Summer

It's officially summer even though it doesn't feel like it. We've had more rain than sunshine and I'm missing hanging out my clothes to dry. Soon, soon. I have faith. Then I can lie in my hammock outside and read. Except ... I'm dreaming. I don't have a hammock. Oh, well, the sleeping bag will have to do. Aren't those clouds amazing? My son took that.

The kids came home in high spirits today ... We went over the report cards, last minute drawings and rocks and pencils and plastic animals that were discovered in the depths of their cubbies. Already they want to go to the library, but today I wanted to stay home and cook a nice meal and have supper all together in a relaxed manner instead of having to rush off to baseball.

But what an amazing season our son's team had. They went from losing eight games in a row to winning eight, then losing the championship game in a nail-biting game. I loved watching how all the boys grew over the season. Lots of life lessons to learn from baseball. And I, who never dreamed that I would ever write a *sports* story, have half a dozen baseball shorts percolating. Maybe this summer, I will write up one of them.

Of course, I teach all-year round, so summer almost always presents a challenge, but with a lot of help from my family, I am able to get it done. I do a lot of free-writing and it's one of the best things about summer -- writing without destination, chewing on ideas, trying them out, playing with words in my notebook. I don't feel like I get much writing done in the summer and it's true that the pages of novel won't be stacking up, but that's okay as well. There is a season for everything and summertime simply lends itself to a more relaxed pace of life.

I hope you will enjoy the summer, wherever you are, whether or not the sun shines.

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