This summer...was a summer. It was a whirlwind. I started planning it, mentally, a year ago. Actually started booking things in October. Got very serious about planning in December. We had lined up a summer of fun and adventures. I was going to turn 40! And then send my baby to kindergarten just a few weeks later! It already felt momentous. But, looking back at the summer, there is just one thing that will super stand out from these 2½ months Luke was out of school. There are many things we won't forget but it took no time to come up with what will stand out the most from this summer. Heads up, not going to be as cheery as other years I've done this.
1) The Loss of my MIL
Of course, we hoped we'd outlive our parents but we still were not at all prepared for the loss of one. It is still hard to think about the ~36 hours from her hospitalization to her death, and all the emotions and time and tears and laughter that were in there. It was life changing and heart breaking. Those 10 days from hospitalization to her burial were...A LOT. I don't even know what to say about it all but it will forever be what I remember most about this summer.
2) Morning runs
Our oldest turned 10 this summer which is the age we decided we felt comfortable to start leaving the boys home alone for short bits. SHORT. This happened most often this summer when I'd run while the boys were still asleep. They were asleep when I left. Asleep (usually) when I got back. It felt like a very safe way to leave them home alone. AND I got to run in cooler temps and by myself! This really cut into my morning time reading on the porch while they were asleep but my running was very consistent!
Our oldest turned 10 this summer which is the age we decided we felt comfortable to start leaving the boys home alone for short bits. SHORT. This happened most often this summer when I'd run while the boys were still asleep. They were asleep when I left. Asleep (usually) when I got back. It felt like a very safe way to leave them home alone. AND I got to run in cooler temps and by myself! This really cut into my morning time reading on the porch while they were asleep but my running was very consistent!
3) Cocoa Beach
We knew we were doing a beach trip this summer but our plans for it changed about 10 times. I kept making it closer (and if Cocoa Beach is where we ended up...think about how much further we started...) and adjusting. This was a bit stressful back in January when I was booking things. BUT...turns out Cocoa Beach was amazing and we loved nearly everything about that trip. There will be a post about it at some point but I am still not to that point of being caught up on everything.
We knew we were doing a beach trip this summer but our plans for it changed about 10 times. I kept making it closer (and if Cocoa Beach is where we ended up...think about how much further we started...) and adjusting. This was a bit stressful back in January when I was booking things. BUT...turns out Cocoa Beach was amazing and we loved nearly everything about that trip. There will be a post about it at some point but I am still not to that point of being caught up on everything.
4) Tequila Seltzers
We never bought seltzers until we were in Florida and wanted something for the beach (we nearly always buy our vacation alcohol at our location, hoping for something local...these definitely weren't that but we bought other things that were). They were DELIGHTFUL and when we had one at home last week we commented that they tasted like the beach since we each had one at the beach nearly every day of that trip (every full beach day...not the driving days). We bought more for some end of summer camping trips and then more to have at home occasionally. It's nice being reminded of vacation!
We never bought seltzers until we were in Florida and wanted something for the beach (we nearly always buy our vacation alcohol at our location, hoping for something local...these definitely weren't that but we bought other things that were). They were DELIGHTFUL and when we had one at home last week we commented that they tasted like the beach since we each had one at the beach nearly every day of that trip (every full beach day...not the driving days). We bought more for some end of summer camping trips and then more to have at home occasionally. It's nice being reminded of vacation!
5) My "Stories Delight Us" Tee & The Bookshelf
I bought this shirt in April from The Bookshelf, an indie bookstore in Thomasville, Georgia. I've been supporting them for years and it was a perfect shade of blue. Long story short, I convinced Matt, once again, to make a detour to Thomasville on our way to/from Florida and this time got to meet the delightful Annie B. Jones whose face I've had in my IG feed for years and voice in my podcast feed for nearly 7. AND I (specifically, obviously) wore the shirt I had bought from them months earlier. Also, I wear that shirt nearly every time it's clean and the temp is below 80°. I LOVE it. (I am not wearing it right now...because I wore it yesterday.)
