Summer...

Summer is...

sleeping in each morning until 6:30 am.

enjoying a cup or two of coffee without having to rush around to get ready for work.

beginning my day by snuggling with my son on the couch and reading a chapter or two of a good book.

opening all the windows to let the cool morning breeze drift though my home, cool enough the past few weeks that i've had to pull on a light sweater or blanket.

Summer is...

working out each morning until sweat pours down my back and my muscles scream with pain.

hopping on my bike to take Swee'Pea to the park, to the store, to wherever the road leads us.

avoiding driving my car for days at a time, and wondering if I can completely avoid using it for the rest of the summer.

not looking at a clock, not caring what our schedule is, and not making a list since the last day of school.

Summer is...

avoiding the use of my cell phone and computer, except for the all too important texting of the dear cousin and GChatting with some of the coolest women I know.

laughing so hard during GChatting sessions that my desk gets covered in tears of joy.

not watching any TV for over a week, aside from one episode of Roseanne and twenty minutes of last week's Wife Swap.

realizing that I'd rather be reading... napping... exercising... gardening... anything other than sitting in front of a computer or TV.

Summer is...

eating handfuls of berries and cherry tomatoes each day off of my garden plants.

enjoying a variety of sun ripened tomatoes in my daily lunches.

picking squash that are nearly three pounds heavy.

abstaining from soda for almost two weeks, but craving it so much sometimes that I want to burst.

Summer is...

taking two trips to my car from the library because I checked out so many books.

reading through half that pile in a ten-day period.

devouring every Jodi Picoult novel ever written, and feeling like a good friend has died every time I finish another book.

falling asleep each night dog-tired by 9:30, most often with a book resting on my chest and a smile on my face.

Summer is...

anticipating all the fun events that are soon to come... 3rd of July BBQ, Unruh family beach trip, and meeting sweet baby Rowan for the first time.

throwing away my schedule and list of "things to do" and "projects to complete" and realizing that I'm doing exactly what I want to do every second of the day.

earning three units post-grad units, and feeling giddy that I only need three more courses to max out on the pay scale at work.

taking Swee'Pea to the movies for the first time, and realizing that he has inherited his mother's distaste for sitting in one seat for any extended period of time.

Summer is...

fresh lemonade.

cold beers in a frosty mug.

sweet sangria.

rainbow sherbet after a long bike ride to the park and back.

Summer is...

riding our bikes to the little league park to watch kids we don't know play baseball.

listening to the Dodger games on the radio and cheering widely in my car while driving down the street.

running through the sprinklers fully clothed and getting soaked to the bone.

wearing my hair in braids every day because blow-drying and curling and pampering just doesn't appeal to me right now.

Summer is...

spending time with those I love that I don't see often enough during the school year.

swim parties, play dates, and picnic lunches in the backyard.

having spend-the-nighties with my sweet nephew, and smiling from deep inside my heart as I see him and Swee'Pea laugh hysterically with each other for two days straight.

knowing that I love my son more and more each day, and rejoicing in the fact that I have this precious time to watch him grow and change right before my eyes.

Summer is...

the smell of fresh cut alfalfa hitting my nose.

memories of endless nights of toilet papering, bike rides, Vanilla Pepsis, and carrot cake.

thinking of the crazy times I had at summer camp, and wishing there was a camp for 20-something-year-old women.

loving that I still have the same best friends I have had for the past 10+ years.

Summer is...

love.

joy.

happiness.

and thankfulness.

Summer had been everything I'd hoped it would be, but more than I ever expected it to be.  I am loving every moment of every day I have at home... and I'm giddy with the knowledge that there are still ten-and-a-half precious more weeks of summer break left.