Thank you, July. You were so good.
This month started off with a bang! Jason’s brother, wife, and son came from the Indianapolis area for a surprise 4th of July visit. We hosted a little neighborhood block party this year, and we were busy blowing up the bounce house, getting the grills ready, and setting up chairs when, all of a sudden, surprise guests arrived! Our mouths hung open in disbelief! What a gift!
The 4th itself was wonderful. There were friends, neighbors, and family together playing games, bouncing, pot-lucking, and setting off fireworks. It was memorable and enjoyable.
And because we had out-of-town visitors, the days following the 4th were busy, but in the best way. The kids had plenty of cousin time bouncing, building Legos, and making s’mores. We all went white water rafting, too. That was a blast! All of the kids, plus the fun dads, jumped into the mountain river for a swim. We moms looked on and cheered, but were not foolish enough to actually get that wet or cold. Mountain snow run-off? No thank you. But, after the teeth chattering, there were bright smiles and a few fist pumps!
A huge July joy for us was our trip out east. We loved visiting Vermont and New York. Since being home, I have daydreamed myself back to the green hills on more that one occasion. (It does not help that it has been in the nineties here in Colorado for days upon days, and the sun is relentless. Please, a little rain, a little cloud cover, and a little green is requested here!)
Jameson and Harper have both been busy around here for the last two weeks. Jameson lived his best life going to Lego camp with his two best buddies. He came home buzzing with new ideas, and I was pleased to see him digging around in the brick bucket each afternoon. Harper attended “Hogwarts Preparatory Academy,” AKA Harry Potter camp, at our local museum. It was terrific. The “professors” were never out of character, from the emails to the drop offs and pick ups and all the time in between, too, according to Harper. She had a class each day: herbology, potions, defense against the dark arts, etcetera. Harper was sorted into Hufflepuff this week and won second place in the house cup competition. All was well in her magical world.
In between, Jason and I tried to soak up summer’s relaxed time. We have watched the Olympics, cooked, gone for bike rides, and exercised. We have worked in the yard and in the garden, organized closets and drawers, and packed bags for charity. We have watched the kids run through the sprinkler and enjoyed picnics outside (when the temperature is not 90 … like breakfast at 7:30 a.m. or dessert at 8:20 p.m. :-).
We have been catching up on reading, too. This month, I hosted in person book club which felt amazing! It was so good to be around people and to talk about books. But the best part (always is) is knowing the women I know. They are smart and strong and good.
Here are a few titles I’ve read recently that are worth mentioning:
Next month, we are going to read this:
Jameson wrapped up July with a visit to the dentist for two extractions. Ice cream for dinner and a tooth fairy visit? Sign him up. He barely flinched. Such a trooper!
The end of July is always bittersweet. I tend to get lost in thoughts about the things I did not do but wanted to. I feel the roots of fear take hold in my body about the loss of balance I inevitably feel when I put my teacher hat back on. I hug my kids a little too long, because I always miss them when we get back to real life.
And yet, there is a little restlessness, too. We start to get bored. Our playroom and our bikes aren’t as appealing any more. Neither are the water balloons or water guns. We are ready for routine again and for a fresh new start.
We start looking ahead.
So, hello to you, August. What will you have in store for us this year?
