This is the view from my front door. It’s sunny, the birds are chirping away, the morning temps are nice and cool and yet when I step out to greet it, there’s no sense of adventure in my step because once again, my weekend plans got shot down.
If I could sing or even write a song, it would be one of those drippy ballads you hear on the radio. I made the mistake of listening to Barry Manilow and now I am all doom and gloom. It’s life. Things don’t work out as planned but The Teen’s summer class is wrecking this entire summer. No trips to the fair, no beach trips, there just isn’t enough time in the day to get the work done and it’s getting to all of us.
Part of my problem is my own expectation of what summer should be. In my head, it’s all BBQs and picnics and beach trips with stops at the fruit stand on the way home. It’s reading a stack of books “this high” while soaking up rays on the beach with the sounds of summer surrounding me. To me, that is summer.
Sigh.
Next summer will be better right? I sure hope so. Now, I am looking forward to fall and all the stuff that comes with it, high school football, big pots of chili simmering on the stove, the smell of roasting turkey.
Anyway, back to the present. It’s Sunday and I have no big plans.
What am I reading?
I am reading The Curiosity. Very interesting reading about reanimation, time travel, etc. I am still reading House of Leaves but I am having trouble focusing on it with all that is going on. Right now, I need books that take me to a different place so if it’s not fitting the bill, I am just putting it aside for now.
What am I cooking?
Not sure yet. I have to go to the market (exciting!) but what I really feel like doing is just going out somewhere. We are still trying to be careful with money so dinners out are rare these days. Maybe we’ll grill something.
What am I watching?
We have been watching Three’s Company. It’s such a throwback to the past but The Girl is loving it and so am I. However, I was checking out Netflix the other day and I found a Bond movie that The Girl and I have not seen yet, Never Say Never Again. Later this evening, we have a date to watch it together.
That’s my Sunday. What are you doing? Reading? Cooking?
Book Chatter 
Aw, too bad about the summer plans. I know I’d miss going to the beach! Hope your reading’s going super!
Thanks! I ended up watching TV nearly all weekend long. I just wasn’t in the mood to read. I will be reading on my lunch break today though.
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I am sorry for your sadness but things always get better…and they will!
This summer school thing was really a mess…wasn’t it?
Enjoy your movie date!
You have no idea how messed up the summer school stuff is. I am going nuts.
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I have found summer to be that way for years-really once my kids got into high school. I have needed to find a new normal and find a way to do things that make me happy once in a while, around their schedules. What class is he taking and why? Summer school? Fall is my favorite season so all those things you mentioned I am looking forward to also!
I am reading a fluff book right now-The Lost Husband-it is a galley from Net Galley- my want to read list is so big, I am not even sure how to organize it! Have fun with the girl…. 🙂
*smiles and a hug*
He is taking Mod Civ by choice, because he made performance choir which is an additional elective. But this class has been a nightmare and when we thought we were done 2 weeks ago, they came back and said that they made a huge mistake and only gave him one semester, instead of two! So he is trying to complete one semester in a week’s time! Or he has to drop performance choir. It’s independent study and it’s just been a nightmare.
Our summer has not been very exciting either for the same type of reasons. We signed DD up for drivers training/education classes, and it’s pretty much every Saturday and Sunday in August from 10 am -1 pm, plus 2 Wednesdays. The timing put a crimp in our vacation planning schedule, so we won’t be having a real vacation this summer.
I’m reading “The Printmaker’s Daughter”, and am about to start on “Swerve: How the World Became Modern”.
I’m sorry your summer isn’t working out quite as planned. I agree with you that summer should be BBQs & friends & lots of reading!
I’ve been trying new Italian recipes, watching “Frasier” (a blast from the past similar to yours) and reading whatever I can find in the library. Loved Simon Pegg’s biography “Nerd Do Well”.
Hope your summer improves!
Nice outlook form your front door, I wish my street looked like that 🙂 Summer is always a mix, short trips away as teen old enough to refuse to tag along. Luckily her two big brothers are here to keep an eye. I hope you get to do some of the stuff you enjoy 🙂
It seemed like once my kids hit high school, summers were totally crazed. It was a blur of summer leagues, camps, classes, drivers education, and eventually college visits!
Hope you guys can eek out a little fun and relaxation before school starts again…
Someone said to me that I have to find a new kind of normal and I would have to agree. Life with a Teen, especially one so active, is like trying to keep all the balls in the air at once. AND, he plans to work at a theme park for the Halloween season as mascots can work at the age of 15, and he will be starting driver’s training soon. Egads.
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I’m sorry to hear your summer plans have kind of gone sideways. 😦 It’s tough having these big expectations of good times only to not actually have them come true. That was kind of how last summer was for me. In my opinion, summer should be all about travel and time off from work but last summer I just worked all the time and hardly got to take one good trip, and I was so bummed when summer came to a close and I had missed my chance! :’-( I made up for it this summer, though – here’s hoping the same happens for you next summer, or, better yet, this fall!
