Winding Down

Folks on Facebook are talking about going back to school and sending children back to school. I guess the summer is pretty much over. I have found adjusting to non-school life difficult in the sense that I have a harder time keeping track of what time of year it is. I know it shouldn't be that hard; each season has a distinct weather pattern. Yet, when the end of a season comes, it always throws me off just a little bit. I think I feel especially thrown off by this summer because it has been so busy.

First of all, my work has been busy. And then there were some huge changes at work that have made my life immeasurably better (the small company I work for was purchased by a much larger company, so I went from having very basic health insurance to having far more benefits than I ever would have imagined.)

Eric's family came into town twice this summer. The first time was unplanned - Eric's Grandpa L. passed away, so all of Eric's siblings and most of the nieces and nephews were in town for his funeral. (I never blogged about it because I never felt like I could write about Grandpa L. in a way that would really show how much I loved and respected him.) Then, Andrew left on his mission nearly two weeks ago, so all of Eric's siblings and their kids were in town again. We managed to squeeze in a family reunion in Park City, and I still managed to get in 39.5 hours of work that week.

My brother also came to town for a couple of days with his wife and kids. They happened to be in town just a couple of days after we sent Andrew off, so it made for the end of a very busy week. Somehow, Eric and I had not seen their whole family since we went up to visit them last July. I had seen my brother and sister-in-law numerous times in the last year, and one of my nephews as well. We are planning a trip to go up there (Jackson Hole) for a weekend, hopefully soon.

At the end of July I went to California for a few days with my old roommate, Priscilla, and Eric to attend my other old roommate's wedding. It was a great trip. There was a lot of driving in not a lot of time. It was in that trip that I met my cousin for the very first time.

Early this summer we went on our cruise.

In the middle of the summer Eric took off for a couple of weeks to go on a 540-mile canoe trip. I kept very busy while he was gone.

For one night per week for about four weeks we went over to Grandma L.'s house to watch the BBC series Little Dorrit. We were glad that we got to spend time with her. She had mentioned that she missed watching movies since Grandpa passed away because she doesn't really like to watch them by herself. We figured this was our perfect opportunity to get Grandma to join in our love of BBC series.

Last week we had the giant annual L. family reunion in Park City. It was a lot of fun, and like last year I commuted to and from work. That was not as exciting, but it did mean that I didn't have to use vacation time.

We only have a window-unit air conditioner in our flat. It happens to be located in the dining room. It follows, then, that our bed also happens to be located in the dining room. When the weather is consistently cool enough we will relocate the bed to its appropriate place, and maybe at some point we will buy a dining room table. I have a feeling we will make do with the card table and folding chairs for a while longer, though.

In about a week and a half I'm going to Dallas to visit my family. I haven't been down for over a year, and one of my best friends is getting married. I'm excited to see everybody, and I don't know how long it will be until I manage to get down there again, what with a baby coming and all.

After that, I'll probably consider the summer over. That summary was not in any particular order, and it may not have made it seem like my summer was all that busy, but I think because the month of August was such a maelstrom, it made the entire summer feel like a blur. I am really looking forward to some winding down. Do you even know when I last finished reading a book? Neither do I!

My fall wish list:

• reading, reading, reading, reading
• baby prepping (No, I have not begun. I have fourteen weeks left, and I plan to be a Baby Minimalist.)
• lots of walks in cool weather
• a successful BYU football season
• spending more time with Eric before our honeymoon phase is officially over (I'm pretty sure both of us would say that part of our marriage has been over for some time, but lest there be any confusion, it will definitely end when the mancub gets here.)
  
• ample quantities of wassail, hot chocolate and baked goods
  
• finding at least a couple of maternity sweaters (Sweaters are easily my favorite things to wear, and I just won't be fitting into any of mine this fall.)
• a healthy third trimester