I had to drive to/sit through. All of them. I am not currently taking any classes. I am not even enrolled in any classes. For the first time in what seems like a LONG time. It feels nice.
Jac's room got a make-over from "little boy" to "teenager". Not a huge fan of the futon, but I'm not sleeping on it either.
