My Twice Baked Potato

Beautiful View

Summer…I have a love/hate relationship with you!

You promise picnics and flying kites at the ocean.  You promise long naps in a hammock and  swinging from that tire swing that hangs in the beautiful old tree. You promise drinking lemonade with friends and carefree long, easy days!

The days might be long my friends…but they are far from easy!

The Country Time Lemonade commercials that paint the glorious days of summer don’t show sweaty people waiting for the heat wave to pass or hearing your neighbors fight when everyone’s windows are open!

I have yet to sleep in a hammock or spin in a tire swing.  We do plan on going to the ocean, but walking with our chairs, towels and cooler usually means that the kites are left behind.  We usually say, “next time” but I’m not sure what will change unless we bring a pack mule.  We bring the makings of a fire so that we can roast hot dogs and roast marshmallows, but the wind and blowing sand keeps us from getting that needed spark and the frustration grows higher than any flame could. Typically, we end up making the dogs and s’mores in the microwave back at the house.

We attempted the summer picnic, but my son is going through a phase where he is terrified of bugs and bees.  I have to admit, that it is hard to enjoy your grilled panini when there is that distinctive humming close by and your son is standing, squealing and swinging around his arms in fear.  We even tried “in the summer you enjoy lemonade” and we were met with…”yeah, if you are all about getting canker sores.”

We are working on stretching my TBP a bit and pushing him outside of his comfort level. In small doses, it seems to work.  Yesterday, we met a blogger friend and her family at a park.  It was a large, crowded park that we had never been too.  About half way from the parking lot, my son began to get nervous and suggested that we should try it another day.  “It looks awfully crowded” and “I’m sure it will be too hot” were two of the strategies that he tried to use to escape meeting new people in a new park.  If I’m being completely honest…it was a stretch for me too; however, we did it and it was fun.  My son met a boy who was close to his age and they loved playing in the water together.

Summer…you did come through for us with the park and play in the water 🙂

As a teacher, I catch myself saying…”In the summer, I will have time to (blank).”  This can range from going to the dentist, getting my moles checked, getting those much needed glasses, purging the house of excess paper, toys, etc.  In my mind, summer is supposed to provide me that extra time to relax, read that education research that I want to learn and write that novel that I must publish.  Maybe I’m not as good as I thought with time management, because I haven’t gotten much accomplished that was on my Summer To Do List and it feels as though it is slipping away like sand through my flip flops!

In fairness, we have done a few “summery” things.  We stayed up late in search of the Super Moon, we went to the pool with my sister’s family, and we made fresh homemade jam that tastes like summer in a jar!  So I ask you my friends…what is on your summer list?  What are the dreams and what are the dreads that you want to get checked off your list? 🙂