In a very timely, unintentional move, I was reading The Curiosity while I was on vacation in Boston. I enjoyed it, still have to buckle down and write my review, though.
Hope the rest of your Sunday turns out better than you expect! =D
Thank you for the kind words. I have been a bit emotional lately. No real reason. Things that I wouldn’t even bat an eye at before are suddenly getting on my nerves. I seriously regret the loss of time… or feeling as if I’ve lost time. Things are moving a little too fast for me right now. I just want to slow things down but if anything, once school starts next week it will be even crazier. I just need to learn how to deal with it better.
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Sorry your plans got screwed up. We’re not having much of a summer here either.
What makes it especially hard is that we are having the most awesome weather this summer! Eighty degrees with cool mornings and cool evenings. SO unheard of for SoCal at this time of year.
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Sorry your summer has gotten turned upside down! Darn kids – before you know it, though, they’ll be grown up and you’ll miss all of the activity.
There’s good activity and the kind that makes you spin around in circles. I love the good activity. The football games, the rallys, the choir performances, etc. I don’t care for the constant nudging and policing of his work. And when school starts, I will be nudging the girl too. I just want them to do the work on their own. And I really hope that my son learns how to manage his calendar better soon. Last minute announcements of rally set-ups and DJ gigs really drives me nuts when we have to drive him all over town for them at all hours of the night.
Boys!
But yeah, in a few years I will miss it.
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I am a little bit of a Clark Griswold when it comes to vacations and holidays. I have such fantasies about everyone getting along and all the reading and the relaxing, but it never quite works out that way. I wonder once we are more in control of our lives (aka kids are at college, are grown adults, etc.) if it will ever meet our expectations? I’m trying really hard to take a deep breath and appreciate the good things but it is hard! Right now it is my friends and my husband’s drink concoctions that are getting me through…
I am like Clark too, But since we didn’t take a vacation at all this summer, I didn’t have the added stress of perfect planning this time around.
I don’t think I have high expectations. I am usually pretty happy with simple things and just puttering around but ONE trip to the beach would have been nice. Especially since our weather has been so freakin’ glorious this summer.
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Oooh ,chili. *Sorry, what did else you say?* 😉
As for what I’m doing, neither reading nor reading. Probably finding something on Netflix tonight while wife takes nap, getting ready for work (at midnight).
I must say, the chili was pretty good. I haven’t made chili in forever but the hub was talking about football and it made me think of chili.
I watched a lot of TV yesterday between two movies (Grease and Never Say Never Again) and all the Three’s Company and Roseanne I crammed in.
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Pretty view from your front door Ti. We have not gotten in much beach time either — too hot and humid most weekends, although this w/end was perfect bit we had other plans …figures. Hope the week ahead is better for you.
Thanks. We only have the one weekend left and my son promised to be in a Quinceanera which runs from 12pm to 12am on Saturday! I give up!
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Three’s Company, lol, that’s fantastic!
I can see why you’re looking forward to fall. I am too, because it’s my favorite season and football will be back and yay!
Keep your chin up darlin’ 😀
Aw thanks. Your comment made me smile.
I cannot wait for football! But I am the gal who knows nothing about the game. For me, it’s the other stuff that makes it fun. The food, the people, the feeling that Christmas is around the corner. LOL. Oh and I LOVE high school football and cuddling up under a blanket while watching the game.
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Aww, sorry that your summer hasn’t been that great yet. It’s been very quiet over here as well, though we have some friends visiting over the next few weeks. I would like to be able to read chunks though.
It’s been a long while since I last saw Three’s Company. 🙂
I hope the coming autumn season is a good one for you. This summer seemed strange all around–I will be glad when it’s past. Bring on the holidays! I may not have my gift buying done (or even started), but I’m ready for some cheer.
Summer never quite works out the way I think it will, but it’s still a good break from the regular routine
I feel the same way about “summer” and what it should feel like! This is the first time in 14 years that I haven’t been off the entire summer. I started a second part-time job and it’s seriously cutting into my computer time/reading time!!! Oh well! Must pay for college!!! Hope life gets a bit easier soon for all of you!
I hope your summer has brightened up a bit by the time you read this, but I did want to say that you seem like an awesome mom. Kudos! You put so much energy and love into your kids’ activities. Hang in there, just think pumpkin cheesecake and peppermint-chocolate Christmas cookies. Yum.
Our views of summer are very similar, and this year, the only beach time we’ve had was before the official start of summer when we made a trip to Florida to see my cousin. I haven’t read as much as I hoped this summer and we haven’t been to the farm for the fruit, though we have had some cookouts, even if they are just with us and maybe Anna’s family.
I hope that what you have read is great. I’m in the middle of Joyland, which I really am enjoying since your reviewed it — at least I seem to remember you reviewing it.
My son actually asked if he could read my copy of Joyland. I was shocked. I guess the subject matter appeals to him.
Summer was a bust. I hope fall is better.
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