I bought this shirt in April from The Bookshelf, an indie bookstore in Thomasville, Georgia. I've been supporting them for years and it was a perfect shade of blue. Long story short, I convinced Matt, once again, to make a detour to Thomasville on our way to/from Florida and this time got to meet the delightful Annie B. Jones whose face I've had in my IG feed for years and voice in my podcast feed for nearly 7. AND I (specifically, obviously) wore the shirt I had bought from them months earlier. Also, I wear that shirt nearly every time it's clean and the temp is below 80°. I LOVE it. (I am not wearing it right now...because I wore it yesterday.)
From May until the start of school we stayed at FOUR KOAs and Jellystone twice (plus the trip to Florida AND a night in Ohio after Kings Island). It was a summer of camping and just delightful in so many ways. A lot of packing and unpacking and some stress but the family memories made are priceless. We are definitely prioritizing adventures at this point in our kids' lives, when they are big enough to not need naps/walk most place but also not too old to be too cool for us. We even stayed at the same Jellystone cabin both times (the same one we also stayed at last year...one child is now saying he will never stay there again...but I do the bookings so we'll see!).
Last summer I saw the Backstreet Boys live and it was so fun and exciting. This year we surprised the boys with tickets to Dude Perfect. Literally telling them 10 minutes before we left. One kid was excited. One cried (maybe more over car sickness than Dude Perfect, and car sickness we HAVE found solutions for, for now). We got cheap seats so we didn't see them real close up but it was still fun to experience them with 10s of thousands of people when nearly all our time spent watching them before had been in our house with the 4 of us (or hotel rooms). Like, "Oh dang...50mil+ subscribers and people DO know who you are!"). It was an exciting Friday night and a different kind of adventure than we usually do with the boys!
Yes, pumpkins are a fall thing (one child recently asked me why we are growing pumpkins in August when they are for fall...because that's how growing things works!) but we had never planted them before and turns out...they grow...a lot. We didn't get our favorite sunflowers this year (planted them TWICE and nothing ever came up) so watching the pumpkins expand as been our garden past time. I do not know when to harvest them but we've all had fun watching them! We'll figure it out next month or something!
9) Turning 40
And yes, there was that. Although I keep telling Matt I do not identify as 40 yet. We'll see when that hits. This was in the crazy month between my MIL passing, her funeral, three trips with Matt & the boys, and the start of school including kindergarten for our youngest. IT WAS AN INTENSE MONTH. Kinda nice to let that milestone bday just slide by...
And yes, there was that. Although I keep telling Matt I do not identify as 40 yet. We'll see when that hits. This was in the crazy month between my MIL passing, her funeral, three trips with Matt & the boys, and the start of school including kindergarten for our youngest. IT WAS AN INTENSE MONTH. Kinda nice to let that milestone bday just slide by...
10) Running with Matt
This year Matt & I have run more together than any other year of our lives. That is largely due to being able to leave the boys home alone for brief bits now and just a nature of how our schedules have lined up. I like being DONE running. He likes having run but not the act of it or the aftermath of it. However, we both prefer running together than running alone. We push each other to get out the door faster (I am VERY good at procrastinating running), he makes me branch out of my paths a bit (we have yet to exactly repeat one...which is the opposite of how I run), and we keep each other moving. Plus, I can get chatty until I get too worn out. It's made running much more fun, as much as running can be fun!
This year Matt & I have run more together than any other year of our lives. That is largely due to being able to leave the boys home alone for brief bits now and just a nature of how our schedules have lined up. I like being DONE running. He likes having run but not the act of it or the aftermath of it. However, we both prefer running together than running alone. We push each other to get out the door faster (I am VERY good at procrastinating running), he makes me branch out of my paths a bit (we have yet to exactly repeat one...which is the opposite of how I run), and we keep each other moving. Plus, I can get chatty until I get too worn out. It's made running much more fun, as much as running can be fun!
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That's summer 2023, grief, joy, and adventures. Still lots of good moments in the midst of all the sad!
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